By Henri Schock

Our favorite corkscrew. We all have one, and without it we would be lost looking into an empty glass of nothing (unless you find a screw cap, of course). But once that cork has been pulled, what do you do with the bottle? Well, drink it of course! But, what’s the best way to consume this juice? What is the appropriate vessel to put it into? What do you do with half drunken bottle on that off chance you don’t finish it? And, with all this wine you’ve been drinking, how on earth will you begin to remember what each bottle was like?

As a carpenter with his tools, a wine drinker needs the proper gear to guarantee that every experience is a pleasant one. Forget all that gimmicky shit you’ve seen; this is the real deal—your essential tool kit for the everyday wino.

Waiter's Corkscrew

1. The corkscrew is the king of wine accessories. As it’s difficult to say which one is better than the next, the one I endorse (along with many of my wine geek and foodservice amigos) is the double-hinge corkscrew. With less torque on the cork and ease of use, you can ensure a clean, fully intact cork pull every time.

Wine Glass

2. Once the top is popped, the natural tendency is to reach for a glass. A plastic Santa-face goblet, keg cup from last night’s party, Ball Mason canning jar, or whatever else you might have that’s clean. STOP! Wine drinkers need a decent wine glass in their grip. My suggestion—keep your wine drinking segregated with a red wine and a white wine glass. If that is too much, a universal glass is a great option, too. Whatever you choose, look for a stemmed glass with a slight bulbous shape, thin lip, and light in weight. In wine glass land, the lighter the glass the better.

Aerating Funnel

3. For those of us wino-philes who like to drink wine young (I’m guessing 99% of you) or have that special bottle waiting to be opened in the cellar, there are two essential wine tools you’ll need. For maximum aeration in your younger wines, look to the newest technology to hit the industry—aerating funnels. There is an onslaught of wine aerating tools hitting the market, with the original being the Vinturi. Many of them claim the same results—pour your wine through the magical funnel and witness an aeration miracle. What normally takes two hours in a traditional decanter only takes seconds through these funnels. If Oprah endorses it, how could you not give it a shot?

Decanter

4. The traditional decanter might seem archaic when compared to these new aerating devises, but wine isn’t always about speed and convenience. Slow down, grab your decanter, and bring the romance back into your wine drinking. While decanters will pump life into your young wines, it will also help prevent sediment from forming in your glass. Plus, your wine looks beautiful in there. If your decanter is sitting at home collecting dust, bring it out sometime. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Vacuum Pump

5. It’s a weekday, you open up a bottle, yet you find it difficult to convince yourself that cashing a whole bottle on a Tuesday is the best idea. To preserve your wine to tomorrow, or even Sunday, pump evil oxygen out with a wine vacuum pump. Use it as many times as you need until you find the end of the bottle. It’s sure to preserve the life of your wine for up to a week.

Champagne Stopper

6. 3, 2, 1…Happy New Year! Every other day, you might find it unsettling chugging copious amounts of sparklers. A similar concept to vacuum pumps, but specifically designed for sparkling wine, champagne stoppers will keep the fizz in your bubbly for an enjoyable mimosa both Saturday and Sunday.

Wine Journal

7. After consuming your favorite beverage, it would be a shame if you couldn’t remember exactly what you saw, smelled and tasted. Because we don’t all have photographic memories and can’t remember today the subtle cassis notes from the 2002 Abeja Cabernet Sauvignon we had two weeks ago, grab a journal. They come in an array of sizes and styles, which you can find at any local wine shop. My advice is to find one that is tailored to your specific wine drinking style. If you’re new to tasting and have trouble describing what you’re drinking, they have journals to walk you through these steps. If scrapbooking labels is your thing, they have those, too. For the people that like writing five pages of notes just about the finish, you won’t find anything like that. I’m sure you can pickup a moleskin and create your own makeshift journal. The point is, get writing and start documenting these lovely wines you’ve been drinking. It’s worth your time.

Time to MAN UP

Whether you’re into the vino, or into the booze, you can get your high-society drink on in a big way with wine cocktails. No ordinary hooch, wine cocktails expand far beyond the sangria and mimosas you’re used to on Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings.

