WINO 101

Hello Friends and Wine Lovers!

Happy New Year! I hope the Holidays’ conclusions found everyone home safe and happy. I mean, not that everyone left home for the Holidays. Although that would be neat . . . considering that if EVERYone left home for the Holidays, no one would ever get to where they were going since there would be no one there to meet them. Or maybe that only makes sense to me in that weird little world that is my imagination. It’s a lonely place.

So let’s kick off this grand year of 2007 in style with the New and Improved Carpe Vinum Newsletter for 2007 and the Tasting Announcement for the New and Improved Tasting for 2007! How is it “New and Improved”? Well, it’s . . . it’s because I said so. Just like all those products that don’t change, but just say “New and Improved”. At any rate, what are we tasting? Wines of Washington! (W.O.W. for short.)

Well, as a “New and Improved” tasting, I guess that title could still ring true. At least the “New” part. I’ve been a longtime fan of Washington wines, delicious reds and whites that are readily available due to the proximity of the region and also due to the fact that the prices haven’t totally skyrocketed (yet!). There are plenty of wonderful wines coming from anywhere within Washington, and it seems there are always more around the corner waiting to be discovered. So that’s what we’re out to do this week. We’re going to debut 7 new wineries that have never been featured in Carpe Vinum. Many of these I’ve been curious about in the past, there are a couple I’ve visited and, well, one I’ve never heard of before.

So the direction I thought I might like to take with this tasting is to focus on red blends of Washington. Generally I feel that the blended reds tend to make a better wine, considering the winemaker will blend the juice until it tastes good. As opposed to the single-vineyard, single-varietal wines, like the Cabs and Merlots that just end up costing an arm and a leg for being from one locale. This blending also ensures that the cost is down. Tasty and inexpensive. Right where we want to be.

So in looking at the selection down there, you might think “Hey! All those wines are from ONE region of Washington. Columbia Valley! That’s Boring!”

“Ah, but it’s not boring!” I might reply if I could hear you thinking that.

All the wines ARE from the Columbia Valley, but that appellation covers a vast area of Washington. The Columbia Valley stretches from around the Cascades in the West almost to Idaho in the East, and as far North as the border of the Okanogan Valley down South into Oregon. It’s a big area. So until the appellations are carved up into smaller pieces, like the Walla Walla, Horse Heaven Hills, Yakima, and Columbia Gorge appellations, and so on, any wines that come from multiple locations within Washington must be labeled as “Columbia Valley.” Yes, it’s a bit vague. I think someone is working on that.

So the selections this week are all red blends with the exception of the Walla Walla Vintners’ Cabernet Franc. And that’s just because I love the Cabernet Franc, and I wanted to try this one . . . Hey, this tasting is for me too, y’know! Also note that all the wines are from 2004. I thought that might give them a sense of order and a point of comparison. And I’m sometimes a control freak that way. Also, also: Note that names of three of these wines feature numbers: Three Rivers, Seven Hills, and Nine Mile. All those numbers are PRIME numbers! Coincidence? Discuss.

So Friday, January 5th, between 4:30 and 9:00 PM it’s:

Wines of Washington (W.O.W!) !!!
Vin du Lac 2004 Cuvee Rouge (Merlot, Cab. Sauv, Syrah), Columbia Valley
Three Rivers 2004 Rivers Red (Merlot, Cab. Sauv, Malbec, Grenache), Columbia Valley
Seven Hills 2004 Planing Mill Red (Syrah, Merlot, Cab. Franc), Columbia Valley
Syzygy 2004 Red Wine (Cab. Sauv, Syrah, Merlot, Malbec), Columbia Valley
Ash Hollow 2004 Nine Mile (Cab. Sauv, Merlot, Cab. Franc), Columbia Valley

More Wines of Washington (M.W.O.W!) !!!
Cadence Winery 2004 Coda (Cab. Franc, Cab. Sauv), Columbia Valley
Walla Walla Vintners 2004 Cabernet Franc, Columbia Valley

A stellar deal at $10 for the First 5, $6 for the Extra 2 Premium Pours.
Hope to see you here!

Seize the Wine!

Next Friday tasting is Wines of Southwest France!

M