Fresh Press for June 20, 2011 by Wine Press Northwest

June 20, 2011

FRESHPRESS

Rosé is the perfect summer wine for Pacific Northwest cuisine. (Photo by Andy Perdue, Wine Press Northwest)

Fresh Press is a weekly publication of Wine Press Northwest magazine. In each edition, we review recently released wines from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Idaho. Feel free to forward to your wine-loving friends and family. For more information on our tasting methods and review process, please go to the last page.

FRESHPRESS June 20, 2011

Spotlight: Northwest rosés More and more Pacific Northwest wineries want you to think pink. Rosés have become all the rage in the Northwest the past few years, in no small part because of the success Barnard Griffin winemaker Rob Griffin has had with his Rosé of Sangiovese. The Washington wine has won gold medal at the huge San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition or better for six straight years, and Griffin's 2010 version just won a gold medal at the 30th annual Washington State Wine Competition. And when the Northwest focuses on rosé, we aren't talking about California Kool-Aid — the White Zin that has brought infamy and profit to more than a few Golden State wineries. Rather, many Northwest versions of pink wine tend to be fairly dry and seriously delicious. Even if they carry a bit of residual sweetness, their acidity often carries the weight of the sugar. At Wine Press Northwest, we adore rosés, especially this time of year when the sun is out and we prefer brighter wines that match the weather. Rosés go so well with barbecued foods, especially chicken, grilled veggies, salmon, halibut, shrimp and scallops. We also love them with fresh linguine tossed with fresh vegetables and olive oil. This week, we focus on a few rosés we've tasted recently, most of which are from the 2010 vintage. Best Buy! Excellent. Cinder Wines 2010 Rosé, Snake River Valley, $14. Melanie Krause grew up in Idaho and quickly established connections with many of the region’s top vineyards. That shows in this pink Syrah from Skyline and Williamson vineyards, and she annually crafts one of the state’s best rosés. The nose of black cherry candy, strawberry, Dr Pepper and cream soda could mislead you

into thinking that you are approaching an off-dry rosé. However, the palate is wide-ranging and complex, starting with enjoyable black cherry and dark strawberry flavors that transition into strawberry/rhubarb compote on the midpalate. Raspberry acidity and cherry skin tannins provide for a pleasingly lingering finish. Enjoy this with crabcakes served al fresco. (300 cases, 13.5% alc.) Excellent. Coyote Canyon Winery 2010 Coyote Canyon Vineyard Life is Rosé, Horse Heaven Hills, $18. Mike Andrews uses Barbera to set the table for this deliciously strawberry-themed pink that drinks off-dry at 1.8% residual sugar. In fact, its color is charming, and the strawberry approach with hints of apricot and even strawberry Pez candy. The structure carries a bit of viscosity and is brimming with strawberry/rhubarb pie filling. It is backed by cherries and blood orange acidity. Serve well-chilled with a turkey sandwich. (164 cases, 13.9% alc.) Excellent. Kaella Wine Co. 2010 Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Sangiovese Rosé, Red Mountain, $17. Many of the Northwest’s top rosés are built with this Italian variety, and here's one from a young winery via of the region's top vineyards. It's dressed in a bright pink wardrobe and throws off brilliant hints of strawberry, bubble gum, apricot, citrus, rose petal and cherry skin. The flavors are delicious and delicate with more strawberries, cherries and watermelon, backed by tart aspects of cranberry and orange zest to deal with the residual sugar (1.7%). (50 cases, 13.2% alc.) Excellent. LaStella 2010 Lastellina Rosato, Okanagan Valley, $25 CDN. James Cambridge creates the wines for this brand near British Columbia’s Black Sage Bench, and this expression with Merlot is off-dry and mighty tasty. The focus is on crushed strawberries and ripe

FRESHPRESS June 20, 2011

Wine ratings All wines reviewed here are tasted blind after being submitted by producers. They are rated Outstanding, Excellent and Recommended by a tasting panel. Outstanding: These wines have superior characteristics and should be highly sought after. Excellent: Top-notch wines with particularly high qualities.

Recommended: Delicious, well-made wines with true varietal characteristics. Best Buy: A wine that is $15 or less. Priced are suggested retail and should be used as guidelines. Prices are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted. For more details about our judging system, see the last page of this document.

