A New Perspective on the Retrospective of Northwest Wines—Your Back Stage Pass

The Retrospective of Northwest Wines is a competition held annually for the past twenty-three years at Ray’s Boathouse in Seattle, Washington. The scores are in, and are being tallied as we speak—the wines were judged on January 5^th & 6^th from 12-2pm each day. In order for a winery to participate in this blind competition, two wine samples must be submitted per winery, and each winery must be prepared to have two cases available for purchase by Ray’s Boathouse if they win! The cases of the winning wines will be served at the awards dinner. All Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia wineries that produce wines made from the beloved grape were eligible to participate. This is really a great event for the wineries; because it’s free to enter, and it allows their wine an opportunity to stand out amongst a pack of 450+ entries.  Smelling, tasting, swirling and spitting these wines were a team of DEDICATED Sommeliers (yours truly), Wine Writers and local wine experts. Wine Director Richard Kelsey organized the tasting, along with his honed professional wine staff, all of whom showcased an absolute professionalism likely developed from the many years of working this event.

With that in mind, I’d like to share with you an inside look at the event from my perspective as one of the elected wine judges, and more specifically, what I found in the categories I tasted.  I’ll preface by telling you I make no official claims, I can ONLY to tell you which wines ultimately stood out to ME—whose names I learned AFTER turning in my score cards. There were also four judges per category, so my results alone will only contribute to the overall scoring of that particular category.

Tavern Law

The folks behind Spur Gastropub bring you a new craft cocktail experience

By Rocky Yeh

Tavern Law

1406 12th Ave
Seattle, WA 98122-3906
(206) 322-9734
www.tavernlaw.com

Tucked away in a condo building on Capitol Hill, Tavern Law is Seattle’s newest addition to the craft cocktail scene. Brought to you by the team behind Spur Gastropub, chefs/owners Brian McCracken and Dana Tough, along with bar manager David Nelson, further extend their vision of good food paired with exceptional drink.

Walking in the front door, you are immediately struck by the comfortable woods and long curving bar inviting you to relax and absorb the speakeasy vibe. The tall shelves of legal tomes set the scene to reinforce the name and image while wrapping you in its masculine embrace. An extensive menu heavy on concoctions from the golden age of cocktails makes for great reading as you settle in to decide on your libation of choice. Syrups and tinctures are made in-house, and juice is fresh squeezed for each drink.

Top Ten Reasons to Buy Tickets to the Seattle Food & Wine Experience

If you live near the Seattle area, it seems that there is always and forever a new food and wine extravaganza popping up…ain’t it grand?

Well, there’s another one. For the last couple of weeks, you’ve seen the banner on the WINO Magazine website instructing you to save the date for the Seattle Food & Wine Experience, and hopefully you have, because we don’t just throw these things up there. This event looks spectacular.

In case you’re not convinced, the folks over at the Seattle Food & Wine Experience have compiled a list of Top 10 Reasons to buy tix. Read on, and then get your tickets right away. We’ll see you there.

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Top Ten Reasons to Buy Tickets

10. All ticket buyers are immediately entered in a drawing for the chance to win a wine touring package for 10 provided by Butler Transportation.

9. The Maximus/Minimus pig truck will be out of hibernation for the day!

8. Artisan beer garden sponsored by Peroni.

7. Only $49 for Earth & Ocean, Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, Ponti Seafood Grill, Ray’s Boathouse Restaurant, John Sarich – Chateau Ste. Michelle, Salty’s on Alki, TASTE Sam, The Hunt Club, Bradley and Mikel’s Pearl Dining & Bar, Pike Place Brewery, Artisanal Brasserie & The Artisanal Table, Andaluca, Blackfish, Frost Doughnuts, Cedarbrook Lodge, Campagne, Cicchetti Kitchen and Bar and Tulalip Bay!!!

6. Try a three way! It’s between you, Menage a Trois wine and American Lamb prepared three different ways by Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse.

