Woodinville Passport IV- A Moveable Feast

Date: Mon, Jun 7, 2010 Wine Tasting

Woodinville Passport was a moveable feast. So many outstanding wines, so many great winemakers, so much fun and pleasure. When I "have to" taste a hundred wines or more I always spit, well, almost always. Every once in a while I involuntarily swallow. Really, I can't help it, the wine makes me do it. Sometimes it is just so good that I swallow it. One swallow does not a summmer make, but one swallow tells me how much I love the wine and think it is fabulous. When I write notes I use a three star, or three swallow system. One star wines are wines I swallow, two star wines are wines I wish I could keep swallowing, three star wines are wines where I wish I could swallow the whole thing - slowly. So for me:

* - Excellent - Gold
** - Outstanding - Double Gold
*** - Extraordinary - Platinum
+ - Best Buy + Good Value

There were an amazing number of swallows at Passport this year. Here are my faves organized by rating, but in no particular order within each category.

RED WINES

Under $30

Blends
* 2007 Sparkman "Widerness" ($28)
* 2006 Gifford Hirlinger "Vireo" ($23)
* 2008 Des Voignes "The Groove" ($20)
* 2005 Mathews Red (?)
* 2008 Airfield "Bombshell" ($16) +
* Darby "Chaos" ($28)
* 2007 Davenport " R.H.D." ($24)
* 2007 Davenport "Continuity" ($24)
* NV Woodslake Due Ani ($17)+
* 2007 Robert Ramsay "Mason's Red" ($19)+
* 2007 Two Vintners "Lola" ($25)
** 2007 Elsom "Red" (?)
** 2008 Airfield "Mustang" - Rhone blend ($25)
** 2008 Airfield "Spitfire" ($25)
*** Patterson "Big Daddy" ($18) +

Other Reds
* 2007 Dusted Valley Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon ($28 * 2007 Elsom Cabernet Sauvignon (?) * 2008 William Church "Bad Habit" Cabernet Sauvignon ($17)+
* 2007 Two Vintners Syrah ($21)
* 2007 William Church Syrah ($28)
* 2006 Gifford Hirlinger Estate Merlot ($22)
* 2008 Covington Barbera ($29)
* 2005 Zefina Sangiovese($25)
* 2007 Gifford Hirlinger Petit Verdot ($26)
* 2007 Elsom Malbec (?)
* 2008 Chatter Creek Grenache ($18)+
* 2007 Chatter Creek Malbec ($24)
* 2007 Barrage Cabernet Franc (?)
* 2007 Barrage "Secret Weapon" Syrah (?)
* 2008 Two Vintners Zinfandel ($20)
*** 2007 Pomum "Tinto" Tempranillo ($25)+

Over $30
* 2005 Canon De Sol Meritage (?)
* 2007 Pondera Salon II (?)
* 2007 Des Voignes "Solea" ($30)
* 2007 Irlandes Reserve Syrah ($34)
* 2007 Covington Cabernet Sauvignon ($35)
* 2007 Irlandes Reserve "Karma" ($44)
* 2007 Sparkman "Kingpin" ($56)
** 2007 Pondera "Cuvee" (?)
** 2007 Robert Ramsay Mourvedre ($42)
***2007 Pomum Syrah ($36)
***2007 Robert Ramsay Cabernet Sauvignon ($38)


WHITE WINES

* 2007 Red Sky Semillon ($18)
* 2009 Efeste Riesling ($10)+
* 2008 William Church Viognier ($21)
* 2006 Pomum Riesling ($18)
** 2008 Isenhower "Snapdragon" Roussanne blend ($19)+

ROSE WINES

* 2009 Covington "Josie" Rose ($15)+
* 2009 Patterson Rose ($18)


DESSERT/SWEET WINES

* 2008 Chatter Creek "Dry" Orange Muscat ($18)+
* 2009 Patterson Late Harvest Roussanne ($22)