Author A.J. Rathbun has devoted one of his many beverage books to the fine art of wine cocktails, and he calls it, appropriately, Wine Cocktails: 50 Stylish Sippers that Show Off Your Reds, Whites, and Rosés. What else would you call a ninety-six page tome full of salavacious libations featuring wine as the main ingredient?

Do-it-yourselfers can bring out both their inner mixologist and oenophile by following fifty recipes for cool wine cocktails at home. From the very simple “Kitty Highball” (claret, ginger ale, ice cubes and lemon garnish) to the more complex “Blue Wave” (apple slices, orange slices, kiwi slices, ice cubes, Hpnotiq, white wine, orange juice, green grapes and ginger ale), all of these recipes are pretty easy and fun to make. Not only that, but you’ll learn a little about the history of many of these drinks, explanations of their names, and helpful hints about ingredient selections and preparation in a fun, entertaining way.

Beverage photographer Melissa Punch (who, rumor has it, doesn’t drink) delivers stunning images of these sweet libations, making it difficult to decide what to try first. Nearly all of these drinks are served cold, and just flipping through the images makes even the most ardent wine-drinker long for just such summer spirits.

Rathbun insists that making and consuming these cocktails is not only fun, but even more fun with friends. He says, “So get on the phone, call up some pals, and start shaking and stirring the wine cocktails. And if the list includes any snooty oenophiles who shake their head at the phrase ‘wine cocktail,’ just do whatever it takes to get them to take that first sip, and watch their frowns turn into happy grins.”

A.J. Rathbun will be demonstrating several of these cocktails at Poco Wine Room on August 20 and autographing the book that you’ll get with the price of admission. You can watch him mix, get information about ingredients, learn helpful preparation tips and sample these clever concoctions in one fell swoop. Check
out pocowineroom.com for details.

SAPOLIL CELLARS
PAPA LOVES MAMBO

Art is just so damn subjective, wouldn’t you agree? There’s really no other way to start a thought when hoping to discuss objectively the merits of an “artist series” wine label such as the one above by Walla Walla’s Sapolil Cellars. While there are some timeless pieces that we all seem to agree are worthy of pure objectively, things like “Starry Night” by Vincent van Gogh and the “Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci, it becomes a little more difficult to come to an overall positive consensus on, say, your nephew’s finger painting mounted on the refrigerator. Adorable as it may be, it sucks.

Artist series labels sometimes scratch the art critic itch in all of us, which would seem to throw all of the otherwise complementary marketing efforts to the wind. “Here is my heavier-than-average-bottle, my glass topper, my Red Mountain fruit, and a label that was done by my dog.” It just doesn’t make sense.

Sapolil’s Papa Loves Mambo artist series does make sense. Commissioned by the winery, Walla Walla artist Jeffry Hill captured the actual band, Papa Loves Mambo, in the very wine bar that bears the wine’s name. Did you get that? The label depicts the band playing in the wine bar that bears the wine’s name, where the actual Papa Loves Mambo band plays, while the PLM wine is poured, which has a label that depicts the band playing… It is so recursively poetic that if you think about it long enough you may find yourself lost in a Mandelbrot Set, catatonic and legitimately ill enough to call into work tomorrow.

Further, we might go as far as to argue that Mr. Hill has honed his craft to the point of “really, really good.” The label sings in jazzy colors and is as inviting as it is inspired.

Have a look at what we thought of the wine in this issue’s Round
Table.

If you’ve ever had a mentor, raise your hand. If you’ve ever had a mentor who sells wine to raise money enough to help put you through the college of your choice, get up, do a dance and thank your lucky stars.

O Wines, the brainchild of Stacy Lill and Kathy Johanson, does just that—a percentage of the proceeds from the sale of their “O Wine” goes to assist low-income, high-potential girls from disadvantaged walks of life in pursuing their dreams of higher education. Fittingly, the “O” stands for “opportunity.” Partnering with the College Success Foundation here in Washington, the O Wines Endowment is combined with other such scholarships and awards, allowing those aided by the CSF to attend nearly any school they choose.