5. Catch your second wind in the Starbucks coffee and music lounge and then go back for more.

4. Support an awesome cause. Proceeds from the ticket sales will benefit Beecher’s Flagship Foundation – a program that teaches youth about pure food nutrition.

3. Get excited that you are going each time you read updates about it on facebook and twitter.

2. Discover another reason to hit the Tulalip Resort Casino. Their fabulous Taste of Tulalip chefs will be featured on our culinary exhibition stage.

1. WINE! Wine from Washington, California, Oregon. Wine from France, Italy and Germany. Wine from Portugal and Spain. Wine from Argentina. Wine from Chile. Wine from South Africa. Wine from Australia and New Zealand. And did we mention WINE?!

‘Fine Vintage’ WSET 6-Day Advanced Course

May 1, 2010
9:30 am	to	5:30 pm
May 2, 2010
9:30 am	to	5:30 pm
May 3, 2010
9:30 am	to	5:30 pm
May 8, 2010
9:30 am	to	5:30 pm
May 9, 2010
9:30 am	to	5:30 pm
May 10, 2010
9:30 am	to	5:30 pm

This advanced wine course goes into detail on all the major wine regions of the world. It’s a challenging course covering aspects of grape growing, winemaking, tasting, and all the major wines and spirits in the world. We strongly recommend taking the Intermediate course prior to the Advanced, although the Intermediate is NOT a pre-requisite.

We have a large number of people from the trade taking this course, including sommeliers, wine buyers, retail staff, and wine writers. But many of the general wine enthusiasts get so hooked from the Intermediate course that they carry on to the Advanced. You will taste over 140 wines in the 15 week course

6 day course – all day from 9:30 am-5:00 pm.

The 6 day course is perfect for those who cannot commit to 15 evenings. The study materials are mailed to you in advance of the course. During this course we taste at least 104 wines. The 6 day intensive course is suited to students who already have a sound knowledge of wines and are prepared for an intensive study period.

During the wine course you will learn about:

• Spain & Portugal
• Eastern Europe
• The Americas
• Australia, New Zealand
• South Africa & South America
• Champagne and other sparkling wines
• Sherry, Port and other fortified wines
• Spirits
• Advanced wine tasting technique
• Viticulture
• Vinification
• Labeling
• Alsace and Bordeaux
• Burgundy and the Loire
• The Rhone, and the south of France
• Germany
• Italy

The exam includes a blind tasting of 1 wine, a 50 question multiple choice paper and paper requiring 4 short answers. The pass mark is 55% in all 3 papers. We have over a 75% pass rate, but expect to study hard!

COST: $1,395.00 (includes instruction, wine and all study materials), $130.00 (Exam & WSET Certificate) – Optional

REGISTER: Fine Vintage

Chateau St. Michelle Winery
14111 NE 145th St.
Woodinville, WA 98072
ph. 604.922.4915 / 1.866.379.4915

Wine Kiosks Planned for Pennsylvania Supermarkets

When I first saw this report, I thought to myself, “Wow, how convenient!”

I mean, just imagine if you could walk up to a machine, stick your ID in there, look into a camera so a remote LCB agent can confirm you’re the person on your ID through video technology, breathe toward a sensor to assure the machine that your blood-alcohol level is below .05%, make your selection, and have the bottle of wine come tumbling down the slot. Right there in grocery store! Shazaam, the convenience of modern technology!

The manager of Grove City County Market,Dave Knopp, is reported to have said, “Anything we can do to make an experience more convenient to our customers, and offer them another choice, we would like to do that for our customers.”

The only thing I can think of that would be more convenient for customers than this would be to stock the shelves of a whole aisle–or section, even!–in the grocery store, and let customers just cherry-pick their selections right from the shelf. That would just be awesome. That and ordering a glass of wine at the McDonald’s drive-thru.

Perhaps someday, just maybe society will progress to that Utopian level somewhere.

