“Wine Rocks” Rocked

On Thursday night, we attended the First Annual Wine Rocks event at the Gibson Guitar Showroom in Seattle. Actually, we didn’t just attend; we were working the doors, taking tickets and checking IDs for six hours as a favor to our good friend Jen Doak down at The Tasting Room, who spearheaded the collaborative project.

I’ve got to hand it to doormen and bouncers. It blows. To be stationed at the door when there’s so much going on inside (and so much wine to be consumed!) is maddening. But, with some clever logistical planning and a bit of gracious understanding from those running the event, we were able to keep sneaking away from our official duties to check out the scene, listen to the music, and enjoy the wine.

The Gibson Guitar Showroom is an amazing space. Unfortunately, it’s not open to the public on a daily basis, because it’s used as a private venue for music-industry players (no pun intended). But, it was the perfect spot for Wine Rocks. Musically inclined winemakers from around the state formed an ad hoc band and performed two sets on gorgeous Gibson guitars that they got to hand-pick for the show. And, the best part, their wines could be tasted all night. Performances and wines included:

• Jamie Brown, Waters Winery (Guitar, Syrah)
• Rob Newsom, Boudreaux Cellars (Guitar, Cab Sauv and Merlot)
• Rusty Figgins, Clos Sainte Rose (Drums, Brandy)
• Doug McCrea, McCrea Cellars (Saxophone, Syrah and Syrocco Blend)
• Bill Herzog, DiStefano Winery (Bass, Syrah)
• Gordy Rawson, Chatter Creek (Bass, Viognet, Grenache)
• Paul Gregutt, Seattle Times Columnist/Author of Washington Wines & Wineries,
The Essential Guide (Guitar)

Some of the wines were excellent, and all were good. My favorites included the Chatter Creek grenache, the DiStefano syrah and the Boudreaux cabernet sauvignon. I wasn’t expecting to see brandy at the event (from across the room, I thought I’d be trying a rosé), but the Clos Sainte Rose brandy was breathtaking–the best I’ve had in years.

You could also try chocolate from Theo Chocolate, artisan cured meats from Salumi, and handmade cheeses from Beecher’s, all of which were mouth-watering. In fact, I had to run out and buy some Beecher’s Flagship today, and I can’t wait to get my hands on some of Salumi’s Mole.

Even considering we spent most of our time at the door, I wouldn’t have missed the event. It would have been well worth the $35 ticket price, plus, all the proceeds went to benefit The Vera Project. It was a great night.

–DH

Wine of the moment

I’m loving the Latitude 46 2003 Vindication. Bright and balanced in just the way I like’em. I’ve decided to test out my new little “taste profiler” application on the Vindi. Below is the image the app spits out after I’ve told it what I think about the wine on my palette. I expect the app to go through a few more changes to make it easier to read and use but hopefully it will be ready for public consumption in a few months. In the mean time I’ll let you figure out how to read it.
-JL

Robert Mondavi 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon

*Bottle #7: Robert Mondavi Winery 2002 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
*Price: $40-60, depending… For Erin = Free!
*Running Tab: $86

Napa Valley… Ever heard of it?

I’ve seen my fling for the week, Robert Mondavi, looking flashing on many restaurants’ charged-up reserve wine lists. He’s racked up a lot of dough and has wine ratings sky-rocketing so he deserves his big head in the Valley of Wine.

So you can imagine how psyched I was when my roommate brought home this gem for me. He took it from his hotel room and accidentally bought the mini-bottle… He doesn’t drink so I reaped the benefits.

B2C Wine, a Great Night on the Cheap

Last week, we went to a “Thirsty Thursday” event at Tulio hosted by B2C Wine. It was a blind tasting of six Washington wines, plus a dessert wine without the secrecy.

A blind tasting can be a bit intimidating if you’re trying to impress your friends or (my god!) a date. But, to enjoy wine and wine culture, you don’t have to impress anybody–it will only get in the way of a great experience. The most important thing is to relax, have fun, and enjoy the juice.  You’ll probably end up learning a thing or two that will heighten your future wine experiences.

Participants were asked to fill out a card as they tasted wine, noting the flavors and guessing the varietals. There were also trivia questions about wine in Washington. I rocked the trivia, but guessing the varietals was an exercise in humility. For example, right off the bat, I mistook a Gewürztraminer for a Riesling (stupid, stupid, stupid!).

