Tag Archives: Chenin blanc

Doubling Down On What’s Been Done Before

Published on September 17, 2018

Photo taken by self and uploaded to Wikimedia Commons under : CC-BY-SA-3.0

Andy Perdue of Wine Press Northwest says it time for Washington State wine producers to “double down” on Cabernet Sauvignon.

The state needs to focus, he says, much like how Oregon did several decades ago with Pinot noir.

Washington has proved it can grow several wine grape varieties very well, and in some ways this has hurt the industry, because the state hasn’t had a focus. Now, we can align ourselves with other Cab regions, including Bordeaux and Napa Valley. — Andy Perdue, 9/13/18

Now why in the hell would we want to do that?

Napa On My Mind — And The Minds Of Most Consumers

Yes, I know that Cab is still king and there is no doubt that Cabernet Sauvignon sales are still going strong. You can’t fault vineyards for planting Cabernet Sauvignon or wineries for producing it.

But what you can fault is the idea that we should start hoarding all our eggs into one Cab basket–especially a basket that is already dominated by one really large hen.

Look at any “Most Popular” list of American wines and you can easily see a stark theme.

Wine & Spirits Top Restaurant Wines of 2018.

I would definitely be impressed seeing a wine list with Woodward Canyon prominently featured.

Cakebread, Caymus, Chateau Montelena, Corison, Duckhorn, Faust, Frank Family, Heitz, Jordan, Justin, Louis M. Martini, Mount Veeder, Rodney Strong, Sequoia Grove, Silver Oak, St. Francis Winery, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, Turnbull–all well known California Cabernet producers. Though, yes, Washington State does get a few nods with Woodward Canyon, L’Ecole 41 and Chateau Ste. Michelle (probably for their Riesling).

The Most Searched-For Cabernet Sauvignon on WineSearcher.com in 2017.

Screaming Eagle, Caymus, Scarecrow, Shafer, Dunn, Robert Mondavi and Silver Oak–all Napa Valley staples with only Penfolds 707 from Australia and Concha y Toro Don Melchor from Chile being outside Cabernets that cracked the list.

Vivino’s Top 20 Cabernet Sauvignon for Cab Day (which was apparently September 3rd)

Pretty much the same Napa-dominated list like the ones above with Quebrada De Macul’s Domus Aurea from Chile, Gramercy Cellars’ Lower East from Washington, Thelema Mountain Vineyards’s The Mint and Springfield Estate’s Whole Berry from South Africa sprinkled in for diversity.

This is not to say that Washington State can’t compete with California–in quality or in price. Lord knows we can and often exceedingly over deliver in both. Many years the state usually leads the pack in percentage of wines produced that receive 90+ scores from critics and often command a sizable chunk of year-end “Top 100” lists.

Perhaps the Washington State Wine Commission needs to get Steven Spurrier on the phone.

But to the vast majority of American wine buying consumers (particularly of Cabernet Sauvignon) that hardly makes a dent in their Napa-centric worldview. Pretty much since the 1976 Judgment of Paris, Cabernet Sauvignon in the United States has been synonymous with Napa Valley, California.

Of course, I’m not saying that Washington should stop producing its bounty of delicious and highly acclaimed Cabs but why should we double down on chasing a horse that has already left the stable?

The Lessons Of Oregon

To bolster his case, Perdue points to the example of Oregon which has built its brand (quite successfully) on the quality and notoriety of its Pinot noir. It’s no shock that on that same Wine & Spirits Top Restaurant List that Oregon has a healthy showing with Adelsheim Vineyard, Argyle Winery, Cristom Vineyards, Domaine Drouhin Oregon, Elk Cove Vineyards and King Estate representing the state–doubling the amount of wineries that Washington has featured.

Perdue would, presumably, attribute that success to Oregon’s seemingly singular focus on Pinot noir instead of the jack-of-all-trades approach that Washington State has taken in a modern history that is pretty close to the same age.

But what I don’t think Perdue has really taken into consideration is that Oregon started doubling down on Pinot long before Pinot noir was cool.

Pinot noir in early veraison at Cristom Vineyards in the Eola-Amity Hills

In his book Oregon Wine Country Stories Kenneth Friedenreich notes that many of Oregon’s early pioneers were thought to be crazy by their neighbors and bankers when they started planting Pinot noir in the Willamette Valley in the 1960s. It wasn’t until the 1980s when French producers like the Drouhin family of Burgundy took notice that the state began getting some attention on the world’s stage.

Even then, Oregon Pinot noir was still a tough sell in the domestic US market.

It’s hard to discount the impact that the 2004 film Sideways had on the perception of Pinot noir. As David Adelsheim noted “There were two great grapes of America [Cabernet Sauvignon & Chardonnay], and after ‘Sideways,’ there were three,” with the Oregon wine industry reaping the benefit of sustained sales ever since.

In the game of life, when Oregon wine producers were least expecting it, they rolled a ‘7’. But they could have just as easily crapped out.

Oregon was initially betting on a long shot–not a 2 to 1 favorite like Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s crazy to think that Washington could every get the same kind of payout.

How About Betting On What’s Exciting?

Seriously, if you are not on the Washington Cab Franc train than you are lagging behind my friend!

Earlier this week Sean Sullivan of Seattle Met and Wine Enthusiast published a fantastic list of “The 30 Most Exciting Wines in Washington”.

Now while there are certainly Cabs included on this list–several of which, like Passing Time and Quilceda Creek, I wouldn’t dispute–there are several wines included that are truly, genuinely exciting.

2013 Leonetti Cellar Aglianico Serra Pedace Vineyard Walla Walla Valley

Yes, an Aglianico! From Leonetti!

2015 Spring Valley Vineyard Katherine Corkrum Estate Grown Cabernet Franc Walla Walla Valley

The 2012 vintage of this wine was one of the best wines being poured at the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance tasting in Seattle earlier this year.

2017 L’Ecole No. 41 Old Vines Chenin blanc Columbia Valley

I’m no stranger to hollering into the void about the charms and deliciousness of Washington Chenin blanc. I love that L’Ecole is highlighting “Old Vines” on this bottle. It shows that their faith in this wonderful variety isn’t a fly-by-night fancy.

2015 Two Vintners Cinsault Make Haste Yakima Valley

Cinsault has been on my radar since attending the Hospice du Rhone seminar highlighting South African Cinsault. Obviously Washington doesn’t have anywhere close the vine age or experience but Morgan Lee of Two Vintners is an incredibly talented winemaker so it will be fun to see what he could do with the grape.

2016 Savage Grace Côt Malbec Boushey Vineyard Yakima Valley

Michael Savage makes some of my favorite Cabernet Francs from the Two Blondes Vineyard and Copeland Vineyard. The Boushey Vineyard is one of the grand crus of Washington. All perfect ingredients for what is likely a very kick ass wine.

2017 Syncline Winery Picpoul Boushey Vineyard Yakima Valley

If you’re not drinking Picpoul, is it really worth drinking anything?

2012 MTR Productions Memory Found Syrah Walla Walla Valley

This Syrah, made by Matt Reynvaan (of Reynvaan Family Vineyards fame), is practically treated like a Brunello di Montalcino. It sees two years of oak aging followed by 3 years of bottle aging before release. A fascinating project.