Truly a movable feast! How sweet it is! These days we need some sweet endings. BTW, Northwest Totem's Late Harvest Viognier is consistently good and another sweet thing. Almost all of the wines that Hestia, Adam's Bench, Novelty Hill and Januik offer up almost always make me want to swallow. You will, too! Almost never a bad wine from these outstanding wineries. You can pretty much count on quality from them and the other wines rated here. The 2007 vintage is profound. You must stock up on these wines. The 2007 vintage was one of the best in Washington and many of these wineries have reduced their prices by about 15%. This year for the first time in a while, I could have used $20 or $25 as a cutting point rather than $30. Twenty dollars is a lot closer to the $14-$15 price point that most consumers use. Why were there so many swallows? Because 2007 was an almost perfect year in a "Perfect Climate," Here you have over 50 recommendations not counting at least another 25 from my top faves - Hestia, Adam's Bench, Novelty Hill and Januik (see Tour Des Favorites - 9/9/09 in the archives). There must be at least another 25 from wineries I didn't get to - DeLille, Betz, Brian Carter, NW Totem, Gorman, Mark Ryan, Darby, Baer, Edmonds, etc,. - so over 100 top wines from over 100 wineries. That's why the annual Wine Bloggers Conference should come to Seattle/Woodinville next year! Here is proof that you don't have to pay an arm and a leg for truly excellent wine. These are special wines. Vintages like this don't come along that often and the wines are affordable. So much pleasure, for relatively little expense. Okay, so maybe it's a little more than twice as much as you usually spend for wine, buy half as much and double your pleasure. I wish the Washington wine commission would pay this shill a commission :) Enjoy!

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Woodinville Passport III - Something Old And Something New

Date: Mon, May 24, 2010 Wine Tasting

As we mentioned, we skipped a lot of oldies but goodies to make room for some newcomers, but you should not skip them. They are fabulous, reliable and sometimes hard to get - Adam's Bench, Andrew Ross, Betz, Brian Carter, DeLille, Doyenne, Gorman, Mark Ryan, Novelty Hill, and Januik. These wines are so good and so reliable that if you see a bottle grab it or better yet visit these wineries and taste. You will not be disappointed..
Newbies to check out include Elsom, Portrait Cellars, Swede Hill, Tempest Sol, Davenport, Robert Ramsey and Two Vintners made by the winemaker at Covington Cellars under his own label.All of these "new" wineries are producing excellent wine. Elsom, Two Vintners and Robert Ramsey are standouts! Did I leave anybody out?

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Woodinville Passport II

Date: Mon, May 3, 2010 Wine Tasting

How many cities have over 100 wineries and tasting rooms within their metropolitan areas? Paris? New York? San Francisco? Try Seattle! Seattleites are so used to being able to taste wine at the Tasting Room downtown or heading south a few miles to the South Park industrial zone that they sometimes rebel at the idea of a trip to Woodinville "out in the sticks". Of course, MIcrosofties who work right next door, would tell you it's worth it to drive a mere half an hour to reach some of the best wineries in the world.

This year there were a disproportionate number of outstanding wines to taste and purchase. Is that because 2007 may have been the greatest vintage ever in Washington State or because the wine makers have been honing their skills? Wine in Seattle? Where do they grow the grapes? Not in rainy Seattle? Grapes are trucked over the Cascade Mountains in small lugs for the Puget Sound artisans to make their wine. Recently, the grapes have been followed by Eastern Washington wineries from the AVAs such as the Yakima Valley and Walla Walla. Save three to five hours of driving time by going to Woodinville. As Willie Sutton said, you go where the money is, and as Vladimer Putin said, you do what you have to do. So it was a pleasant surprise to find Brett Isenhower setting up his tasting room for the weekend. Brett's wines are excellent. Some other wonderful interlopers from Eastern Washington include Goose Ridge, Airfield, Alder Ridge, Canon De Sol, Irlandes, and Dusted Valley.