The event, though, was really great. The tastes were small, but once the blind-tasting was over, we were encouraged to continue drinking the wines (as if we needed encouragement). There were also fantastic Italian appetizers and desserts, chilled Pelagrino to cleanse your palette, and fresh bread appeared at our table as fast as we could eat it. The B2C staff were gracious and friendly, and the participants were cool, too.

All of this for ten bucks. That’s right, ten dollars for B2C members, and twenty dollars for non-members. But, membership is FREE! We signed up online the day before the event, easy-peasy.

I even won a drawing for a wine tote and my choice of wine to put in it. By force of habit, I reached for the syrah, a 2004 C.R. Sandidge Klingele Vineyard Syrah (Yakima Valley), though that wasn’t the best wine of the night. Strong burnt oak on the attack, but a little flabby on the finish. Full disclosure, though: I walked straight down to see a friend at The Tasting Room, and traded up for a great bottle of 2004 Harlequin Sundance Vineyard Syrah (Columbia Valley).  I even threw in the tote.

I’m looking forward to more events on the B2C calendar. The next one will be “Wine Rocks” at the Gibson Guitar Showroom on March 27, sponsored by Seattle Magazine, Gibson, The Tasting Room and Wine Rocks. It’ll be a wine-tasting and musical event, where a bunch of winemakers uncase their guitars and perform throughout the night. Proceeds will benefit The Vera Project. Should be a great time.

–DH

Stupid awesome wine tricks

Do you ever find yourself sitting around the table, staring blankly at your guests as they do the same? Me too. Next time, blow them all away with this stupid-awesome cork trick.

–JL

The Cork Out Of The Bottle Trick – The most amazing videos are a click away

Home vintner kit?!

What do you get when you add several bottles of 100% varietals, a few wino friends, and a bit of curiosity? Fusebox, is what you get. This brilliant little (15 lbs) kit, which retails for $120 bones before shipping, provides for your group of vintner-wannabes all you’ll need to whip up instant batches of your own Meritage blends to compare and contrast. Tasting wine is indisputably the best way to learn wine; blending your own wine to taste would seem to take the experience to the next level. Kudos to the guys and gals over at fusebox for coming up with, what would seem to be, a great little product.

Needless to say, I’m wholly looking forward to blending my own evening’s worth of wine.

–JL

Hello Washington. Let’s have a drink.

Welcome to Wino Magazine online! While our print publication will be the heart and soul of our efforts, this website/blog will keep the momentum high, the content fresh, and latest info on Washington wine culture at your fingertips.

Stay tuned!

Kennedy Shah 2006 Auntie Meredith’s Picnic Blend

*Bottle #6: Kennedy Shah 2006 Columbia Valley Auntie Meredith’s Picnic Blend
*Price: $20
*Running Tab: $86

Winemaker Tom Campbell sold me on his description of his 2006 Kennedy Shah label, Auntie Meredith’s Picnic Blend. He offered “diversity and quality” with a “unique blend of new world fruit” tied into “old world structure” of the wine. Plus, the little girl in me really like the colorful logo.

Well, Tom, I feel like you kind of threw me a fast one here. I wasn’t quite ready for the battle of old vs. new wine to have a dual in my mouth, throat and ending in my stomach.

Los Zorros Roble 2004

*Bottle #5: Los Zorros Roble 2004 Bodegas Vinas Zamoranas
*Price: $12
*Running Tab: $66

The further I venture into old-world wine, the harder time I have understanding the people selling it to me. Enter Jens Strecker, German-American wine shop co-owner in Seattle, who was forced to repeat himself several times to me when finding a wine to my liking. I went with Option #3 he presented, half to save him the agony of translating and half because I had never tried a tempranillo.

Thank God Jens was there otherwise I would have no idea what the label said. American wines are generally the only wines that are labeled by varietal and I haven’t really read Spanish since 9th grade. I know, I’m a typical American.

A to Z Pinot Gris

*Bottle #4: A to Z 2006 Oregon Pinot Gris
*Price: $13
*Running Tab: $54

I’m not going to lie, I bought this because the name rhymed and I’m a thoroughly amused nine-year-old. A to Z Pinot Gris – how fun is that! Plus, it was a screw-top and I’m lazy and irritable when it comes to breaking off corks with my rusted corkscrew.

Now, the drum roll please… My first review on a white wine! Keep your pants on, I’m pretty excited too. Surprisingly, I really do like white wines – they’re crisp and fresh like Sprite! My new zeal toward white wines comes from knowing they probably have as much sugar as soda but I achieve a much finer buzz from the bottle of fermented grape juice.

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