Spotlight: Rosés watermelon, accented by touches of French vanilla ice cream, fresh-cut celery and an ample amount of raspberry acidity. Enjoy with ham and sweet mayo rolled around an asparagus spear. (460 cases, 12.8% alc.) Recommended. Le Vieux Pin 2010 Vaila Pinot Noir Rosé, Okanagan Valley, $28 CDN. Just a few kilometers north of sister property LaStella, the team harvested this crop Nov. 4 to create a nearly polaropposite approach to pink — and one with better food applications. Aromas hint at pink grapefruit, gooseberry, lime and apricot, along with cedar forest and grassiness. All that mouthwatering fruit returns as flavors, giving the drink a feel of Quench Gum, finished by cranberry, fresh-cut celery and rosemary. Enjoy with stuffed pork loin or shellfish. (340 cases, 13.9% alc.) Best Buy! Recommended. Waving Tree Vineyards & Winery 2009 Sweet Sangiovese Estate Rosé, Columbia Valley, $12. Terrence Atkins kept his fermentation temperature under 60 degrees and stopped it at 4% residual sugar, which helps account for the all the fresh fruit tones and the sweetness. It's brimming with cherries, blueberries and a scrape of chocolate with ample acidity for patio action. (100 cases, 24% alc.)

Best Buy! Recommended. Whidbey Island Winery 2010 Rosato, Yakima Valley, $14. This blend of Sangiovese and Lemberger brings mouthwatering aromas of strawberry fruit leather, watermelon and Juicy Fruit gum, and there is a follow-through on the palate with Rainier cherries, reasonable acidity and some tannin that bodes well for flatbreads. A delightful time to buy and enjoy this wine would be July 30, when the Osenbachs kick off their summer concert series. (200 cases, 13.9% alc.) Best Buy! Excellent. Wind Rose Cellars 2010 Rosato di Barbera, Washington, $14. David Volmut, a graduate of Yakima Valley Community College’s wine program and a former part-time facilitator for Wine Press Northwest, has a delightful little pink to help christen his new winery on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula near Sequim. He reached into Gilbert, Gunkel and Red Haven vineyards for this Italian variety and came out with a serious rosé. There are aromas of black cherries and apricots with hints of crushed filbert, cinnamon and caramel. On the palate, it drills down toward pie cherry flavors, backed by cranberry and pomegranate acidity with distinctive minerality and a remarkable finish of Red Haven peaches. The winemaker suggests serving this at room temperature. (106 cases, 13.2% alc.)

Recommended. Westport Winery 2009 Smoky Nor’Wester White Cabernet Franc, Washington, $25. This traditional blending grape from Bordeaux is the base for many Northwest rosés, and this is more true to the variety that most. It’s loaded with strawberry, rhubarb, white peach, white watermelon, celery leaf and chocolate chip tones. And the structure stands well above the residual sugar of 7.5%. (148 cases, 13% alc.)

FRESHPRESS June 20, 2011

New releases we’ve tasted Red blends Excellent Westport Winery NV Night Watch Red, Washington, $25. Family winemaker Dana Roberts produces perhaps the most eclectic assortment of wines in the Northwest. The base for this is Cabernet Sauvignon, with a good amount of black cherry juice mixed in. Make no mistake, this is an off-dry red (7% residual sugar) and there's a strong, but pleasing, presence of cherry. Yet, there’s some complexity with hints of raspberry, vanilla, pencil shavings, a solid footing of tannin and a chocolaty finish. (443 cases, 11% alc.)

Riesling Recommended. Trillium Creek Winery 2009 Riesling, Columbia Valley, $18. Claude and Claudia Gahard became commercial winemakers in 2006, and they strive for bright acidity in their whites. This is a solid example with notes of apricot jam, peach, Red Delicious apple, pleasing flintiness and a lingering lemony finish. (125 cases, 14% alc.) Best Buy! Recommended. Ste. Chapelle 2009 Winemaker's Series Riesling, Snake River Valley, $8. As Idaho’s largest single bottling of any wine, this accounts for about 20% of Chuck Devlin’s annual production, and it’s a real quaffer. Think of Gala apple, lemon/lime and jasmine both in the aromas and flavors, and serve well-chilled alongside a fruit and cheese plate or in the crowd at one of Ste. Chapelle summer concerts. (33,000 cases, 12% alc.)