The O Wine projected started with a whopping 5,000 cases, which sold out in about ten months. Ambitious, indeed. “Our third vintage, which is in production right now, will be 10,000 cases,” says Lill. Stylistically, the wine is said to resemble a lighter California Chardonnay, rich and buttery with oak overtones. In line with defining a program that creates accessibility, the O Wines retail for just about $12.00. This price point creates an extremely good value for a product that gives a little back. Everyone wins. (Ed. note: We weren’t able to taste the wine before this writing so look for a profile of this wine at our website: www.winomagazine.com.)

O Wines: Stacy Lill and Kathy Johanson

The O Wines mentoring program comes into play once a month, when Johanson and Lill meet with each of their candidates to discuss the sometimes more nuanced aspects of adolescent life, things like finances and long-term planning. “We help her stay focused. We’re there watching her, helping her, pulling for her,” says Lill.

And isn’t that just what we are all looking for, some good wine and a person to talk to?

Trust Cellars

When we go to pick out our Label of the Month, it typically involves fussing through the isles of a Whole Foods, moving from the elegant-and-blasé of classic Euro-packages to homogenized, animal-driven, rainbow-color-paletted garbage that has been making the Aussie’s millions since the first magnum hopped off the boat. Then, after the mind’s canvas has been put through an aesthetic ringer, we take it over to the Northwest aisle and see what we might.

Like a good wine, packaging design must also be balanced and all the better if it unique. (See comment about Aussie labels above.) Also like wine, a package’s ability to stand the test of time is a true measure of its execution. This month, we are looking at the label from Trust Cellars of Walla Walla, Washington. Recognize the typeface? You do if you like money. Indeed, it is the very typeface on the legal tender of our Great Nation. Upon closer inspection, you see that the blue and white of the label next to a freshly poured glass of Syrah gives you what you might call a “Freedom Drink.” The name “Trust” came about at a family dinner where it was agreed that pulling stake from the twenty-year Brook’s Family tenure in Atlanta, Georgia just to move West and start a winery required a great amount of trust, both in the members of the family and in their own ability to pull it off. The winged wheel signifies the journey they made, both physically and personally.

So, this month we salute you, Trust Cellars, for giving us not only a tasty beverage, but for devising a unique and strong package that makes us feel good about the picking of one bottle among a thousand. Also, we like money. -J.L.

You spend way too much time online, and you know it. You’re pretty sure there’s a clinical condition for what’s become an illness; but you’ll never admit a problem, and neither will your doctor, who’s also online way too much. So, being as you’ll probably check your email after reading this magazine, why don’t you add these wine blogs to your list of on-line to-dos? Welcome to:

The wine blogs you should be reading :

Local Love:

Community.winepressnw.com

Andy Perdue and friends dish up all kinds of Northwest wine industry-related tidbits on a very regular basis. The community forums are active, its participants are engaging, and it’s fun to read.

The Undisputed Champion:

Drvino.com

In 2007, the good doctor, Tyler Colman, was the Web’s undisputed champion of insightful wine perspectives, be they about the archaic Interstate transport laws or the way a wine glass gets its shape. In 2008, Mr. Colman penned a book that goes into how various interest groups shape the kinds of wines we drink, including the Mob. The Dr. is still going strong.

All WA, All The Time:

Wawinereport.blogspot.com

Sean P. Sullivan is carving out for himself (and his readership) a content-rich reference site that focuses on Washington wines only, hence the blog’s name: Washington Wine Report. SPS reviews wines (using a five-tier rating system), offers tips to readers on how to best experience wine culture, and hosts virtual wine tastings where readers are encouraged to buy a predetermined bottle of Washington wine and post their own tasting notes in real-time on the blog, which often results in further discussion of the juice. Most recently, a full feature was posted on Gramercy Cellars where Mr. Sullivan was invited to spend an afternoon barrel tasting with winemaker Greg Harrington, who was recently named Washington’s Best New Winemaker by Seattle Magazine and whose Syrah was given accolades by the Wall Street Journal.