You really should organize your trip to Woodinville geographically, otherwise you will drive yourself crazy driving all over Woodinville and getting lost. Fortunately the vast majority of wineires and tasting rooms are pretty much concentrated in a few areas. In the northern end of town are two warehouse districts full of wineries. North of North Woodinville Way you will find dozens of wineries tucked away in a commercial zone. Enter the zone and you will be barraged with cool wineries such as Barrage, Sparkman, Gorman, and Patterson to name jsut a few. Efeste is an outlier just up the street on the opposite side. BelowWoodinville Way is another "warehouse" district buried in the midst of newly built housing. "Would you run down to the winery, dear, and pick up a bottle of wine for lunch." Here you will find giants such as Hestia, Covington, Pomum, and Chatter Creek. If you not exhausted and anesthetized by now head down to the intersection of 140th Pl NE and NE 144th St. Here you will find most of the refugees from Eastern Washington.

Further south on HY 202 you will find such bright stars as DeLIlle and Betz wineries. Although(they were closed and didn't participate in Passport, they are must taste wineries, as are Januik, Novelty Hill, Brian Carter and Adams Bench which is "out in the stick" less than a mile down NE 146th Pl. Tune in next time (whenever that is!) for some new wineries, some tasting notes, and the Best of Woodinville using my new "three swallow" system.

BTW, you don't have to wait 'til Passport weekend to taste Woodinville wines. Most of the wineries are open weekends and some everyday.

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2008 Coteaux Du Languedoc, Picpoul De Pinet, Hugues De Beauvignac

Date: Mon, Apr 26, 2010 Wine Tasting

I was so excited when a friend brought this white from the Languedoc. It is so difficult to find wines from the Southwest of France and they almost always are great values. Langue D'Oc, language of the Occitan, probably antedates the Roman occupation of Gaul. This Picpoul speaks the language of the South of France. Fresh, dry, and fruity with hints of peaches, pears and a hint of lemon. Although frequently recommended as a pairing with oysters, IMHO the Hugues De Beauvignac is not dry enough for such a match. With a profile somewhat similar to a dry Riesling, this is a perfect patio wine or aperatif for those who say "dry", but prefer a little hint of sweetness or at least some fruit ($11-$14)

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Woodinville Passport - I

Date: Sat, Apr 17, 2010 Wine Tasting

A Woodinville Passport will transport youfor a few hours of paradise whether yours is a rockin' time, a sexy date, or a dreamy smooth red. Don't let your Evil Twin, Bully you into joining the Riff Raffin the Wilderness. Be an Outlaw for a few hours, get in touch with your Dark side, step into the Chaos with your Big Daddy and Barrage your friends withfine wines. Duke it out with your best friend over who is really in the Groove. Enjoy the Continuity and Serendipity of the Final Final wines next week @seattlewineblog.

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New Wineries At Taste Washington 2010

Date: Mon, Apr 12, 2010 Wine Tasting

Every year Taste Washington produces a new crop of wineries. Some of these wineries may not be brand new, but they are new to me and of recent vintage. They are listed in alphabetical order:

• 8 Bit Vintners
• Cartel Wine Group
• Castillo de Feliciana
• CaterinaWinery
• El Corazon Winery
• Esther Bricques Winery
• Fielding Hills Winery
• Fontaine Estates Winery
• Glencorrie
• Jones of Washington
• Maison Bleue Winery
• Masquerade Winery
• Memaloose
• Merry Cellars
• Naches Hieghts Vineyard
• Nodland Cellars
• Obelesco Estate
• Olson Cellars
• Plaza Winery
• Portrait Cellars
• Rock Meadow Cellars
• Severino Cellars
• Simply
• Sojen Cellars
• Southard Winery
• Stemelt Creek
• Steppe Cellars
• Stomani Cellars
• Swede Hill Cellars
• Stillwater Cellars
• TL Cellars
• Tranche Cellars
• Walla Faces
• Whitestone Winery

If I left anyone out, please let me know.

