October 2, 2011 – 10:09 am
The Annual Cabernet Classic takes place October 26 in Seattle, Washington at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center. This annual fundraiser benefits the hungry in Washington State through the Rotary First Harvest organization. With a focus on Cabernet wines, ticket holders will be able to meet artisan winemakers and taste wines. The wine tasting includes wines from close to 40 Washington wineries as well as appetizers. Individual tickets are $50 and can be purchased online.
This benefit will help to provide vegetables and fruits to hot meal programs and food banks around the state of Washington.
This is an opportunity to enjoy tasting and exploring Cabernets and blends while helping those less fortunate. If you can’t attend the event consider donating to the RFH organization. A donation button is on the Rotary First Harvest website.
Cheers! Kathy
October 1, 2011 – 10:57 pm
On our fourth day in the Prosser region we visited three wineries/vineyards about a half-hour south of the downtown area. Our first visit was to McKinley Springs. The winery tasting room is in a separate building than the winemaking facility. Surrounding the tasting room are acres of grapes as far as the eye can see. Kathy and I went on a tour of the vineyard and learned about winegrowers in Horse Heaven Hill who are trying to get their vines back to health after last November’s deep freeze. Fruit production at some of the vineyards can be down 60 to 90 percent.
Our next stop was Champoux Vineyard. Champoux doesn’t make wine. However many of the clients they sell their grapes to do add the name Champoux Vineyard to the wine bottle label.
We visited the winery and vineyard at Alexandria Nicole Cellars and sampled some wines. Their vineyards are close to the Columbia River and we spied many more grapes on the vines than we saw elsewhere in the Horse Heaven Hills. Visitors should check out their tasting room in Prosser near I-82 Exit 82.
After these visits we headed to Portland reflecting on our Prosser experience. There are very good wineries in the other areas of the state that we visited however we feel closer to those in Prosser. The winegrowing and winemaking scene in Prosser has history and it seems to be more family oriented. We experienced a warmer family-like feel than in other wine regions, similar to that felt in Mendocino County, California. We enjoyed our travel to Prosser and hope to return again. As we brainstorm areas of the country to visit for an upcoming book, Prosser has gained a place as a winery/vineyard destination.
Cheers,
Terry
October 1, 2011 – 10:06 am
The recipe below for Merlot Cherries is from Chinook winery in Prosser, Washington. Chinook is a family owned and operated winery by Kay Simon and Clay Mackey. This husband and wife team has been making their own wine since 1983. Kay is the winemaker and Clay is the viticulturist. Chinook wines are available in Washington, Oregon, California, Montana and Northern Idaho.
Cheers! Kathy
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Merlot Cherries
Ingredients
2 c Chinook Merlot
1 c sugar
1 cinnamon stick
Peel of 1 medium lemon
Juice of ½ medium lemon
2 T brandy or cognac
2 lbs red cherries, pitted
Directions
- Combine all ingredients except the cherries in a small saucepan and simmer for 20 minutes. Cool.
- Macerate cherries for ½ hour to 2 hours in the cooled syrup, turning several times.
- Serve with a dab of whipped cream or crème fraiche. Also delicious over vanilla ice cream!
Recipe provided by Chinook Winery, Prosser, Washington |
September 30, 2011 – 9:16 am
We had visits to four wineries on this day but stumbled into an antique shop in downtown Prosser that turned out to be our fifth winery tasting room visit of the day. We began the day at Hogue Cellars, one of the Yakima Valley’s largest producers. Hogue was sold several years ago and eventually was acquired by Constellation. The production facility is a five-minute drive from the tasting room. Hogue is an example of the reason that people interested in wine should travel to tasting rooms. Two of their four tiers of wine are only sold and tasted in the tasting room.
Our next stop was Hinzerling. This was one of the first wineries in the valley. They began by making Riesling but changed their plans as other wineries opened and also made Riesling wines. Hinzerling began to concentrate on a dessert wine portfolio and now has several port-styled wines and sherry-styled wines. Expect a rustic tasting room experience.
Back to Vintner’s village, we visited Thurston Wolfe Winery. The facility has a spacious tasting room, patio and production facility. You will be warmly greeted by a friendly dog that is genuinely happy that you are visiting. Wine travelers will have an opportunity to taste some of the less common varieties offered in Washington.
Back across town, we visited Chinook. Ask about the name and think about your opinion of the wine bottle label. The tasting room is not fancy and has a feel like being in one’s house. Taste wines that reflect the Yakima Valley.
On the way to dinner we went into an antique store and discovered a winery tasting room, Dumb Blonde Wine. We meet Connie who poured wines from the tasting counter amongst many antiques. Connie was responsible for the artwork on the labels and her daughter Carly is the winemaker. It won’t take long to discover the friendliness and that wines with blonds on the label are white, brunettes are reds and a redhead is a rosé. The wine and antique combination is interesting. Take time to visit the downtown area and discover Dumb Blonde Wine.