We in Washington are typically very proud that we’ve become the second largest wine-producing state in the country, behind California. And, really, that is something to be proud of. No one would have imagined it thirty or forty years ago, except maybe for Walter Clore himself. We have discovered, though, that ranking the states proves to be a difficult yet interesting task.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the primary source of information for viticultural statistics. Their recent report “Grape Release,” produced by their subsidiary National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), offers statistics about acreage used for grapes in 2008, but only in the cases of Washington and California are statistics split out into grapes used for wine, juice, raisins or for the table. A quick call over to expert Leslie Colburn at NASS confirms that more specific data about wine grape varieties is not collected or reported from the other states in the Union. Because of this, it becomes difficult to compare wine grape growth from state to state. Of course, as far as ranking goes, both Washington and California dedicate more acreage and produce more tonnage of wine grapes than any other state uses for all grapes, so it may be a moot point for now. As expected, when we crunch the numbers ourselves, Washington comes in at #2.

What about wine production? The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) keeps the information about wine production. Monthly reports are made available, however the most recent month available is October of 2008, statistics are not cumulative, and there are no year-end reports generated. So, we set to work collecting their data and doing the math ourselves. Interestingly, for the twelve months ending in October 2008, Washington falls in the rankings behind New York for actual wine being produced, both in bulk production and in bottling. How it is that Washington grows more wine grapes than New York, but manages to make less wine out of it is a mystery that will keep us up at night.

How about wine consumption? We know a lot of winos, and recent reports show that not only are wine sales up nationally, but Washington is also outperforming most of the rest of the country in sales growth. We must really be drinking the vino, mustn’t we? Over at The Free Library, statistics from the 2009 Handbook Advance are available for beverage consumption by state in 2008. After sorting through the statistics, we were surprised to see Washington State slip all the way to #8 in the rankings for total wine consumption. OK, OK, that would make sense, because there are less people living in Washington than in other states, right? So, we painstakingly collected population statistics for every state in 2008 from the US Census Bureau, and did some more calculations. Shockingly, Washington falls even further to #12 in annual wine consumption per capita. The average Washingtonian drinks 1.35 nine-liter cases per year, about half of what the average person drinks in Delaware. In fact, none of the top six wine-growing or wine-making states appear in the top six wine-consuming states on a per capita basis, and this is the only place where California loses pole position.

If you’re the competitive type like we are, you’ve got your work cut out for you. As for us, we’re going to be diligently working toward making Washington wine #1, one bottle at a time.

Frances and husband John opened Click! Design That Fits, a boutique store located in West Seattle, to host her wares as well as plenty of other chic wine-related merch. Some of what they offer includes a nifty set of cheese knives and plates, Swedish wine glasses, ultra-modern wine glass tags, and platinum champagne flutes that are “sold to hold, elegant to behold.”

But, let’s get back to the jewelry. Some of the options offered that differentiate one piece from another are choices between sterling silver, 22k gold vermeil (gold-plated sterling silver), and cork stained in colors Rioja, Midnight and Ocean. Frances’ favorite piece of her cork collection is inspired by her favorite drink—a three olive martini. Picture three sterling pieces that are set with a cork veneer and strung on a silver chain. Sounds good enough to drink.

Click! Design That Fits is located at 2210 California Ave SW in West Seattle. Call toll free at 877.328.9252 or visit them on-line at www.clickdesignthatfits.com.

Beresan 2006 Carménère

Working in the retail wine industry, I have about zero tolerance for another wine label with an animal on it. I will, however, make a notable exception for the Beresan Carménère.

The inclusion of an animal on this label is not a marketing vehicle dreamed up in some conference room brand-building session. The white owl rendered in broad brushstrokes really stands out against the dark letter.

ing and black background. It is not a cartoonish, exaggerated representation of an owl, but a rather impressionistic rendering of this mythically solemn, wise (and yet ominous) creature. This owl seems to be a bit cross-eyed, but to me it just adds to the folksy nature of the painting. I start to wonder, is the artist a friend or relative? Does he or she dabble in painting the owls that occupy the barn at the winery, or patrol the vineyards to eliminate the grape-stealing birds and vine-gnawing incests? Or did the inspiration come from the general fascination aroused by owls in cultures around the world? I especially like that this is the only Beresan label that has this image; something about the uniqueness of a Washington Carménère merits a label distinct from the winery’s other varietals and blends.