2015 Sleight of Hand Cellars Psychedelic Syrah Stoney Vine Vineyard Walla Walla Valley

Yeah, yeah the Rocks District is technically Oregon. But since the wine consuming public is too myopically focused on Oregon Pinot noir, Washingtonians can take credit for the insane depth and character that comes out of wines from this area. At the Taste Washington “Washington vs The World Seminar” this was the run away winner at an event that featured heavy hitters like Joseph Phelps Insignia, Lynch-Bages, Sadie Family, Amon-Ra and Duckhorn Merlot.

Lessons of Oregon part II

Another lesson from Oregon that’s often overlooked is the lack of attention given to other grapes grown in the state. This was a takeaway I had from Friedenreich’s Oregon Wine Country Stories that I noted in my review with the fascinating possibilities of the Southern Oregon AVAs like the Umpqua, Rogue and Applegate Valleys or the shared Columbia Gorge AVA up north with Washington.

There are over 50 grape varieties grown in Oregon–yet we really only hear about 1 to 3 of them. Sure the producers in prime Pinot country with blessed vineyards on Jory and Willakenzie soils, have a good gig right now. But the countless small wineries in other areas of the state trying to promote and sell their non-Pinot wines are facing an uphill battle.

Now What?

Does Washington State really want to be associated with just one grape variety? With more than 70 different grape varieties, why limit ourselves?

As a Washington wine lover that adores the bounty and bevy of fantastic wines like Viognier that can compete with great Condrieu, geeky Siegerrebe and Pinot noir from the Puget Sound, Counoise rosé that echoes the grape’s Châteauneuf-du-Pape heritage and robust Malbecs that gets your mouth watering with their savory, spicy complexity, I vote no.

If are going to double down on anything then we should double down on what makes Washington, Washington.

We’re the Meryl Streep and Daniel Day-Lewis of the American wine industry. We can do it all and we can do it very, very well.

Subscribe to Spitbucket

Getting Geeky with Robert Ramsay Mourvèdre

Amber LeBeau in Washington wine, Wine Knowledge, Wine reviews

Published on August 17, 2018

We’re back after a vacation to take the nieces and nephew to the happiest place on Earth. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a chance to play the Somm Game in between rounds of chocolate milk, lemonade and Sprit soda. Though absence does make the heart grow founder. And boy, am I ready to get back into the world of grown-up beverages!

So let’s continue our celebration of Washington Wine Month by taking more than 60 Seconds to geek out about the 2010 Robert Ramsay Mourvèdre from McKinley Springs Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills.

Full disclosure: During the 2012 vintage, when this 2010 Mourvèdre was just released, I did an internship at Robert Ramsay Cellars. Here I worked under the mentorship of Kristin Scheelar who was head winemaker at the time.

The Background

Robert Ramsay Cellars was founded in 2005 as a specialist in Rhone-style wines by winemaker Bob Harris. The winery’s name is a combination of Harris’ full name “Robert” with the last name of his great-uncle Mason Ramsay who helped raised Harris’ father when his grandfather was working overseas.

Before starting his winery, Harris served as winemaker for Coeur d’Alene Cellars and was mentored by Kristina Mielke-van Löben Sels of Arbor Crest, Nicolas Quille of Pacific Rim, Chuck Reininger of Reininger Winery and Ron Coleman of Tamarack Cellars.

Inspired by the great wines of Côte Rôtie, Harris’ first vintage was 125 cases of Syrah. A tasting room in Woodinville was opened in 2009. By 2014 the winery was making over 3000 cases. Among the notable vineyards that the winery was sourcing from include Red Heaven on Red Mountain, Phinny Hill and Mckinley Springs in Horse Heaven Hills, Dineen Vineyard in Yakima Valley and Upland Vineyard on Snipes Mountain.

Kristin Scheelar

In 2010, Harris hired Kristin Scheelar, a 2009 graduate of the Wine Production program of the Northwest Wine Academy (NWA) at South Seattle College. Prior to joining Robert Ramsay, Scheelar served as a harvest intern for Patterson Cellars under the tutelage of John Patterson.

My wife Beth also did an internship working with Kristin at Robert Ramsay. Here she is doing punch downs during the 2012 harvest on some Dineen Syrah.

Scheelar would stay at Robert Ramsay for four years, leaving just before the 2014 harvest to join Goose Ridge winery as an assistant winemaker. During her time at Robert Ramsay, she was an influential mentor to many female winemakers in the Woodinville wine scene including Lisa Packer of Warr-King Wines and her successor at Robert Ramsay, Casey Cobble–another NWA graduate.

Along with Packer, Cobble and Hillary Sjolund of Sonoris Cellars, Scheelar is a founding member of the Sisters of the Vinifera Revolution which aims to promote women in the wine industry. Through the years the organization has grown to include several wineries owned and headed by women winemakers including Lisa Swei of Three of Cups Winery, Pam Adkins of Adrice Wines, Lisa Callan of Callan Cellars, Mari Womack of Damsel Cellars, Toby Turlay of Ducleaux Cellars, Jody Elsom of Elsom Cellars and Kasia Kim of Kasia Winery.

Winemaking is messy work. This is me after working the sorting table near the destemmer at Robert Ramsay.

Today Kristin Scheelar is currently an assistant winemaker with Gallo at Columbia Winery.

The Vineyard

McKinley Springs Vineyard was first planted in 1980 by Robert Andrews in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA. Located at an elevation of around 1000 feet, the sandy loam soils over broken basalt of the vineyard are noted for producing early ripening fruit that create well-structured wines with intense aromatics.

Today the vineyard covers more than 2800 acres with over 20 different varieties of grapes planted including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Chenin blanc, Viognier, Malbec, Syrah, Petit Verdot, Cinsault, Roussanne, Counoise and Mourvèdre. Along with their Mourvèdre bottling, Robert Ramsay produces a varietal Cinsault and Syrah from McKinley Springs and uses some of the vineyard’s fruit for their Châteauneuf-du-Pape style blend Le Mien and Bandol-style Par La Mer wine.

In addition to Robert Ramsay, several wineries source fruit from McKinley Springs including Thurston Wolfe, Domaine Pouillon, Forsyth Brio, Maryhill Winery, Cor Cellars, Coeur d’Alene Cellars, Mercer Estates, Hestia, Robert Karl, Bunnell Family Cellars and Syncline.

In 2002, the Andrews and Roswell families of McKinley Springs established a winery that focuses on their estate fruit.

The Grape

In their book Wine Grapes, Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding and José Vouillamoz note that Mourvèdre origins are likely Spanish with the first written account of the grape variety being under the synonym Monastrell in a 14th century document by Catalan writer Francesc Eiximenis.

The name Monastrell is derived from the Latin monasteriellu, meaning monastery. It is likely that the grape was first propagated by the Church.

Mourvèdre grapes from the Columbia Valley of Washington

By 1460, the Valèncian doctor Jaume Roig noted that Monastrell was the most widely planted grape in València–particularly in the region of Camp de Morvedre where the synonym Mourvèdre emerged from. Another common synonym, Mataro, likely comes from town of Mataró in the province of Barcelona. Located north of València, it would have been along the grape’s likely route out of Spain into Southern France.

Today, Mourvèdre/Monastrell is the 5th most widely planted grape in Spain with over 150,000 acres. It’s only behind Airén, Tempranillo, Bobal and Garnacha in acreage. Most of these plantings can be found in the València, Murcia and Castilla-La Mancha regions. It is the primary red wine grape in the DOs of Jumilla, Alicante, Almansa, Valencia and Yecla.