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Taste Washingon 2010 - Nearly Verbatim & Nearly Real-Time

Date: Thu, Apr 1, 2010 Wine Tasting

As usual Taste Washington was a great experience. Over 800 wines from over 200 wineries, just scratch the surface of the Washington wine field. Washington State winemakers have established a tradition of not following tradition and thinking outside the box. They are willing toexperiment withanything that works. Washington grapegrowers grow all kinds of varietals including such Rhone varietals as Mourvedre, Counoise, Cinsault.Looking for Tempranillo, Zin or Pinot Noir, look no further. Want an inexpensive everyday wine? How about Boomtown, Revelry, Dama, Balboa, Barnard Griffin, Columbia Crest or Red Diamond. Looking for an "affordable" cult wine ( I know, it's an oxymoron),try Quilceda Creek, Leonetti, Cayuse or Delille's Grand Cru. Oreven more affordable and more available - Andrew Will,Pepper Bridge, or CadenceThere are so many outstanding Washington wines, it's a crime to only be able to taste a hundred or so, but given the time available I would have only 10 seconds to taste each wineand travel to the next booth. This time, even though I was tempted into tasting from the first part of the alphabet by such beauties as Buty, Cadence and Caderetta, I did manage to get to the the other end with such wonders as Willis Hall. Unfortunately, there is a big hole in the middle.Again, the section featuring vineyards was fascinating. I tastedDeLille's excellent Harrison Hilland several bottles made bythe family that owns Upland vineyard. Since I will be reporting on Woodinville Passport this Apriland the Third Annual Wine Bloggers conference in Walla Walla this June, I tried to avoid Woodinville and Walla Walla wineries this time around. Although it seemed that attendance was down, quality was up. The 2007 vintage produced many outstanding wines and may well be the best Washington State vintage yet.

This year, I am trying a new approach to my Tasting notes. I recorded my impressions and winemakers' discussions of their wines we will see how it comes out. Of course, later we will have the usual lists of bests and faves and new wineries. This kind of reminds me of the "live" blogging we did at the first wine blogger's conference in Santa Rosa in 2008.

For reasons unknown, Pine and Post came up first.. As usual, the Chardonnay from 2007 is a good quaff at a reasonable price. Ben Smith is so excited about his new vineyard and the amount of control he can exercise over the fruit. This year he had an opportunity to to make a blend with 30-40% Petit Verdot. The 2007 Taptiel was deep and linear, needed some age as usual. The Bel Canto was indeed Belle. - "almost a fruitbomb, but not in your face - beautiful!" 2007 Camerata - 85% Cab S, 15% cab, Fr., 15% merlot.Cadence winemakers Gaye and Ben have exceeded their usual high standards. Great stuff. Buy the 2007s. Speaking of which, right next store, the lovely Virginie Bouguefrom the Luberon in France, wasexplicating on her 2007s..She makes wine inan expansive style which still retains the character of the Northwest - the perfect balance of American fruit and French charcter and backbone. The 2007 Syrah has some Sangio and other things in it - "that is fabulous, it even has a little bit of chocolate in the back, this Syrah is a standout wine.."Virginie, you are very outgoing." Yes I have a different personality." "Hey, Jeff, how are you?" "All of these wines are spectacular." Premier wines - rhone style blend, like Chateauneuf Du Papes-.
Lots of tannin, Buty- tasted wines made for restrants such as the Herbfarm and Canlis - outstanding "house" wines....

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Recession Reds

Date: Tue, Feb 16, 2010 Wine Tasting

Even though Washington and Wall Street have declared the recession over, the rest of us know that we are still up to our eyeballs in it. As early as the beginning of 2008, Patterson Wine Co. in Woodinville, Washington offered a 2006 Recession Red. Made from Cab grapessourced from such classy vineyards as Klipsun Vineyards on Red Mountain,they hadn't quite gotten it, pricing itin the $20 vicinity. Along came Recession Wine Company makingdecent plonk for about $4 according to http://www.splashfood.com/. Most consumers have cut their price point, but not their consumption. If you were paying $10 you've moved down to $5, $7 you're down to $3.one world wide web wag sent around a "hoax" alleging a consumer survey showing that Chateau Traileur Parc was the winning name for Walmart's branded wine, Oak Leaf We recentlyoffered a tasting class ofRecession Reds. The rule was no bottle over $5, but wines could be purchased on sale. For under $75, I was able to purchase 14 bottles of wine. The tasters were average consumers who like wine.