It would look great on a candlelit table, along with some braised meat, and someone special.

If you are not familiar with Carménère, it is a long-forgotten grape of Bordeaux that has become Chile’s signature grape. It has earthy, eucalyptus, and slight vegetal notes. The Beresan is a rich and smooth red, and is proof that just about any (red) wine grape can be grown in Washington with impressive results. -Jameson Fink, wine steward, QFC

Ok, ok, so we’ve talked about Riedel’s blind tasting glasses in a previous issue, but it just begs to be brought up again during this season of gift giving. Rather, this glass is so badass that it actually threatens to be mentioned again. Sexy, sleek, and commanding only respect, this unique stemware can take your blind tastings with friends and enemies to the next level: the black as night, cold as Eisch level. Yeah, we went there. You can pick this stemware up online at various outlets.

How to best handle the inlaws

Scenario: You’ve been slaving away all day preparing various classes of meat-things for the incoming in-laws. Everything is going to plan, excepting for the wine. You’ve completely forgotten about chilling the wine. This is a problem because you just know that “Mother” will flip her new hair-do if you don’t hand her a glass of Chardonnay the moment she walks in the door. Hell, you’re gonna need one yourself. Alas, you’ve taken precautionary measures by aquiring for yourself a Cooper Chiller. Six mintues later everything is back on track. Now, where did you put Dad’s Knob Creek?

Game On

The weather’s getting colder, forcing many into the confines of their homes. You can invite your friends over, but in the occasion that the conversation runs dry, what can you do? Flex that skull-muscle of yours, that’s what. There are a few wine games that can be really fun with the right company and the right wine. This isn’t quarters, friends. These games are like Trivial Pursuit for winos. Winerd® tests your mettle by presenting you with questions about wine as you progress along a board. A new game called Washington Wine Trails® takes it a bit further by leading you through local wine country while putting you into common wine situations. By doing things like pairing wines, pronouncing things correctly and knowing tasting room etiquette, you can build prestige, complete a wine cellar, and commit Faux Pas (losing you some prestige). The wino with the most prestige at the end of the game wins. What’s more fun than earning some bragging rights and looking down your nose as you tip up a glass?

Home Vintner Kit

Were you one of those kids who never had a chemistry set? In those old TV shows, it seems like all the kids had one at some point. If you didn’t, it’s OK, because now that you’re a wino, there’s something even better. It’s called Fusebox, a clever product from Crushpad that lets you use graduated cylinders and pipettes in Bill Nye fashion to create your own bitchin’ blends. In one big box, they supply all the gear, plus six smallish bottles of pure varietal wines and a bottle of mystery wine. There are recipes to blend imitations of well-known wines (like the Opus One), mats for flights and tasting notes, and a handy instruction booklet to explain the whole shebang. (Caution: Read the book first so you don’t waste wine like an idiot.) Once you’ve mixed and drank your way through the program, you feel like both a master sommelier and a master winemaker. Retailing for $120, it’s a great way to add a new twist to your wine-centered get-togethers, and you can finally forget about that damned chemistry set.

The EuroCave

So, you have space in your closet or basement or bathroom and you think to yourself, “That space is just so empty and tacky. What ever should I do with it? I’m no interior designer, sirs!” What to do, indeed. And, all the while you wonder this with six or seven bottles of wine and beer in your arms, like usual. We have the perfect idea for you and your negative space: a EuroCave wine cellar. These handy little wine chillers can preserve opened bottles of wine for up to ten days using fancy, patented vacuum technology. With two independent compartments you are able to chill both white and red wines to specified temperatures at the same time. How cool is that?

Keep It Simple, Stupid

What is the simplest way to know that you’re getting your loved ones something they’ve always wanted for the holidays? Make them pick it out themselves. So very “win-win,” the beauty of the gift card is that it actually displaces the time you spend shopping onto the recipient, which they are ever so glad to take, as they’ll get to spend that time spending your money. It’s brilliance, really. So, consider a gift card from your local independent wine merchant or restaurant and let your favorite wino pick up that 2005 Boudreaux Cellars Cab Sauv they’ve been eyeballing.