In France, plantings of Mourvèdre rose sharply in the late 20th century. It went from around 517 ha (1,278 acres) in the 1950s to 9,363 ha (23,136 acres) by 2009. It is most commonly found in the Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence and Southern Rhone regions. In Provence, it is the primary grape of Bandol. Here it must make up 50-95% of the blend along with Grenache, Carignan, Cinsault and Syrah.

Mourvèdre in Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Harry Karis notes in The Châteauneuf-du-Pape Wine Book that today Mourvèdre accounts for around 6.6% of all grape plantings in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Historically, the grape was known as Estrangle-Chien (“dog strangler”) due to its harsh tannins and high acidity. This thick-skinned grape thrives on warm, south-facing slopes that receive plenty of heat. This allows the vine to fully ripen the tannins and metabolize some of the hard malic acid.

Mourvèdre sample and a saignee rosé sample taken after 24 hours of skin contact. The thick skins of Mourvèdre contain lots of anthocyanins that contribute deep color to blends.

However, Mourvèdre is also very susceptible to drought conditions. Karis notes that water-retaining clay soils and drought-resistance rootstock like 41B and 110R are ideal for the variety.

In the traditional Châteauneuf-du-Pape blend, Mourvèdre contributes structure via its high acid and tannins. It also provides ample alcohol and color. In the winery, winemakers have to balance the reductive nature of Mourvèdre with the very oxidation-prone Grenache. To do this you need to ensure that Mourvèdre has plenty of oxygen during fermentation and élevage. Meanwhille, Grenache needs to be kept more anaerobically protected.

Varietal Mourvèdre wines are known for having meaty and spicy (particularly tobacco spice and clove) characters. They often have ample dark fruit flavors that can age into tertiary aromas of game and leather.

Mourvèdre in Washington State

The original block of Mourvèdre/Mataro planted in 1993 in Red Willow Vineyard in the Yakima Valley of Washington.

In Washington Wines and Wineries: The Essential Guide, Paul Gregutt notes that the first plantings of Mourvèdre in Washington was by Mike Sauer in 1993 at Red Willow Vineyard in the Yakima Valley.

By 2017 there were 126 acres of the grape planted in the state where it is used as a component in both Rhone-style blends and as a varietal wine.

Vineyards with notable plantings of Mourvèdre beyond McKinley Springs and Red Willow include Ciel du Cheval on Red Mountain, Alder Ridge, Coyote Canyon and Destiny Ridge in the Horse Heaven Hills, Elephant Mountain in the Yakima Valley and Northridge Vineyard in the Wahluke Slope.

Gregutt describes the style of Washington Mourvèdre as “…medium-bodied, lightly spicy with pretty cherry-flavored fruit and occasionally a distinctive, gravelly minerality.”

The Wine

The 2010 Robert Ramsay Mourvèdre from McKinley Springs has medium-plus intensity aromatics. Very much in the spicy and earthy category. There are some slight red fruit notes in the red currant and raspberry range. But they are very much overshadowed by the black pepper spice and forest-floor earthiness.

On the palate, the pepper spice is still the dominant note. The medium-plus acidity gives juiciness to the red fruit flavors and keeps them hanging around. The medium-plus tannins are very present. However, they have a soft, velvety-ness to them now that holds up the full-bodied weight of the wine. The finish unfortunately fades fairly quickly. It does bring back, albeit for a short moment, some of those savory earthy notes from the nose.

The Verdict

At nearly 8 years of age, this 2010 Mourvèdre is still delivering ample pleasure in the $30-35 range. But I suspect its peak may have been 2 to 3 years earlier.

There is definitely a good amount of complexity and balance. However, there is also the sense that the wine is on the wane with the short finish and fading flavors. Still this wine is in a good spot for those who crave more savory and tertiary-driven flavors in their wines. The wine will shine with a food pairings that compliments its spicy and earthy notes. I can see it going particularly well with roasted lamb or a savory mushroom dish.

Subscribe to Spitbucket

August is Washington Wine Month!

Amber LeBeau in Washington wine, Wine Knowledge

Published on August 1, 2018

Yeah, I know it kinda feels like we just had a Washington Wine Month not that long ago.

Technically this past March was just Taste Washington Wine Month which highlights the big Taste Washington Event in Seattle that features over 225 wineries and 65 restaurants as well as activities (like seminars and The New Vintage Party).

But this month is the real Washington Wine Month. I swear! The Washington State Wine Commission even bought the domain www.winemonth.com to let the world know that August is Washington Wine Month.

Okay, it’s silly marketing but, hey, why waste a good excuse to drink and geek out about Washington wine? I’m in.

While throughout the month I’ll be highlighting Washington wines in my 60 Second Wine Reviews, I wanted to kick off the fun with a little primer of some of the great blogs, Twitter feeds and books that I used when researching my posts on Washington wine and wineries.

At the end I also feature a highlight of some of my favorite Washington-related posts and reviews that I’ve done here on Spitbucket. If you want to stay up to date with the fun be sure to subscribe so you can get posts sent right to your email.

Great Wine Blogs with a Washington-bent

Washington Wine Report (@wawinereport) — Though Sean Sullivan has moved up to the big leagues of wine writing being the Washington beat reporter for Wine Enthusiast, he still finds time for his Washington Wine Report that has been the benchmark standard for Washington wine blogging for some time.

Screenshot from Great Northwest Wines (8/1/18)

Great Northwest Wine (@GreatNWWine) — More of an online magazine than necessarily a blog but few cover the Pacific Northwest wine scene better than Andy Perdue and Eric Degerman.

VinoSocial (@VinoSocialNancy) — While not completely Washington-centric, Nancy Croisier does have a lot of experience and great insights to share about the Washington wine industry. She also wrote up a great post with all the relevant hashtags for folks wanting to promote and follow Washington Wine Month activities.

Wine Diva Lifestyle (@Shona425) — Shona Milne is one of the original bloggers covering the Woodinville wine scene that is now home to over 100 wineries.

Woodinville Wine Blog (@woodinvillewb) — With such explosive growth in the industry, it’s great to have multiple feet on the ground covering it. Written by a team of 3 friends who explore the food and events happening in Woodinville as well the wine.

Washington Wine Blog (@WA_WINE_BLOG) — A blog ran by 3 doctors who also share their love for the wines of Oregon and California as well.

Write for Wine (@WriteforWine) — Though Margot Savell’s blog has a global scope, she is another pioneer in the Washington wine blogosphere which she has been covering since 2007.

Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman — While Catie McIntyre Walker’s blog isn’t as active as it once was, she–like Shona–is one of the original pioneers in the Washington wine blogging scene with Catie’s focus being on the outstanding wines of Walla Walla. With over 140 wineries, there is still a lot of great stuff to discover.

Washington Wineries on Twitter Worth a Follow

Of course all wineries are going to want to promote their wines and events, but I like following these wineries because they will also give you behind the scenes peaks into the fun stuff of making wine instead of only posting promotions and bottle porn pics.

Lagana Cellars (@LaganaCellars) — Carmenere at bud break and just before veraison. Oh and robin eggs!

Chris Figgins at the 2012 Taste Washington Grand Tasting.

Cote Bonneville (@cotebonneville) — Baby chicks!