The most interesting resultwas that,for the most part, the wines were not bad, similar in quality, and quality didn't correlate with price.We started with NV Barefoot Pinot Noir from California and there was universal agreement that the wine was unpleasantly acidic.Next we tasted seven lowpriced Merlotsblind.They were:

1)NV Southern Point- Walgreen's - $3
2)NV Charles Shaw - Trader Joe's - $3
3) NV Double DogDare - Total - $3
4) NV Oak Creek- CVS - $3.50
5) 2008 Searidge - Safeway - $4
6) 2008 Turning Leaf - CVS - $5
7) 2004 Columbia Crest "Two Vines" - Safeway, $5

There were no statistically significant differences among the wines. There were no really bad wines and no real standouts - just good enough wine for great prices. It was just a matter of personal preference. I preferred the Columbia Crest and the Charles Shaw, but then you might call me a wine snob. Most of the tasters preferred the least expensive wines without knowing the prices.

The same procedure was followed for a tasting of six Cabernet Sauvignons:

1) NV Pacific Peak - Total - $2
2) NV Inglenook, Chile - CVS 1.5 L - $5
3) NVQuail Oak -Safeway -$3
4) NV DoubleDog Dare - Total - $3
5) 2009 Charles Shaw - Trader Joe's - $3
6) 2008 Searidge - Safeway - $4

Again, there were no meaningful differences among the average scores.I had a slight preference for the Inglenook.

So, guess what folks, you can get a pretty decent everyday quaff for just a few bucks. So kick back and enjoy while you wait a few more years for the recession to be over. BTW, what do you think Greenspan, Paulson, Geithner, and Ken Lewis are drinking?

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2009 Unofficial Classification Of Washinton State Wineries

Date: Mon, Jan 25, 2010 Wine Tasting

This is thefourth annual Unofficial Classification of Washington State Wineries. The 2009 Unofficial Classification Of Washington State Wineries represents my personal, perhaps, idiosyncratic or eccentric, opinions of the quality of Washington State wineries. Out of more than 650 wineries, thereare at least a hundred producing great wine. About half of the wine produced in Washington comes from wineries owned by Chateau Ste. Michelle. The other 600 some odd wineries are mostly small artisanal family enterprises typically producing 2000-3000 cases, in some cases up to 20,000 cases or more. The AP reports that Washington wineries are increasing their production.The emphasishas beenon quality rather than quantity. Let us hope it remains so.In contrast to other classifications of wine such as the 1855 classification of Bordeaux, the Unofficial Classification of Washington Wineries is not set in stone and changes every year. Since it is retrospective, it does not necessarily predict future rankings, past performance is no guarantee of future results.This has been a difficult year with so many people unemployed, retirement funds cut in half, and a housing market that is limping along at best.In general, it appears that most people have lowered the price they are willing to pay for a bottle of wine,but have not cut consumption.Wines at the topof the list be special wines for special occasions, whereas wine in the "Cinqieme"group tend to be outstanding values. Exclusion from this classification, in no way represents a commentary on the quality of a winery. In many cases, it may simply mean that I am not familiar enough with the wines or winemaker to form an opinion. On the other hand , not all Washington wines and wineries are great, so only the best that I am familiar with are listed here. Wineries are listed in alphabetical order and not ranked within each category. Wineries are listed as "deferred", if I have reason to believe they are worthy, but haven't tasted enough of their wines recently.


Premier Grand Cru ( Extraordinary)

Cayuse

Leonetti

Quilceda Creek


Deuxieme Grand Cru (Outstanding)

Andrew Will

Betz

Cadence

DeLille

Januik

Long Shadow

Pepper Bridge

Spring Valley


Troisieme Grand Cru ( Exceptional)

Abeja

Adams Bench

Amaurice

Boudreaux

Brian Carter

Buty

Cougar Crest

Doyanne

Fall Line

Five Star

Gorman

Hestia

Hightower

Isenhower

Mark Ryan

Note Bene

O-S

Palouse

Ross Andrew

Saviah

Sleight Of Hand

Sparkman

Syncline

Trio


Quatrieme Grand Cru ( Excellent)