Gewürztraminer Best Buy! Recommended. Fujishin Family Cellars 2009 Gewürztraminer, Snake River Valley, $15. Martin Fujishin makes wine for his own winery when he's not working for his friend Greg Koenig. This interpretation of Gewürz off Skyline Vineyard — one of the largest in Idaho — is a serious and dry take. Aromas throw off notes of pear, starfruit, gooseberry, facial powder, laundered cotton and slate. And it drinks a bit like a Sauvignon Blanc, featuring Kiwi fruit, Asian pear, yellow grapefruit and anise. (106 cases, 13.2% alc.) Outstanding! Wild Goose Vineyards 2010 Gewürztraminer, Okanagan Valley, $19 CDN. Year after year, Hagen Kruger produces one of the top Gewürztraminers in North America, and the aromatics from this vintage make it a textbook example with fresh-cut pink grapefruit, lychee, honeysuckle, jasmine and slate, with a pinch of rosemary. If you love Gewurz done dry, you’ll cherish this. There is a continuation of grapefruit as flavors, backed with Key lime, lemon meringue and orange. The texture of rosewater on the midapalate is fascinating, and the hanging acidity

makes it succulent. This will be superb paired with a true German bratwurst.

Viognier Outstanding! Cinder Wines 2010 Dry Viognier, Snake River Valley, $17. Williamson Vineyard produces remarkable Viognier in the hands of Idaho’s top winemakers, and Melanie Krause is in that class. It screams orange Creamcicle in the nose, along with hints of lemon sorbet, dusty apple and canned peaches. The fruit is joined in the mouth by flavors of yellow grapefruit, and the lack of malolactic fermentation keeps the acid level lively and lovely. The WSU grad also bottles an off-dry Viognier, but make no mistake — this ranks among the best in the Northwest. (300 cases, 14.1% alc.)

Chenin Blanc Outstanding! Tagaris Winery 2009 Eliseo Silva Arete Vineyard Dry Chenin Blanc, Columbia Valley, $16. Richland, Wash., winemaker Frank Roth continues to raise the profile of this second-tier label and shows a lot of sophistication with this overlooked and almost forgotten variety in Washington. Lemon yogurt, gooseberry, starfruit and 7UP aromas show fresh-squeezed yellow grapefruit on the bright and clean palate. In the background are Gala apple and Lemonhead flavors. (289 cases, 12.5% alc.)

Pinot Blanc Excellent. Torii Mor Vineyard & Winery 2009 Pinot Blanc, Rogue Valley, $20. Jacques Tardy devotes a fair amount of his energy to Southern Oregon, and this harvest off Griffin Creek on Oct. 20 seems well-timed. There's a pleasing mix of fruit in the aromas, ranging from lemon to pear to passionfruit and banana with hints of honey, fennel and minerality. Finesse is found on the entry to the palate, a sign of the 20% barrel fermentation. Pear and pineapple lead the flavors until lemony acidity and more minerality take over. Tardy suggests pairing it with shellfish. (394 cases, 13.1% alc.)

Roussanne Excellent. Walter Dacon Wines 2009 Roussanne, Yakima Valley, $25. Much of Lloyd Anderson’s focus is on Rhône varieties, so this release off Outlook Vineyard fits in well. It opens with hints of freshly laundered linen, fresh-picked pear, apple, cantaloupe and some slate. Tasty pear and apple butter flavors take on notes of pineapple and Bit O’Honey candy. The residual sugar (1.5%) comes across slightly, but it's balanced with bits of anise and lemon oil in the finish. (56 cases, 14.2% alc.)

FRESHPRESS June 20, 2011

New releases we’ve tasted White blends Best Buy! Recommended. Scatter Creek Winery 2009 Sandstone White, Washington, $13. There's some intrigue to this wine — an even blend of unoaked Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer with a small amount of elder flowers added for aromatics. It makes for a nose of facial powder and vanilla, backed by gooseberry, fig, orange peel and spicy apple. Pear, banana and fig lead the flavors, and the palate takes on the feel of unfiltered apple juice with a finish of lemon. (82 cases, 12.4% alc.)