Figgins Estate/Leonetti (@FigginsFerment) — This is more of Chris Figgins’ personal twitter account but it has great content and pics showing life in Walla Walla as well as the development of their new Toil vineyard (my review of one their wines) and construction of their Figgins barrel room caves.

Claar Cellars (@claarcellars) — Veraison on Pinot gris! Watch a bottling machine in action!

Maryhill Winery (@MaryhillWinery) — I’m okay with bottle porn when it is tied into mouthwatering and delicious food-pairing recipes but what I live for are retweets of aerial drone shots of their spectacular vineyards in the Columbia Gorge!

Books About Washington Wine

Washington Wines and Wineries: The Essential Guide by Paul Gregutt — Still the magnum opus of Washington wine. Check out my review of the book here.

Wines of Walla Walla Valley: A Deep-Rooted History by Catie McIntyre Walker — Written by the original Wild Walla Walla Wine Woman, no one knows the valley, the people or the wines better than her.

Essential Wines and Wineries of the Pacific Northwest: A Guide to the Wine Countries of Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, and Idaho by Cole Danehower — Up until he passed away in 2015, Cole Danehower was one of the best authorities on the wines of the Northwest. Coupled with the beautiful photographs from Andrea Johnson, this book is something to treasure for multiple reasons.

Discovering Washington Wines: An Introduction to One of the Most Exciting Premium Wine Regions by Tom Parker — A bit outdated (2002) but super cheap on Amazon. What I found most fascinating about this quick and easy to read book was the compare and contrast between how the future looked for the Washington wine industry back at the turn of the century versus the whirl wind of success it’s seen over the last 20 years.

WineTrails of Washington by Steve Roberts — Also a tad outdated (2007) but still a quite useful tool to plan your winery tours in Washington. Just keep in mind that we have around 300 more wineries than we did when Roberts first wrote his book. Still my dog-earred and marked up copy gets pulled off the shelf from time to time as I compare the growth in his very well thought out “wine trails” that group wineries by locations. His WineTrails of Walla Walla (2010) is a smidgen more up-to-date.

The Wine Project: Washington State’s Winemaking History by Ronald Irvine and Dr. Walter Clore — A required textbook for my Washington Wine History class when I was at the Northwest Wine Academy because this truly is the textbook dictum of the people and moments that deeply impacted this state’s wine industry.

A Few of My Favorite Washington-related SpitBucket posts

The author with Bob Betz (right) and Louis Skinner (left) at Betz Family Winery

The Legend of W.B. Bridgman
The Mastery of Bob Betz
Exploring The Burn with Borne of Fire

Getting Geeky with Whidbey Island Siegerrebe
Getting Geeky with Bunnell Malbec
Getting Geeky with Gramercy Picpoul
Getting Geeky with Savage Grace Cabernet Francs
Getting Geeky with Soaring Rooster Rose of Counoise

Quilceda Creek Release Party
Event Review — Washington vs The World Seminar
Walla Walla Musings
It’s time to catch on to Passing Time
Making a Bet on Washington Chenin blanc

Loved the interplay of rich dark fruit and savory spice with mouthwatering acidity in this 2015 Hence Syrah from Walla Walla.

Subscribe to Spitbucket

Geeking Out About Grape Variety Clones

Amber LeBeau in Wine grapes, Wine Knowledge

Published on July 27, 2018

As part of the Wine Production Program at South Seattle College our instructor, Peter Bos, arranged for a private tour of the famed Red Willow Vineyard in the Yakima Valley with Mike and Jonathan Sauer back in 2012.

Mike and Jonathan Sauer of Red Willow Vineyard

In Washington State, few vineyards are as legendary and influential as Red Willow. Working with both Dr. Walter Clore and Master of Wine David Lake at Columbia Winery, the Sauers and Red Willow helped pioneer the commercial plantings of numerous grape varieties in the state. This include Viognier, Malbec, Mourvedre, Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Tempranillo and Syrah among others.

On the trip, a question was posed to Mike Sauer about what the future focus should be for the wine industry–not just in Washington, but globally.

Without missing a beat he replied with one word–Clones.

What The Heck Are Clones?

Essentially clones are examples of grape varieties with a slight genetic mutation. These mutation could allow the vine to ripen a tad earlier, bloom a bit later, have tinier berries or thicker skin, absorb nutrients better, etc.

To best understand this, let’s take a step back to look at how grapevines are propagated in the nursery and vineyard.

Rather than plant seeds (which will produce a completely different grape variety), new vines of particular grape varieties like Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, etc are most often propagated via cuttings from an original mother vine. Here a branch with fruiting buds is removed from an active vine and then either planted to develop its own roots or, more commonly, grafted onto phylloxera resistant rootstock and planted. In theory, this new cutting is genetically identical to its mother vine.

But sometimes growers observe differences in the vineyard or the nursery among these seemingly identical vines. The clonal mutations with the most beneficial traits are selected for future propagation and eventual commercial use.

What Does This Mean For Winemakers?

Grapevine cuttings

Clones add another shade of color to the winemaker’s palette. Instead of just having one shade of blue (Syrah), you can plant multiple clones of Syrahs in similar terroir and end up with a multitude of shades. With these colors (Cerulean, Azure, Cobalt, etc), you can paint a deeper picture and potentially make a more complex wine.

They also allow viticulturists and winemakers to narrow in on exactly which clones perform best on different kinds of terrior, essentially following the path of the natural self-selection that we’ve seen in varieties like Sangiovese. Over centuries of time, this grape has adapted and developed its own unique clones. In the galestro clay soils of the Chianti Classico region, we have Sangioveto. In the more limestone and schist based soils mixed with galestro in Brunello di Montalcino produced Sangiovese Grosso. Meanwhile, the Pliocene-era sand and clay based soils of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano brought about Prugnolo Gentile.

Take one of these unique clones, plant them in different soils, and you will end up with different wines. Such is the magic and possibilities of clones.

A Few of My Favorite Resources On Clones

*Pl@ntGrape Project (yes, it is spelled with that silly ‘@’) — a joint project between several French agencies to catalog all the different grape varieties and their clones in France. When you search for a particular grape variety, at the bottom of the page is a listing of popular clones. The site also notes where they originated and their characteristics.

For example, Syrah has over 600 clones studied with 12 approved for commercial propagation. These include clones 100, 174, 300, 470, 471, 524, 525, 747, 877, 1140, 1141 and 1188

Syrah grapes growing in the Hunter Valley of Australia.

Chenin blanc has over 200 clones studied with 8 approved for commercial propagation. These include clones 220, 278, 416, 417, 624, 880, 982 and 1018.

Riesling has nearly 190 clones that have been studied with 8 approved for commercial propagation. These include clones 49, 1089, 1090, 1091, 1092, 1094, 1096 and 1097.

Malbec (Cot) has around 220 clones that have been studied with 16 approved for commercial propagation. These include clones 42, 46, 180, 279, 353, 419, 592, 593, 594, 595, 596, 597, 598, 1061, 1127 and 1128.

*UC Davis Foundation Plant Services page on Pinot noir probably has the most extensive listing (in English) and description of Pinot noir clones I’ve found. This is pretty impressive since Pinot noir is known to have over a 1000 different clones.

*The Science of Grapevines: Anatomy and Physiology by Markus Keller. There is some hardcore geeking here with this viticulture textbook. It not only covers clones but also the science behind how the mutations happened. It also goes into the broad spectrum of grapevine anatomy and physiology. These factors, like disease resistance, nutrient utilization, etc. plays into the decisions of how different clones are selected.