426

Adamant

Amavi

Baer

Barrage

Basel Cellars

Beresen

Bergevin Lane

Canoe Ridge

Desert Wind

Dusted Valley

Flying Trout

Forgeron

Gifford Hirlinger

Hedges

Kestrel

Kiona

L'Ecole

Mountain Dome

Nicolas Cole

Northstar

Novelty Hill

Ponum

Red Sky

Reininger

Seven Hills

Sheridan

Syzygy

Terra Blanca

Tertulia

Thurston Wolfe

Three Rivers

Trust

Vin Du Lac

Walla Walla Vineyards

Walter Dacon

Whitman

Willis Hall


Cinqieme Cru ( Very Good)

14 Hands

Airfield Estates

Apex

Balboa

Boomtown

Barnard Griffin

Chinook

Columbia Crest "Two Vines"

Dama

Goose Ridge

Gordon Bros

Hogue

Martinez & Martinez

Maryhill

Nelms Road

Pavin & Riley

Pine & Post

Red Diamond

Revelry

Ryan Patrick

Sagelands

Saint Laurent

Willow Crest


Deferred

Agate Field

Andrake

Animale

Cameraderie

Canon De Sol

Chatter Creek

Columbia Crest Reserve

Dunham

Ensemble

Glacial Lake Missoula

Hedges

Latitude 46 N

Massett

McKinley Springs

McCrea

Parejas

Rulo

Sandidge

Sandhill

Soos Creek

Terra Blanca - Onyx

Two Mountains

Woodwark Canyon

Yellow Hawk

Zefina

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Totally Deceptive?

Date: Wed, Jan 20, 2010 Wine Tasting

Totally deceptive?Well, maybe not totally, but seemingly so. Some of us may consider ourselves lucky to have a Total Wines in the neighborhood, though certainly not your local wine shop. Total wines claims the lowest prices, though there is no case discount andpricesfor many wines such as Bordeaux at $75 and up or Champagne at $30plus are really not such great bargains. Like Bevmo, Total pushes "direct" purchases which appear to be sweetheart deals of some sort. They certainly don't offer wineries, wholesalers, or consumers any deals when it comes to the real deal like boutique wines from Washington or Oregon.

Total has achieved a certain amount of infamy with a line of wines priced at $1.97 - Two Buck Pacific Peak, if you will. After driving almost an hour to check out Two Buck Peak, I was only able to find a Chard and a Cab buried among otherbargain/value wines at $4.99 and $7.99. Prices were not obvious and placed so low that only a miniature poodle could have read them.Why? The boss told us to do it that way.

It was a real treat tofind wine from Uruguay. Desaffortunadamente, two different blends in the same space withapparently the same price, but not at checkout. Competitors Costco and Trader Joe's would never display such carelessness or sloppinessor is it deception? Great to have a source of interesting wines and beer, but please, just because you are a big box, don't compete with "too big to fail" banks in apparently deceptive practices.

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Best Holiday Wine Gifts For Under Twenty Bucks

Date: Mon, Dec 7, 2009 Wine Tasting

I recently gave a class on Holiday Wine Gifts. We tasted a baker's dozen and I threw in one more for a total of fourteen. I also gave the students a list of Best Holiday Wine Gifts. A gift should be different and special, not some run of the mill everyday wine.A holiday wine should be festive, celebratory, and pair well with holiday fare. Giving can be out of love, caring, obligation, showing off, status, or prestige among other motives. Giving is a social transaction and on certain occasions,such as births, weddings, holidays, takes on an obligatory tone. There is the obligation to give, to receive, and to reciprocate. How many orphan gifts make the rounds of recycling. Is it an insult to give a recycled gift. Gift wine is not just primarily about what is in the bottle. It is about esteem, status and prestige. A gift indebts the receiver, obligating him or her to reciprocate (quick, honey get out another homemade fruitcake) Most of the wines we recommend are widely distributed in the United States.