Fruit wines Outstanding! Westport Winery NV Dawn Patrol, Washington, $25. The Roberts family creates this by blending Riesling with raspberry juice, and it will have you thinking of a PB&J sandwich. The nose is filled his hints of not only raspberry, but also black currant, boysenberry and Mandarin orange as your palate prepares for the brisk drink. That brings a medley of breakfast fruit such as watermelon, peach, orange and lots of raspberry. And the acidity is a perfect match for the sweetness. Buy this and you also help support the Gen. James G. Doolittle VFW Post # 3057. (222 cases, 11% alc.) Recommended. Westport Winery NV Duckleberry Grunt, Washington, $25. Wazzu grad Dana Roberts does remarkable things with Gewürztraminer, including bubbles and this dangerously delicious blend with blueberry and huckleberry juices. The nose is reminiscent of a nice Hawaiian Fruit Punch with some citrusy notes. Blueberry screams into the mouth with some pluminess, a slice of watermelon and raspberry Kool-Aid (the residual sugar is 14%). Some proceeds of this — the winery’s biggest seller — go to Grays Harbor Ducks Unlimited, (449 cases, 10% alc.) Best Buy! Excellent. Heymann Whinery NV Cranberry Wine, Washington, $14. No one in the Pacific Northwest does a better job with cranberries than Bob and Flossie Heymann. The sexy red color provides allure, followed by aromas of dusty cranberries, cherry Pop Tart, cola and cedar. The drink is vibrant with acidity, delicious and true to the fruit, which comes from bogs on the Washington coast. It is ideal with Thanksgiving fare, picnic chicken or a ham sandwich. (150 cases, 12% alc.) Excellent. Hoodsport Winery NV Blueberry Wine, Washington, $17. Canter-Berry Farms in Auburn produces acclaimed blueberry vinegar, but the family has the folks at Hoodsport make and help market its blueberry wine. The drink comes across as a tasty blend of blueberry and Bing cherry with hints of cloves. A sense of SweeTart candy tartness helps to give it a pleasing finish and nice balance with the sugar (1.8%). (188 cases, 11% alc.)

Best Buy! Recommended. Hoodsport Winery NV Pear Wine, Washington, $14. Of the wines commonly made with tree fruit, pear ranks among the most difficult because of the fruit’s low acidity. The folks at Hoodsport pull it off with a drink that carries a nose a bit like Chardonnay with pear and apple aromas, backed by some banana, orange and fresh potato skin. Its sweetness checks in at just 2% residual sugar, and there are flavors of Bartlett pear, Golden Delicious apple skin and cinnamon. (500 cases, 12% alc.) Best Buy! Excellent. Samson Estates Winery 2010 Delilah Blackberry Wine, Puget Sound, $11. It's made with marionberry — a variety of blackberry first developed in Oregon's Marion County — and there's a fair amount of complexity starting with the aromas that are akin to reaching into the brambles to get the fruit. You pick up hints of cinnamon, cedar and earthiness. The drink is deliciously fruity, and the residual sugar of 6.5% is hidden by the mouthwatering acidity as there's a rich finish of blackberry flavors. Suggested parings include red meat or barbecued salmon. (800 cases, 11% alc.) Best Buy! Excellent. Samson Estates Winery 2010 Delilah Blueberry Wine, Puget Sound, $11. This multi-generation Nooksack Valley farm grows the fruit for its vine-less wines, making this one of the Northwest's most reliable sources for raspberry wine. And it's unmistakably raspberry throughout with good acidity to balance the residual sugar (5%). The deeper you get into it, the more it tastes like raspberry preserves. The family suggests a splash of sparkling water for a festive drink. (800 cases, 11% alc.) Excellent. Westport Winery NV Message in a Bottle, Washington, $29. Folks in the tasting room at this Aberdeen, Wash., destination refer to this blend of blackberry wine with vanilla flavoring as "pie in a bottle." Those vanilla influences dominate the aromas, which include hints of chocolate-covered pomegranate. Blackberries take over in the mouth, and the drink, while sweet at 10% residual sugar, is rather complex with midpalate tartness, some tannin, minerality and lingering acidity. Scoop up some French vanilla ice cream and drizzle some of this across the top. (103 cases, 11% alc.)

Dessert wines Best Buy! Excellent. Arch Terrace by Terra Blanca 2009 Cherry Hill Vineyard Late Harvest Riesling, Yakima Valley, $14. Keith Pilgrim has worked with this vineyard for several years, and it shows with this nicely balanced dessert-style Riesling that's not too sweet at 9% residual sugar. Aromas bring to mind pear, nectarine, white peach and lemon with just a bit of petrol. It's tropical on the tongue with lychee and