Subscribe to Spitbucket

Cinsault — The Black Prince of South Africa

Amber LeBeau in Event reviews, Wine grapes, Wine Knowledge, Wine reviews, Wine Tasting

Published on May 2, 2018

As promised in my summary post about the 2018 Hospice du Rhône Weekend, I’ll tackle some of my favorite moments from the event beginning with the first seminar on Friday — South Africa’s Cinsault Renaissance.

I’m hard-pressed to narrow down which of the four seminars were my absolute favorite. However, this seminar was, by far, my most eye-opening.

In my Quick Take on Day 1, I commented on how neither Cinsault nor South Africa tends to be on the radar of most U.S. consumers. The trade organization WOSA (Wines of South Africa) reported in 2016 that the U.S. receives only 3% of the wine exported from South Africa. In 2014, when U.S. sales of wine (both domestic and exported) were around 370 million cases, wines from South Africa accounted for less than 0.33% of those sales.

But after attending this seminar moderated by Lauren Buzzeo of Wine Enthusiast and reading about my friend Adrienne’s adventures drinking South African wines in Nambia, it’s clear that South Africa is worth paying attention to. One thing that is not to be missed is the country’s treasure trove of old vine Cinsault.

This Hospice du Rhône seminar featured 9 Cinsault and Cinsault-dominant blends from 7 producers with winemakers Tremayne Smith (The Blacksmith Wines), Andrea Mullineux (Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines), Danie Steytler (Kaapzicht Wine Estate) and Ryan Mostert (Silwervis) on the panel.

I will get into my tasting notes on the individual wines in a moment but first some geeking about Cinsault.

Cinsault: The Mediterranean “Pinot noir”?

Jancis Robinson notes in Wine Grapes that the earliest recorded mention of Cinsault was under the synonym ‘Marroquin’ in 1600 by the French writer Olivier de Serres. The modern spelling ‘Cinsault’ emerged in the 1880s. It was likely a derivative of ‘Sinsâou’ which was used in the Mediterranean Hérault department as early as 1829.

The seminar’s Badenhorst Ramnasgras Cinsault from Swartland was fantastic.

DNA analysis suggests this area is the probable birthplace of Cinsault due to its close genetic relationship to the Piquepoul varieties and the potential parent-offspring relationship with Rivairenc (Aspiran), the ancient Languedoc grape.

Today some of the oldest vines of Cinsault in the Languedoc date back to 1900. Cinsault suffered the same post-WW II image problem here it did in South Africa. However, it’s now benefiting from renewed interest with even acclaimed Burgundian producers like Anne Gros (of the notable Vosne-Romanée family) and her husband Jean-Paul Tollot tending to 50+-year-old vines in Minervois.

Outside of France, the grape is grown in the Puglia region of Italy. Here it is known as Ottavianello and must make up a minimum of 85% of the red blends in the Ostuni DOC. In Morocco, it is the most widely planted grape variety. But this is mainly because Cinsault is also a popular table grape.

Chateau Musar has long championed the grape variety in Lebanon, frequently blending it with Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.

In Washington State, Paul Gregutt describes wines made from Cinsault as like a “good Beaujolais”. He notes in Washington Wines that vineyards in Walla Walla, such as Morrison Lane and Minnick Vineyards, are growing the variety as well as in the Horse Heaven Hills at Alder Ridge.

Cinsault in South Africa

Tim James in Wines of the New South Africa, notes that Cinsault was introduced to South Africa in the 1880s and quickly became a widespread planting. By 1909, it was the most widely planted red grape variety and third most popular grape after Greengrape (Semillon) and Muscat.

Formerly known as “Hermitage” until the mid-1930s, Cinsault would eventually account for as much as a third of all vineyard plantings in South Africa. It was used to make everything from dry reds, sweet fortified wines and even brandy. The rise in popularity of Chenin blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon after World War II would eventually signal the grape’s decline. However, even as its popularity wane Cinsault was still frequently used as a blending grape to add perfume and acidity to some of the country’s top Cabernet Sauvignon.

By 2008, Cinsault accounted for around a tenth of all vineyards in South Africa with notable plantings in Paarl, Breedekloof and the ward of Malmesbury in Swartland.

Roughly translated to “The Black Land,” referring to the renosterbos (“rhino bush”) shrubs that dot the landscape, it is somewhat poetic that old vine vineyards of the Black Prince in Swartland would be the source of some of the most delicious Cinsault at the seminar.

Seminar Wines

Most of these wines are limited releases and hard to find in the United States. But they are well worth the hunt if you can get them.

Color of The Blacksmith Barebones. Note how you can read through the core to see the text underneath.

2017 The Blacksmith Barebones, W.O. Paarl (Wine Searcher Average $24)

Medium intensity nose with black cherry and fresh uncured tobacco.

On the palate, those black cherry notes come through and are quite juicy with medium-plus acidity. Medium tannins and medium body contribute to the “Beaujolais” quality. Very pleasant and enjoyable with a moderate finish.

2017 The Blacksmith Prince of Bones, W.O. Swartland (No W.S. listing. At the seminar, Lauren Buzzeo priced it at $45)

Medium-plus intensity nose with lots of blue floral notes to go with the black cherry and tobacco notes exhibited by the Barebones.

On the palate, those fresh uncured tobacco notes from the nose change to more cured tobacco spice–not that dissimilar from Bordeaux wines. Medium-plus acidity maintains the juiciness of the cherry fruit with medium-plus tannins contributing to the medium-plus body of the wine. Long finish ends on the spicy note and mouthwatering fruit. Outstanding wine and probably my favorite of the tasting.

2017 Sadie Family Pofadder, W.O. Swartland (W.S. Average for 2016 vintage $42)

Medium-minus intensity nose. Light raspberry and some herbal notes. With some air, a slight watermelon note (both flesh and rind) comes out, which is intriguing.

On the palate, the fruit flavors are similarly light. High acidity and chalky medium-plus tannins contribute to a thin and skeletal feel of the wine. The very short finish brings an earthy element that is hard to make out.

2017 Craven Wines Cinsault, W.O. Stellenbosch (W.S. Average $14 but I’m skeptical as Buzzeo listed the price at $55)

Medium intensity nose with red cherry, rose petals and fresh forest earthiness.

On the palate, the earthy element becomes a little more herbal but also brings a savory black pepper spice note. High acidity and medium-plus tannins are balanced a bit better with the fruit than the Sadie Pofadder, so the wine feels more firm and structured rather than thin and skeletal. It seems young but promising.

2016 A.A. Badenhorst Cinsault Ramnasgras, W.O. Swartland (W.S. Average $38)

Medium-plus intensity with black cherry notes and lots of spice and meatiness. A mix of Burgundian and Rhone notes on the nose that had my mouth watering before even taking a sip.

On the palate, the cherry and spice carry through as the mouthwatering continued with medium-plus acidity. High tannins hold up the full-bodied fruit of the wine well and contribute to this wine feeling like a meal in itself. Another favorite.

2016 Kaapzicht Cinsault 1952, W.O. Stellenbosch (NO WS listing though one merchant offering it for $31)

Medium intensity nose with an intriguing mix of cherry pie spices and leather.

The Kaapzicht 1952. Note how much darker this wine is in the core.