Bottleology – Quilceda Creek with Paul Golitzin

A reckoning in Washington wine has occurred and you may have missed it—but it’s not too late.  A number of variables have contributed to great wine production here in Washington, most specifically Quilceda Creek Winery and its uncompromising efforts in their mastering of Cabernet Sauvignon. These wines have the ability to change your life—they changed mine.  Here are a few words from the maker, Paul Golitzin, and my tasting notes from his new release.

Think Locally, Act Globally: A short forty minute drive from Seattle gets you to the front door of Quilceda Creek Winery.  Paul says he’s “trying to make a wine, consistently, that can compete on a global scale and be second to none.” He credits much of Washington State’s wine success to the growing conditions and lack of maritime influence. I’d just like to credit the thirsty Washington wine consumer who day-in and day-out continues to support Washington wines success by drinking them!

S.O.L.: For those of you aspiring to make wine at the level of Paul Golitzen, I have some sad news for you:  If you didn’t start your career path at the age of seven like him (he helped his father in the cellar), it may be too late. Paul credits many past life experiences to his wine advancements, and here are three main contributers: a trip to France at age fifteen began his passion for wine; support and guidance from great mentors–his Great Uncle, Andre Tchelistcheff, his son Dimitri, (who makes wine for Jarvis in CA) and his father; and a “holy grail” moment in the company of a 1989 Haut Brion.

Workshop Offers Energy Management Skills for Wineries

KENNEWICK, Washington – Washington State University, Winewise and the Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers are offering an energy management for wineries workshop at the upcoming annual WAWGG meeting. Understanding how winemaking operations consume energy is vital for controlling costs and reducing carbon footprint.

The overall goal of the workshop is to provide participants with energy-management tools in order to maximize savings and capture climate-positive impacts. Workshop participants will learn methods for evaluating their energy consumption and techniques for energy management. The workshop teaches participants how to set, attain and maintain measurable energy consumption goals.

Engineers from Bonneville Power and the Washington State Department of Ecology, and educators from WSU will discuss energy audits, conservation incentives and energy-management resources in Washington. A representative from USDA will speak about funding available for energy-use assessment.

The workshop also features speakers from wineries in the region. To illustrate some of the challenges and potential outcomes of good energy management practices, a case study will be presented by a local winery that has made management changes based on energy audits. Attendees will also learn about specific changes that can be made to save energy and money and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The workshop is Feb. 2, 12:30 – 4:30 p.m. Registration is $50. Register online at the WAWGG meeting Web site:http://www.wawgg.org/index.php?page_id=38 — click “Register to Attend” on the left side of the page, then select the workshops and events you want to attend.

For more information on the content of this workshop contact Kerry Ringer at 509-786-9324 or kringer@wsu.edu.

Café Metropole Sparkling Wine

On December 31, Anna King over at KUOW News aired a story about Allan Pangborn, a producer of sparkling wine called Café Metropole in Washington State. The number of Washington wineries making the bubbly can practically be counted on your free hand, so I thought it was great to see one get a little attention, especially on New Year’s Eve.

While it was a short, radio-friendly interview, I was surprised that nowhere does she mention the winery Pangborn makes the sparklers for. Not one to take this sitting down (figuratively, of course), I did a quick Google search, and discovered that it is Moonlight Sparkling Wine Cellar in Kennewick, Washington.

According to their website, the Café Metropole sparkling wine is named after a weekly publication in Paris, which Pangborn discovered while touring around France studying the winemaking process and purchasing equipment and supplies. Now, Moonlight Sparkling Wine Cellar is even a sponsor of the Café Metropole club.

In the abbreviated interview aired on KUOW, Pangborn says that after working for larger producers, he really enjoys the autonomy of doing his own thing. He said, “It’s not like having to deal with a larger corporate structure. I can buy the bottles I want, the corks I want, the wire hoods I want. I don’t have to work with budgets, or purchase orders. I can just do what I think is best.” Cheers to that.

Making sparkling wine is a labor-intensive endeavor; you’re only half done at time of bottling (the first time). My hat is off to Allan Pangborn for going where few wineries dare to tread. And, I’ll be looking forward to finding a bottle of his Café Metropole.

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