FRESHPRESS June 20, 2011

New releases we’ve tasted jasmine, finished by long flavors of lemons and peach. (563 cases, 13.5% alc.) Best Buy! Recommended. Bavarian Cellars 2009 Late Harvest Gewürztraminer, Rattlesnake Hills, $15. Yakima Valley winemaker David Padgett bottles this under the label he features in Leavenworth, Wash., and he leaves the residual sugar at 11%, which makes for sweet sensations of cinnamon-influenced pineapple, canned peaches and bit of gooseberry. (110 cases, 10.2% alc.) Best Buy! Excellent. Classic Winemakers 2010 Koh-Koh Merlot, Yakima Valley, $12. Andrew Rose's dessert expression with Merlot includes some creme de cacao, and that becomes a theme throughout, starting with aromas of a Whopper malted milk ball and a slice of cherry cheesecake with Graham cracker crust. The Merlot shows up a bit more on the palate as black cherry and cranberry flavors take hold. (20 cases, 12.5% alc.) Excellent. Madsen Family Cellars 2009 Orange Muscat, Yakima Valley, $18. Dana Madsen turns to Lonesome Spring Vineyard near Benton City, Wash., for this aromatic and off-dry drink with tones of orange juice concentrate, Bit o'Honey, cloves and alyssum. It comes in a 375-milliliter bottle. (210 cases, 12.2% alc.)

Excellent. Maison de Padgett 2009 Funky Monkey Winter Harvest, Rattlesnake Hills, $18. Most wineries in Northwest would create a more button-downed name for a Pinot Noir dessert wine. But David Padgett is in a class of his own, and some of his dessert wines feature labels that suggest being unbuttoned. This is a pure presentation of fruit, hinting at aromas and flavors of a berry jelly roll with raspberry, strawberry and boysenberry. A hint of cranberry tartness helps keep the residual sugar (14%) in line. (210 cases, 12.2% alc.) Recommended. Maison de Padgett 2009 Singing Toad Late Harvest White, Yakima Valley, $18. This annual blend features Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer and Muscat Canelli, and there's a lot to like. The nose brings along tones of baked apples, banana, peaches, vanilla and clover honey. There are more flavors of those baked apples, peaches and jasmine with richness and a lot of sweetness (11%) than includes a piece of orange slice candy. (210 cases, 9.8% alc.)

FRESHPRESS June 20, 2011

Northwest wine regions Multi-state appellations Columbia Valley: This multi-state appellation is 11 million acres in size and takes up a third of Washington. Established in 1984. Columbia Gorge: This multi-state appellation begins around the town of Lyle and heads west to Husum on the Washington side of the Columbia River. It was established in 2004. Walla Walla Valley: Walla Walla Valley: This multi-state appellation is in the southeast corner of Washington and around Milton-Freewater, Ore. Established in 1984. Snake River Valley: This is in southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon. It covers 8,263 square miles and was established in 2007.

Washington Yakima Valley: The Northwest’s oldest appellation (established in 1983) stretches past Wapato in the west to Benton City in the east and includes Red Mountain, Rattlesnake Hills and Snipes Mountain. Red Mountain: Washington’s smallest appellation is a ridge in the eastern Yakima Valley. It is 4,040 acres in size. Established in 2001. Horse Heaven Hills: This large appellation — 570,000 acres — is south of the Yakima Valley and stretches to the Oregon border. It was established in 2005. Wahluke Slope: Approved in early 2006, this huge landform north of the Yakima Valley is an 81,000-acre gravel bar created by the Ice Age Floods. It is one of the warmest regions in the entire Pacific Northwest. Established in 2006. Rattlesnake Hills: This appellation is in the western Yakima Valley north of the towns of Zillah, Granger and Outlook.The appellation is 68,500 acres in size with about 1,300 acres of vineyards. It was established in 2006. Puget Sound: This sprawling appellation is in Western Washington. It stretches from the Olympia area to the Canadian border north of Bellingham. It also sweeps through the San Juan Islands and to Port Angeles. Established in 1995. Snipes Mountain: This is one of Washington’s oldest wine-growing regions. At 4,145 acres in size, it is the state’s second-smallest AVA. Grapes have been grown on Snipes Mountain and at the adjacent Harrison Hill (also part of the AVA) since 1914. This AVA is within the Yakima Valley appellation and was approved in 2009. Lake Chelan: This area in north-central Washington is almost entirely within the Columbia Valley. It is a young area, with the oldest vines dating to 1998. About 250 acres are planted here. It was approved in 2009.