On the palate, those cherry pie notes come through with a toasty graham cracker crust character as well. Juicy medium-plus and ripe medium-plus tannins give the wine great structure and mouthfeel. The long finish keeps with the cherry pie note as some cured tobacco spices joined the party. Very delicious.

2015 Kaapzicht Cinsault Skuinberg, W.O. Stellenbosch (NO WS listing though one merchant offering it for $79)

Medium-minus intensity nose. A mix of minty menthol and coffee espresso with some undefined red fruits.

On the palate, the red fruits become more defined as cherry and raspberry, but the menthol and espresso dominant. Like the 1952, the medium-plus acidity and tannins give the wine exceptional balance and structure. I just don’t know if I’m a fan of this flavor profile as much.

2015 Leeu Passant Old Vine Cinsault, W.O. Franschhoek (NO WS listing though one merchant offering it for $103)

Medium-plus intensity nose with black raspberry and blackberry notes. There is also a minty element here, but it smells more like fresh mint leaves rather than menthol.

The black fruits carry through on the palate with the minty notes being more subdued. In their place, some of that Bordeaux-style tobacco spice emerges, which gives the wine a savory element with the medium-plus acidity. Medium-plus tannins balance out the full-bodied weight of the fruit. Long finish lingers on the spice. Really well-made wine.

2015 Silwervis Cinsault, W.O. Swartland (W.S. Average $26 but I’m skeptical as Buzzeo listed the price at $50)

Medium intensity nose with coffee and cherry notes. With some air, a little floral mint and fresh tobacco leaf come out.

On the palate, the coffee notes dominant with fruit present but struggling to emerge. Medium acidity and medium-plus tannins have firm edges to them. Even though this one of the oldest wines at the tastings, it felt really young. Intriguing though.

Takeaways

Cinsault’s diversity is a joy for food pairing but a nightmare for blind tasting.

As I reviewed my notes, I saw some patterns emerging with cherry and tobacco being consistent. But many of those notes overlap with styles familiar to Burgundy, Beaujolais and lighter Bordeaux. A few examples even hit some of those savory, meaty notes of a Rhone. Still, this diversity is exciting because here we have a wine that can be anything from a great picnic & BBQ sipper to something savory and complex that can hold up to robust dishes.

While two of my favorites (The Blacksmith’s Prince of Bones and A.A. Badenhorst’s Ramnagras) were from the Swartland–along with the intriguing but young tasting Silwervis–it was hard to pinpoint terroir characteristics. Considering how much I’ve liked other wines from these producers, it could be more producer style verses region.

But a big takeaway, and one that the moderator and panelists frequently referred to, was the importance of old vines with Cinsault. The grape lends itself easily to overproduction and, with its thin skins, can be prone to producing lean flavors. While that may work for bulk rosé, it’s not ideal for making character-driven wines.

With over 1600 acres of Cinsault vines over 20 years old (and many of the wines featured in this tasting coming from 40+-year-old vineyards), South Africa does have a good bounty of older vines to work with. The really lovely Leeu Passant Old Vine Cinsault from Franschhoek was sourced from South Africa’s 2nd oldest red wine vineyard with vines that are 91+ years old. You can taste the added complexity and concentration from these older vines.

Remarkable stuff that is, again, well worth the hunt to find.

Subscribe to Spitbucket

60 Second Wine Review — 2004 Nicolas Joly Coulée de Serrant

Amber LeBeau in 60 Second Reviews, Wine reviews

Published on April 21, 2018

A few quick thoughts on the 2004 Nicolas Joly Clos de la Coulée de Serrant.

The Geekery

Hugh Johnson describes Nicolas Joly in his Wine Companion as one of the “high priest” of Biodynamics and says he was the first French vigneron to apply Rudolf Steiner’s principles to grape growing.

Located in the Anjou region of the Loire Valley, Savennières is noted for dry 100% Chenin blanc wines that are often distinctly different from the better known Vouvray wines of Touraine.

Along with Château-Grillet and Romanée Conti, the 17 acre vineyard of Coulée de Serrant is one of three estates to have their own AOCs. First planted by Cistercian monks in 1130, the vineyard has nearly 900 years of winemaking history. Owned by the Joly family since 1959, the average age of the vines are 35-80 years.

The wine is harvested late in multiple passes through the vineyard over 3-4 weeks. It is then fermented in neutral wood with native yeasts–allowing the fermentation itself to regulate the temperature. This can often take 2 to 4 months for the wine to get to complete dryness. Around 2,000 cases a year are made.

The Wine

The color looks like an aged Sauternes or an orange wine but the high intensity nose isn’t sweet or oxidized. Instead it is very floral with honeysuckle and apple blossoms as well as some spicy ginger. Underneath there is a little straw hay and subtle orange citrus notes.

Very fresh floral honeysuckle notes characterize this 13+ yr Chenin.

On the palate the wine has incredible weight with an oiliness and some tannin texture to the mouthfeel. Lots of rocky minerality that is amplified by the still fresh and vibrant high acidity. The orange notes come through and bring an apricot note that aren’t quite dried but aren’t fresh as well. Long finish brings back the spicy ginger.

The Verdict

Stunningly beautiful for a 13+ year white wine that probably has the legs to go on for several more years.

At $90-110, there is certainly a premium for this wine but the character and complexity is off the charts.

Subscribe to Spitbucket

Book Review — Washington Wines and Wineries

Amber LeBeau in Book Reviews, Washington wine

Published on March 15, 2018

A few thoughts on Washington Wines and Wineries: The Essential Guide by Paul Gregutt.

Overview

The Washington wine industry is the second largest producer of premium wine in the United States behind California with more than 900 wineries and over 350 vineyards.

Top 100 lists from publications like Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast are frequently dotted by Washington wines including the 2005 Columbia Crest Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon that was named the #1 wine on Wine Spectator’s 2009 list. Numerous Washington wines from Quilceda Creek, Cayuse and Leonetti have earned perfect 100 point scores from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.

In 2014, the 2011 L’Ecole Ferguson won Best Bordeaux Blend in the World at the Decanter World Wine awards.

Yet, while you can easily find literally hundreds of books to learn about California wine, the pickings on the people, places and wines of Washington are much more slim.

Thankfully, Paul Gregutt, a former columnist for The Seattle Times and Wine Enthusiast, has helped fill that gaping hole with the best reference standard to date about the Washington wine industry.

With the first edition released in 2007 and an updated, expanded 2nd edition released in 2010, Gregutt’s work is broken into two parts.

Part one includes a brief history of the Washington wine industry from Walla Walla’s first plantings in the 1860s, W.B. Bridgman’s 1917 plantings of Vitis vinifera on Snipes Mountain, to the rise of Associated Vintners and the birth of the modern Washington wine industry in the 1970s & 1980s. In the first edition, Gregutt also discusses the 1825 plantings at Fort Vancouver.

An example of the varietal pages where Gregutt list some of the best Washington examples of several varieties (like Cabernet Franc)

Gregutt then moves into a chapter exploring the (then) 11 AVAs of Washington. Since 2010, the number has grown to 14 AVAs with Naches Heights (2011), Ancient Lakes (2012) and Lewis-Clark Valley (2016) joining the ranks with The Burn likely to soon follow.

The third chapter goes into the major grape varieties grown in Washington State, profiling the wine regions, flavor characteristics and top producers for many of the nearly 70 different grape varieties grown in Washington. Gregutt hits not only the big varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot but also touches on the history and importance of Riesling in the Washington wine industry as well as some of the more obscure but notable varieties grown such as Chenin blanc, Roussanne, Viognier, Barbera, Counoise, Petite Verdot, Tempranillo and Zinfandel.