The most celebratory wine is Champagne or Sparkling wine. Fortunately, Champagne quality is consistently pretty good across the board, so you can almost buy any bubbly and get a decent wine. Remember, Brut is dry, and Extra Dry is sweet. Go Figure!We recommend the
following sparklers at decent prices (with one exception):

CHAMPAGNE

• NV Ch. Ste. Michelle Brut - a little softer and sweeter bubbly from Washington- about $10 @ Safeway
• NV Freixinet - don't even try to pronounce it (Fresh -ee- ney) - a good dry sparkler from Spain at an excellent price - about $8 @ Safeway
• NV Gruet Brut - fabulous sparkler from New Mexico about $15
• NV Mtn Dome - another fabulous buy forabout $15
• Sparkling Dry Vouvray from the Loire Valley - great value, produced in large quantities, but hard to find outside of the Loire Valley - about $5 - $10 @ French supermarches
• NV Mumm Brut - Slightly softer, yeasty top notch sparkler from a great French Champagne house made in California about $15 @ Safeway
• NV Chandon Brut - a really dry French style sparkling winemade in California byanother great French Champagne house - about $12 @ Safeway on sale
• Vintage Dom Perignon - Okay, so it isn't under $20, but if you really want to impress the boss, it's only about $120 @ Costco - do not pass go, do not collect $200, go directly to jail or the poor house.

Why pay $30 or more for a Merlot or Bordeaux style blend , when you can find very interesting reds for ten dollars or less. It is difficult to find good Boreadaux in this price range, but since the 2005 vitange is available this makes it easier. Then, of course, you can get off the beaten path with Malbec from Argentina,Carmenere fom Chile and wines fom such unusual grapes as Tannat and PetitVerdot.

UNUSUAL REDS

• Red Bordeaux - for whatever reason (value?) Costco has shifted away from Argentinian Malbec to Bordeaux - 2005 Chateau Bois Chantant, 2006 Chateau Bailloux, 2005 Chateau Bel Air, for example, all under $10
• Red Diamond Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot, Columbia Crest Merlot - about $8 @ supermarkets and convenience stores
• 2008 Maipe Malbec, 2008 Cruz Alta Malbec under $10 @ Total wines
• 2006 Chapillon "Harmonie", Cataluyud, Aragon, Spain - an interesting blend of Petit Verdot and Tannat by Frenchman Cristophe Chapillon - about$9 @ Costco all under $10

Sweet dessert wines are perfect for the holidays. They complement the desserts, fruitcake, chocolate and nuts so typical during the holidays. Even if you think you don't like sweet wine, you wil enjoy these holiday food pairings and , of course, if you have a sweet tooth, you will be in heaven.

SWEET DESERT WINES

• Sherry - Real Tesoro Sherry @ Trader Joe's for $5.50. La Ina orTio Pepe about $15 @ supermarkets
• Port - 2006 Evenus Zinfandel Port,Paso Robles, about $10 for 375ml @ Trader Joe's, 2003 Taylor Fladgate Late Bottled Vintage Porto, Portugal -about $20 @ Total
• 2007 Villa Palatina TBA Ortega, Pfalz, Germany - about $19 @ Trader Joe's
• 2007 Jackson-Triggs Vidal Icewine, Niagara Peninsula, Canada - about $19 @ Total

These are outstanding gifts at excellent prices You don't need a $165m bonus toshare the holiday spirits with family and friends. You're more knowledgeable friends will enjoy cellaring the Bordeaux for a year or two. Everyone will love the Champagne. And everyone will enjoy the sweet wines with dessert, chocolate or nuts. Have a Happy Holiday!

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Go For The Gold - I

Date: Mon, Nov 23, 2009 Wine Tasting

After astay in the hospital with bad food and no wine, I'm Back and Okay. Does a Gold medal equal a 100 point rating? 95 points? 90 points? Does a Gold medal mean anything? Does a 100 point rating mean anything? Does a wine blogger's opinion mean anything? Okay! Enough! Basta! Bob Tovey recently sent along a piece in the L.A.Times by Jerry Hirsch aboutRobert Hodgson, winemaker and economist whodid "An Analysis of the Concordance Among 13 U.S. Wine Competitions," published in the Journal of Wine Economics.