Ribbon Ridge: This is the Northwest’s smallest appellation at 3,350 acres. It is best known for its Pinot Noir and is within the Chehalem Mountains AVA. It was established in 2005. Yamhill-Carlton: This is a horseshoe-shaped appellation that surrounds the towns of Yamhill and Carlton. It was established in 2005. The “District” was dropped in 2011. Chehalem Mountains: This is the largest within the Willamette Valley. This 62,100-acre appellation is northeast of the Dundee Hills. It was established in 2006. Dundee Hills: Many of Oregon’s pioneer wineries are in the Dundee Hills within Oregon’s Yamhill County. The appellation is 6,490 acres in size. It was established in 2005. Eola-Amity Hills: This important region stretches from the town of Amity in the north to the capital city of Salem in the southeast. It is 37,900 acres in size. It was established in 2006. McMinnville: The hills south and west of the Yamhill County city of McMinnville are more than 40,000 acres in size. It was established in 2005. Umpqua Valley: This Southern Oregon appellation surrounds the city of Roseburg north of the Rogue Valley. It can produce Pinot Noir as well as warm-climate grapes. It was established in 1984. Rogue Valley: The Northwest’s southern-most appellation surrounds the cities of Medford and Ashland, just north of the California border. It is known for its warm growing conditions. Established in 2001. Applegate Valley: This small valley within the Rogue Valley is known for a multitude of microclimates that can result in wines of distinction and complexity. Established in 2004. Southern Oregon: This AVA encompasses the Umpqua, Rogue and Applegate valleys and Red Hill Douglas County. It was established in 2005. Red Hill Douglas County: This tiny appellation — just 5,500 acres — is within the Umpqua Valley. Fewer than 200 acres of wine grapes, primarily Pinot Noir, are grown here. Established in 2005.

British Columbia

Okanagan Valley: In the province’s interior, this 100mile valley stretches from the border in Osoyoos to Salmon Arm in the north. Most wineries are near Oliver, Penticton and Kelowna. It was established in 1990. Similkameen Valley: This warm valley is west of the southern Okanagan Valley. It was established in 1990. Vancouver Island: This marine-influenced appellation is in the southwest part of the province. Established in 1990. Fraser Valley: This farming area is in the Lower Mainland, south of Vancouver. Established in 1990. Oregon Gulf Islands: This appellation includes approximately Willamette Valley: Oregon’s largest appellation stretches 100 islands spread out between Vancouver Island and the roughly from Portland to Eugene. Established in 1984. southern mainland. Established in 2005.

FRESHPRESS June 20, 2011

About us Wine Press Northwest is a quarterly consumer magazine that focuses on the wine regions of Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Idaho. Annual subscriptions are $20. Click to subscribe. Editor-in-chief: Andy Perdue editor@winepressnw.com Managing editor: Eric Degerman edegerman@winepressnw.com Advertising inquiries: Parker Hodge phodge@tricityherald.com © 2011

Tasting methods Recent Releases are evaluated under strict conditions to ensure objectivity. Northwest wineries submit wines to Wine Press Northwest for evaluation by Wine Press Northwest’s tasting panel. After wines are received, they are stored for at least two weeks and a third party serves them “blind,” meaning the tasting panelists do not know the producer. In addition, the panelists are served glasses of wine and are not able to view the bottles or their shapes prior to tasting. Wines are stored in temperature-controlled conditions, allowing them to be served at perfect cellar temperatures. Price is not a consideration in these evaluations, nor is a winery’s advertising activity with Wine Press Northwest, as the magazine’s editorial/wine evaluation activities and advertising/ marketing efforts are kept strictly separate. The panel has a combination of technical and consumer palates. If at least three of the four panelists consider a wine technically sound and commercially acceptable, it is included here as “Recommended.” The panel may also vote the wine as “Excellent” or “Outstanding,” our top rating. Wines considered

unacceptable by the panel are rejected and not included. Reviews are grouped by variety or style and listed alphabetically by winery. Prices listed are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise indicated. To ensure we maintain an international perspective, our tasting panelists judge thousands of wines annually at various competitions, including: Los Angeles International Wine and Spirits Competition, Riverside International Wine Competition, Dallas Morning News Wine Competition, Indy International Wine Competition, Virginia Governor’s Cup, Sonoma County Harvest Fair, Grand Harvest Awards, San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, Pacific Rim International Wine Competition, Long Beach Grand Cru, Washington State Wine Competition, Seattle Wine Awards, Northwest Wine Summit, British Columbia Wine Awards, New York Wine and Grape Foundation Competition, Tri-Cities Wine Festival, Capital Food & Wine Fest and Idaho Wine Competition.