Cheers,
Terry
September 29, 2011 – 9:33 am
For numerous fall wine events taking place through the end of September and the first weekend of October, check out the Wine Trail Traveler online calendar .
In addition find out about Laurello Vineyards‘ “Wine for the Cure” on Thursdays. Pizza (Tuscan-style) cheese pizza and a salad are only $7. Money raised is donated to Making Strides against Breast Cancer. Laurello Vineyards is located in Geneva, Ohio.
Entertainment at Laurello Vineyards on Friday night will be by Steve Howell and on Saturday look forward to 2 Aces. The pizza special this weekend is made with mild Italian sausage.
Fall is a great time to visit wine tasting rooms located at wineries. Challenge your senses and sniff the area looking for the various scents of crushed grapes and fermentation. Enjoy the soft voices of wine lovers discussing wines. Taste some wines from earlier vintages. If possible do a vertical tasting and compare the wines.
Most of all share your joy.
Cheers! Kathy
September 29, 2011 – 9:15 am
This is our busiest day in Prosser. We are visiting several wineries: Desert Wind, Mercer Estate, Willow Crest, Milbrandt and Gamache Vintners. Desert Wind is a destination site. The winery has a production facility, tasting room and retail area, restaurant and four suites for overnight guests. Desert Wind has a sister winery, Duck Pond Cellars, in Oregon. Try there Ruah blend.
Mercer Estates is located off Interstate 82 in another area of several wineries. From the road one drives around an acre of Pinot Gris to the parking area. The winery and tasting room facility was positioned so people can see the views in every direction. Outdoors, beautifully landscaped areas are next to the winery and vineyards. Pathways encourage you to walk amongst the many rose bushes out into the vineyard. The large tasting room provides a tasting bar and chairs and tables.
Willow Crest Winery is in Prosser’s other wine park, Vintner’s Village. The winery production area has a small tasting room and retail area and a large patio area perfect for warm weather sitting and taking in the area while having a glass of wine.
Milbrandt is an impressive facility. The large Tuscan styled facility has a courtyard where visitors can spend part of their day sipping wine while reading a book. The tasting room is large with a three-section tasting counter. A fireplace at one end of the tasting room is the focal point of a living room with a sofa and chairs. It looks like a living room in someone house giving the tasting room a cozy comfortable feel.
Gamache Vintners is owned and operated by ob and Roger Gamache who are winegrowers in the region. They emphasize that wine is made in the vineyard and hired a winemaker that knew how to make wines where the grape expresses itself. The large tasting room has a curved counter and plenty of room to discover wine related items in the retail area.
A long day of wine tasting came to a close. Prosser is a must visit wine region that should be on the wine travelers radar.
Cheers,
Terry
September 28, 2011 – 8:53 am
We drove from the Mercer family in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA past numerous vineyards on our way to the wineries in the Prosser area. The first stop was Snoqualmie Vineyards and then on to Pontin Del Roza. The afternoon had visits to Airfield Estates and Martinez & Martinez.
Snoqualmie is a large production facility making several hundred thousand cases. Grapes, sourced from the three regional AVA’s are used to make numerous wines. As trucks enter the facility a special machine measures the brix level of the grapes as well as the pH and TA. The winemaker immediately knows if the quality of the grapes based on those measures is up to par. We toured the facility and tried several of the wines. Although Snoqualmie is a large facility, the tasting room is small and has a personal appeal.
Our second stop for the day was at a smaller winery. Pontin Del Roza is owned and operated by the Pontin family where Scott is a third generation winemaker with family roots back to the Piedmont wine region of Italy. No wonder he has Italian varietal grapes growing on the 200 acres of vineyards. The modern interior of the wine tasting room has a pleasant fell including a fireplace with sofa and cushioned chairs.
Next we drove a few minutes to Airfield Estates on Merlot Drive in Vintner’s Village. This village is a community of wineries and tasting rooms and a wine traveler’s delight. Notice the model airplane built from wine barrels near the entrance to the Airfield Estates building. The tasting room is modern with an elegant appearance. There is plenty of room to spread out. Glass walls on one side of the tasting room provide visitors with views of two barrel storage rooms. One immediately gets the sense that wine is made here.
Our last wine stop was Martinez & Martinez located in the Winemakers Loft, a facility that houses several wineries. Martinez & Martinez occupies a small tasting room with the winery behind the tasting room. Visitors can taste wines crafted in small lots. Ask about how the two Martinez families have made a dream come true.
Our first day was a delight. The wineries varied in size as did the tasting rooms and wines. We’re looking forward to a second day of discovering what the Prosser region can offer to wine travelers.