The final chapter in Part 1 examines 20 of Washington’s most important vineyards, including many that would be considered the “Grand Crus” of the state such as Boushey Vineyards, Champoux and Ciel du Cheval. In each profile, Gregutt talks not only about the history and terroir of the vineyards but also notes which grape varieties and wineries tend to showcase each vineyard’s unique qualities.

Betz, one of the Five Star Wineries profiled by Gregutt.

In Part 2, Gregutt profiles over 200 different Washington wineries–breaking them into categories like Five Star wineries (such as Betz, Cadence, L’Ecole, Quilceda Creek and Woodward Canyon), Four Star wineries (like Boudreaux Cellars, Gordon Brothers, Hedges and Sheridan Vineyard), Three Star wineries (like àMaurice, Apex, Camaraderie Cellars, Chinook, Gamache, Kiona, Otis Kenyon and Tagaris) and then finally Rising Stars (like Efeste, Hestia, Lost River, Doubleback and Whidbey Island Winery).

Some Things I Learned

In the history chapter, I was particularly fascinated with the era following Prohibition where liquor laws that still severely restricted access to hard alcohol and cocktails discouraged the nascent Washington wine industry from focusing on dry European-style wines in lieu of producing sweet, fortified wines.

The rise of Merlot in the 1990s was also an interesting read, especially hearing that Jed Steele, while consulting winemaking for Northstar Winery, was promoting the Walla Walla winery as “Washington’s answer to Ch. Petrus.” I enjoy Northstar quite a bit but I think we should forgive Steele of the hyperbole.

In the AVA chapter, I developed more of an appreciation for the “workhorse wine regions” of the Wahluke Slope and Horse Heaven Hills that often get overlooked in favor of the “Sexier AVAs” of Red Mountain and Walla Walla. With more than 80,000 acres, the Wahluke Slope is responsible for around 15% of all the wines produced in Washington while the Horse Heaven Hills is responsible for 25%–and was also home to the state’s first 100 point wines from Quilceda Creek’s Champoux Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.

Even at 14 years of age, this 2003 Gorman Pixie Syrah from Red Mountain still had that zesty lemon-lime note Gregutt describes along with some gorgeous bacon fat!

In Chapter 3, Gregutt does an outstanding job explaining the typicity and unique characteristic of grape varieties grown in Washington soils which are invaluable for folks studying how to blind taste. I know now to look for things like the blueberry and light-olive notes of Cabernet Franc, the distinctive “streak of lemon-lime zest” in Washington Syrahs and the mix of Japanese pears and green apple flavors that tend to show up in the state’s Pinot gris wines.

Wines I Want to Try Because of This Book

Throughout Washington Wines, Gregutt name drops many intriguing wines (particularly in the grape variety and wineries chapters). But after reading Gregutt’s book, I think I’m most interested in doing comparative tastings of Washington terroir.

One tasting that particularly intrigues me is investigating the 10 different Wahluke Slope Vineyards manage by the Milbrandt family–including Northridge, Sundance, Clifton Hill, Pheasant, Katherine Leone and Talcott Vineyards. Ideally I’d want to compare with the same variety (like Merlot or Syrah) and find as many vineyard designated examples from the same winery as I can. Looking on Wine Searcher, I see that Bunnell Family Cellar and Charles Smith’s K Vintners have some individual bottlings from these vineyards.

The history geek in me would also love to try a Muscat of Alexandria from the 1917 W.B. Bridgman plantings in what is now Upland Vineyard on Snipes Mountain.

New Reading Recommendations I Got From This Book

Because Gregutt was blazing new trails in this in-depth overview of the Washington wine industry, there wasn’t a lot of other source material that he could point uber-geeks like me to.

From a historical perspective, it’s worth seeking out Leon Adams’ Wines of America which included the first critical acclaim of a Washington wine–a 1966 rosé of Grenache made by Associated Vintners.

One book that Gregutt does cite is The Wine Project: Washington State’s Winemaking History by Ron Irvine and Walter Clore (“The Father of Washington Wine”). This was actually a required text book during my time at the Northwest Wine Academy when I was earning my wine production degree. Prior to the 2007 release of Gregutt’s Washington Wines, this was virtually the only book that seriously looked at the Washington wine industry.

Final Thoughts

In the very first chapter, Gregutt recounts a story from Master of Wine Bob Betz about promoting Washington wine on the East Coast of the United States. One time after a long presentation about the history of the state, the many AVAs and grape varieties grown in Washington, Betz opened the session up for questions from the audience. The first query he got was someone wondering on what side of the Potomac were Washington’s wine grapes grown.

That anecdotal story encapsulate very well the issues that the Washington wine industry has in distinguishing itself–not only on the world’s stage but also at home in the United States where California casts a very long shadow. Throughout Washington Wines and Wineries: The Essential Guide, Paul Gregutt does an outstanding job highlighting the terroirs, wineries and people that make Washington unique.

It is not only a must-read for people who want to learn more about the 2nd largest producer of American wines but also for folks who have already discovered and fallen in love with the bounty of wines that Washington offers.

Subscribe to Spitbucket

Book Review — Washington Wines and Wineries

Amber LeBeau in Book Reviews, Washington wine

Published on March 12, 2018

A few thoughts on Washington Wines and Wineries: The Essential Guide by Paul Gregutt.

Overview

The Washington wine industry is the second largest producer of premium wine in the United States behind California with more than 900 wineries and over 350 vineyards.

In 2014, the 2011 L’Ecole Ferguson won Best Bordeaux Blend in the World at the Decanter World Wine awards.

Yet, while you can easily find literally hundreds of books to learn about California wine, the pickings on the people, places and wines of Washington are much more slim.

With the first edition released in 2007 and an updated, expanded 2nd edition released in 2010, Gregutt’s work is broken into two parts.

An example of the varietal pages where Gregutt list some of the best Washington examples of several varieties (like Cabernet Franc)

Betz, one of the Five Star Wineries profiled by Gregutt.

Some Things I Learned

Even at 14 years of age, this 2003 Gorman Pixie Syrah from Red Mountain still had that zesty lemon-lime note Gregutt describes along with some gorgeous bacon fat!

Wines I Want to Try Because of This Book

The history geek in me would also love to try a Muscat of Alexandria from the 1917 W.B. Bridgman plantings in what is now Upland Vineyard on Snipes Mountain.

New Reading Recommendations I Got From This Book

Because Gregutt was blazing new trails in this in-depth overview of the Washington wine industry, there wasn’t a lot of other source material that he could point uber-geeks like me to.

Final Thoughts

Subscribe to Spitbucket

Wine Geek Notes 3/5/18 — Zinfandel, World of Syrah and Washington Wine

Amber LeBeau in Geek Notes, Washington wine, Wine grapes, Wine reviews

Published on March 5, 2018

Here is what I’m reading today in the world of wine.

Interesting Tweets and Weblinks

The Week in Zinfandel (2/26/18) by Tom Lee (@NWTomLee)

This is a frequent series by Lee on the Zinfandel Chronicles that highlights reviews and articles that discuss Zin. He was gracious enough to include my recent review of the 2014 Two Vintner’s Zinfandel in his recent round-up but I was most excited to explore several of the other links he posted. Below were two of my favorites.