"An analysis of over 4000 wines entered in 13 Wine Competitions shows little concordance among venues in awarding Gold Medals. Of the 2440 wines entered in more than three competitions, 47% received Gold medals, but 84% of these same wines also received no award in another competition. Thus, many wines that are viewed as extraordinarily good in some competitions are viewed as below average at others. An analysis of the numberofGold Medals received in multiple competitions indicates that the probability of winning a Gold Medal at one competition is stochastically independent of the probability of winning a Gold Medal at another competition, indicating that winning a Gold Medal is greatly influenced by chance. (J. Wine Econ., Vol4. Issue 1. Spring 2009, p. 1)"

What does this mean? There is no correlation among scores at different competitions? A Gold Medalwinneratone competition doesn'tmean much and and is unlikely to win another Gold. Is this a case of " garbage in, garbage out"? Winemakers and wineries seem to believe inand invest in Gold Medals, but apparently wine consumers don't ( Thach, Wine Business Monthly, 2008) . It is understandable that winemakers would seek validation for their efforts. Everybody seeks recognition, but it appearsthat the consumer may be smarter than the CEOs and marketing types at wineries and wine conglomerates. Of course, most consumerschoose a wine based on a pretty label or maybe a wine rating. I used to hope that a medal at least meant that the wine was not bad,because at least a small group of wine tasters liked it but now I wonder.

How does a wine get a Gold Medal and what does it mean? The methodologyvaries tremendously among wine competitions? At least most competitions are single blind, that is, the tasters are told the varietal they are tasting or the region. Sometimes the name of the specific wine is revealed before the final rating. Usual a flight is tasted by a group of tasters, and while the identity of the wine is unknown they discuss the wine and a certain consensus among a certain number of tasters is required to give an award. Thus, the process becomes politicized and pressure can be brought to bear to award a medal. In fact, it is rumored that judges, who don't award enough medals don't get asked back. Now, it is difficult to taste dozens or hundreds of wines in a day and there is a lot of palate fatigue. So typically, tasters are encouraged to refresh their palates with red meat, olives, cheese and bread. This is all very well, except that most of thesevictuals enhance the taste of wine. The French have a saying, "Buy on bread, sell on cheese." Why do you think so many wineries offer cheese, salami, etc., in their tasting rooms? Altruism? State law?

Then,there is the question of statistics? Ratings are what mathematicians call ordinal numberswhich are notreally amenable to the usual calculations done with normal or nominal numbers. Are the ratings reliable? Do raters rate the wines the same way or are they all over the place?How are tasters chosen? By qualifications? By reputation? By who's available? I doubt that most tasters are reliable in the statistical sense. That is, are their rating reproducible and is there any relationship among their ratings? Then there is validity. Even if the tasters are consistent among themselves and each and everyone of them, do their ratings validly relate to anything elselike whether you like the wine?

So much for competitions. What about ratings and points? Is 90 better than 89? Is Parker reliable and valid, that is consistent and accurate? Wine Spectator? Others? Tune in!

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Wine Spectator Discovers Washington State Values

Date: Thu, Oct 29, 2009 Wine Tasting

It appears that the Wine Spectator (Oct. 15, 2009) has discovered a couple of dozen value wines from the Northwest. Out of 500 wines they recommend only 5% from the Northwest. That's because they missed some of the best ones I mentioned in my 10/14post "Half Price Wines." They start off with 2007 Substance Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon.The 2006 Boomtown Cab Sauv from Dusted Valley gets the accursed "89". Actually you should look for wines with the "89" mark on their heads as there is no statistically meaningful difference between a wine scored "89 and one scored "90" except the price. Eyrie Pinot Gris gets a 90. This is a fairly big Pinot Gris that combines fruity body with some crisp acidity. Pacific Rim Rieslingscores an 88, while Hogue Merlot scores an 86. Waterbrook Chardonnay gets an 88. Some of the other wines they recommend, I wouldn't. Seems they missed a wealth of value wines from the Northwest.

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The House That Jacob Built

Date: Thu, Oct 29, 2009 Wine Tasting

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