Cheers,
Terry
September 27, 2011 – 12:06 am
On our Monday drive to Prosser we stopped at Hood River to check out some of the tasting rooms in the downtown area. We found on-street parking right next to Naked Winery. Although we arrived in the morning, there were several couples that found the Naked Winery tasting room and tried their wines. Try wines with suggestive titles including the words: missionary, penetration, foreplay and orgasmic. There is also clothing that can be purchased. We fed the meter for the on-street car parking and ambled to Springhouse Cellar.
Of the tasting rooms in the downtown Hood River area, only two have wineries in the same building. Springhouse Winery is one of those. The large space has a L-shaped tasting room. Notice that the wines are on tap, thus saving to total energy footprint by not having to use as many bottles. Springhouse Winery also has a reusable bottle for the local patrons. They can purchase the bottle and have it filled with wine. Afterwards, they can return with the bottle and have it refilled again.
The other downtown Hood River tasting room to have the winery onsite is Stoltz. We drove to Stoltz thinking that we could park closer to the winery and feed the meter less cash. We parked the rental car in front of the winery. Stoltz has taken residence in what once was the mansion on the hill, one of the oldest buildings in Hood River. For decades the building was used as a funeral home. Now it is home to other spirits and some believe that it may be haunted. If so, the spirit doesn’t bother the present owner or winemaker. I wonder what happens to the angel’s share?
After a few hours in Hood River, we headed off to Prosser one hundred miles away. After the double digit rains that we have had on the East Coast during the last four weeks, it was nice to see the high desert. After turning off of Washington Rt 14, we noticed a sign for the Horse Heaven Hills AVA. Surrounding the sign was desert with its brush. It didn’t look as though grapes could grow here. However we stood in New Zealand’s Gimblett Gravels and knew that grapes could handle the high desert. After traveling a few minutes we passed green oases of vineyards surrounded by the light yellow tones of the earth. Tomorrow it’s off to some Prosser tasting rooms.
Cheers,
Terry
September 26, 2011 – 9:21 am
Last evening we walked to a restaurant a few blocks from our son’s house in Portland, Oregon. Navarre is a small and busy restaurant located on North East 28th Avenue between Couch and Burnside. The restaurant has an extensive wine list, mostly French with a few wines from Italy, Spain and the United States. Since there were six of us we decided to order small plates of food. The food is served family style and is passed around the table for all to sample and enjoy. For the wine we went with a red blend from Italy that was lighter bodied. We had several foods that we wanted the wine to pair with.
Our food plates included tuna in a tomato sauce, lamb that was slowly cooked and tender, steak slices paired with lemon slices, a potato casserole, A combination of cooked greens, an arugula salad and olives and mushrooms. At first there is a tendency to keep everything separated on your plate. After a time, however, the foods begin to mix together and soon you have an assortment of tastes. The wonderful thing is that they all blended nicely together.
The wine selected was a 2009 Cabanon Augurio. This was quite a blend including Bonarda, Barbera, Merlot, a Cabernet, Pinot Noir and Syrah. The wine was fruity and slightly sweet. The name “Augurio” means “good omen” and the wine lived up to its name pairing well with the tuna dish and the lamb. It was a bit challenged to pair with the steak, however if you doused the steak with lemon juice and then had the wine the pairing was better. For the wide assortment of foods on the table the wine from Lombardia, Italy matched well where a bolder red would have overpowered some of the dishes.
We had a delightful time at Navarre Restaurant. They work with a csa and the specials on the menu are made with food that is delivered during the week. Both the small and large plates are based on Italian, French and Spanish cuisines.
Cheers,
Terry
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When Lobbyists (wine, liquor or others) Go too Far
A recent article, “Liquor Lobby Gives $45,000 to Massachusetts Treasurer,” authored by Frank Phillips on boston.com notes that the money was from a September fundraiser for Grossman.
According to Phillips, Massachusetts “… state Treasurer Steve Grossman accepted $45,000 at a fund-raiser earlier this month from package store proprietors, bar owners, and liquor distributors, industries his office heavily controls and regulates.”
Lobbyists do play an important role in helping legislation to be formulated to address the concerns of groups and businesses. Legislatures and elected officials should be well informed on these needs and concerns. However, should lobbyists and special interest groups be allowed to donate large amounts of money to elected officials?
Phillips also noted that a Grossman aide maintains his decisions will not be affected by these donations. That sounds great but is that being realistic? It’s not as though everything is right or wrong. Those decisions that fall in the gray area, how will Grossman make those decisions. Be sure to read the article by Phillips for more details.
As far as I am concerned, Grossman would have been better off by not accepting the money raised. Voters should watch to see if his decisions are influenced by large donations.
Time and time again we hear about the money that lobbyists provide for elected officials. In the future will you vote for elected officials who you know have received large amounts of money from special interest groups?
Cheers! Kathy