Have We Taken the “Less Is More” Wine Aesthetic Too Far? by Jon Bonné (@jbonne) for Punch (@punch_drink)

With Bonné being one of the big proponents for lighter, lower alcohol wines (pretty much the anti-thesis of “Parkerized”), this was not an essay I expected to read from him. But he does make a lot of great points about the value of diversity as he bemoans the lack of interest in what he terms “Ferdinand wines”–big wines that have beauty even at high alcohol levels–such as California Zinfandel, Amarone, Brunello di Montalcino, Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Priorat.

Heart of Zinfandel: Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley (Paywall) by Stephen Brook (@StephenPBrook) for Decanter (@Decanter)

As I described in my post Zin-ful Thoughts, my opinions of Zinfandel are evolving and I’m eagerly looking for new areas to explore. Brook gives a nice overview of Dry Creek Zins and has me particularly intrigued by the offerings of Joel Peterson’s Once & Future from the Tedeschi Vineyard, Fritz Underground Winery and Passalacqua’s PQZ.

Cayuse manages to be weird in both taste and marketing. Though, IMO, their Cailloux and En Chamberlain Syrahs–with their boring orange labels–are the best.

World of Syrah Kick-off at Celebrate Walla Walla by Bean Fairbanks of Wine Beer Washington (@winebeerWA)

Part 1 of a series from the World of Syrah presentation given by writer Patrick Comiskey (@patcisco) and Master Sommelier/Master of Wine Doug Frost (@winedogboy). Nice overview of the distinction between the regions where Syrah is used as the primary grape versus more of a blending variety but my favorite quote is the one Bean highlights from Comiskey “The Syrah taste needs to be weird NOT the marketing”.

The beauty of Syrah, especially from the Rocks District in Oregon, is the funky weirdness. But gimmicky marketing is just….gimmicky marketing. If the wine can’t stand out on its own without the gimmicks than that should be a red flag.

Taste Washington Wine Month Links

March is Taste Washington Wine Month which at SpitBucket means that I’ll be nose deep in studying more about the history of the vineyards, wineries and people that make the Washington wine industry so exciting.

The women of wine are taking their rightful place (Jan 2015) by David LeClaire (@SeattleUncorked) for Seattle Dining (@SeattleDINING1)

March is also Women’s History Month and I loved this article from LeClaire highlighting kick-ass women who are not only winemakers (like Kay Simon of Chinook and Cheryl Barber-Jones of Chateau Ste. Michelle) but also sommeliers, writers (Braiden Rex-Johnson of Northwest Wining and Dining), chefs, and educators (Joan Davenport of WSU and DavenLore Winery).

Purple Gold: The influence of Husky alums can be tasted throughout the Northwest wine industry (December 2012) by David Volk for the Columns alumni magazine of the University of Washington.

I stumbled across this link while researching for the The Mastery of Bob Betz post. Every Apple Cup, I want to do a tasting of Husky wines vs Coug wines but, while it is easy to find wines made by WSU grads, until I came across this link I didn’t have an easy resource for wines with UW connections.

Washington’s great vineyards: Upland Vineyard (August 2013) by Andy Perdue (@GreatNWWine) for Great Northwest Wine.

Inspired by Peter Blecha’s essay on the history of Associated Vintners that I highlighted in my 3/3/18 Geek Notes, I wanted to research more about the role that William B. Bridgman played in the history of Washington wine.

That research brought me to Perdue’s article on the history of Upland Vineyard that Bridgman first planted in 1917 with Vitis vinifera varieties like Zinfandel and Sauvignon blanc. Today the vineyard is owned by the Newhouse family who continue to farm old blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon, Chenin blanc, Merlot and Riesling that were planted in the 1970s. There is also a block of old vine Black Muscat that the date of planting is not quite known but it is possible that these vines are approaching the century mark.

Subscribe to Spitbucket

Wine Geek Notes 2/28/18 — Interesting Tweets & Burg Vintages

Amber LeBeau in Burgundy, Geek Notes, Wine Knowledge

Published on February 28, 2018

Here’s what I’ve been reading today in the world of wine.

Odds & Ends from Twitter

Some interesting weblinks from Twitter that are worth the read.

Smelling Terroir: A New Study Suggests People Can Smell the Difference Between Wines Solely Based on Terroir (but can we, really?) from the Academic Wino (@TheAcademicWino)
Very cool read about a 2016 study that showed that both experts and non-experts were able to smell the difference between wines grown in two different terroirs. Becca looks a little more in-depth at the study to question if it’s really the terroir differences they are smelling or something else.

new maps & saturday afternoon in the meursault sunshine from Bill Nanson (@billnanson) at the Burgundy Report with the tweet coming across my dash via @RealWineGuru
I’m a bit of a map geek (as evidence by my geek out over this Clos Vougeout map) so I absolutely squealed at the discovery of these incredibly detailed Beaujolais cru maps. Also some lovely pictures of Meursault that had me daydreaming about sipping on a Les Charmes.

So you want to be a wine judge by Master of Wine Sarah Jane Evans (@SJEvansMW) courtesy of @WSETglobal
As noted in yesterday’s Wine Geek Notes, I’ve been doing a lot of research on Wine Competitions and this article from Sarah Jane Evans added another perspective. One of the questions that I’ve been debating in my head is “Who benefits from Wine Competitions–the winery or the consumer?” which Evans answers rather bluntly “Remember that ultimately you are doing the judging for the winemaker and brandowner.”

Plant more Chenin!!!! The author screams into the void.

Wine of the Week: Lang & Reed, 2016 Napa Valley Chenin Blanc from Peg Melnik (@pegmelnik) at The Press Democrat with the tweet coming across my dash via @jncorcoran1
The subheader is what hooked me: “What happened to chenin blanc in California?” I have a soft spot for Chenin and have bemoaned the lack of interest of it in Washington State so I was similarly disheartened to read the staggering stat of how 3000 acres of Chenin blanc in Napa in 1980 has shrank down to just 14 acres today.

Burg’in Around

For my 60 Second Review of the 2013 Domaine Coquard Loison Fleurot Chambolle-Musigny I did some background research on the estate and 2013 vintage that had me stumbling across a few nifty links.

Pearl of Burgundy YouTube Channel
Features well produced short 2-4 minute videos from several Burgundian producers. While the Domaine Coquard Loison Fleurot vid is what initially caught me, I also enjoyed the videos from Domaine Henri Gouges, Domaine Lamarche and Domaine Grivot. By this point I was hitting the subscribe button for the channel.

2013 burgundy – the fairy-tale vintage? from Master of Wine Jancis Robinson (@JancisRobinson)
Always some of my favorite vintage write-ups. Great summary at the bottom of the article about the big issues facing 2013 but I also like how she explores the potential similarities (and differences) between 2013 and 1996 that also segue into comparing 2012 to 1998/1988.

The 2013 Red Burgundies: Fascinating and Challenging (Paywall) by Stephen Tanzer (@StephenTanzer1) on Vinous.
Tanzer takes a slightly more pessimistic outlook on 2013 and goes into more details about the challenges that the Côte de Beaune, in particular, had.

A Vintage Viewpoint…(2013, 2012, 2011…) from Bill Nanson at the Burgundy Report.
A nice little one page summary of the 2013 vintage in comparison to the 2012 and 2011 vintages.