Wine Press Northwest Fall 2015

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WINE PRESS

VOL. 19, NO. 25

Fall 2015

NORTHWEST FEAT U RES

D E PARTME NTS

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72 Hours in Okanagan Valley Autumn in the Umpqua Valley Fortified Wine Results La Boheme suggest pull tabs, not corks 36 Langley wineries worth ferry ride 46 Match Makers

Las Vegas culinary talents add panache to Little Creek

Wine Knows Mega winemaking as craft

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A Distant Perspective Vintage variation open for debate

10 Swirl, Sniff & Sip Seek out Port-styled wines

42 Northwest Wine Events 54 Grapes of Roth Nothing foolish about SB

COVER STORY 72 HOURS IN NORTH OKANAGAN VALLEY, B.C. On the cover: The Sunset Organic Bistro at Summerhill Pyramid Winery in Kelowna features year round wine paired dining with beautiful views of vineyards, lake and mountains. Photo by Kevin Trowbridge.

On this page: This photo by Brian Sprout was taken at Quails’ Gate Estate Winery in West Kelowna, looking east over Green Bay of Okanagan Lake.

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WINEPRESSNW.COM

Wine Press Northwest is for those with an interest in wine — from the novice to the veteran. We focus on Washington, Oregon and Idaho’s talented winemakers and the wineries, vintners and restaurants that showcase Northwest wines. We are dedicated to all who savor the fruits of their labor.

Editor and Publisher: Gregg McConnell 509-582-1443 gmcconnell@winepressnw.com Contributor: Eric Degerman Contributor: Robert Ehlert Contributor: Jade Helm Contributor: Andy Perdue Contributor: Dan Radil Tasting panel: Richard Larsen, Gregg McConnell, Mike Rader, Ken Robertson, Hank Sauer, Paul Sinclair

Graphic designer: Misty Baker Columnists: Dan Berger, Ken Robertson, Coke Roth, Andy Perdue Contributing photographers: Richard Duval Zacchoreli Frescobaldi-Grimaldi Mark E.Helm In memoriam: Bob Woehler Advertising sales: Carol Perkins, 509-582-1438 E-mail: cperkins@winepressnw.com To subscribe: Subscriptions cost $20 U.S. per year for four issues. Mail check, money order or credit card number and expiration date to address below or subscribe securely on our web site www.winepressnw.com Subscriptions and customer service: 800-538-5619, e-mail: info@winepressnw.com Free weekly newsletter: Sign up for our free Pacific Northwest Wine of the Week e-mail newsletter at winepressnw.com Address: 333 W. Canal Drive Kennewick, WA 99336 © 2015 Wine Press Northwest A Tri-City Herald publication

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the wine knows

BY ANDY PERDUE

Mega winemaking as craft

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few months ago, I wrote an article about David Rosenthal, the new head of white winemaking for Chateau Ste. Michelle. A comment about the story on Facebook got me to thinking a lot about how we as consumers approach wine.

The person commented that it was too bad Rosenthal chose a winemaking path that wasn’t too creative because it was all about making millions of cases of wine — far from any level of artistry, the person wrote.

I try not to get too riled up about comments on websites (if I did, I’d probably accomplish little else in life), but this one struck a nerve.

Why can’t large-scale winemaking be a craft? Why should we cast downward glances at large wineries? Can’t megaproducers make wine worth talking about?

Let’s start with the first question: Why can’t large-scale winemaking be a craft?

In fact, it can. In the case of Chateau Ste. Michelle, the Woodinville winery produces about 1.3 million cases of Riesling — more than any other winery in the world (yes, including Germany). Ste. Michelle's Columbia Valley Riesling weighs in at about 800,000 cases. And since the winery doesn’t have a tank that holds 19 million gallons, the Ste. Michelle team bottles that wine over the course of weeks, even months.

With that in mind, the true artistry of the Columbia Valley Riesling is that the first bottle of wine tastes exactly like the last. Consistency at this level is a craft, a marvel.

Why should we cast downward glances at large wineries?

This is the ultimate in wine snobbery.

We should all applaud the large winery that can craft delicious, approachable wines at a scale that makes them affordable and widely available.

Those expensive bottles we buy and collect — wines that typically cost, say, $30 or more — are not what we tend to pull out of the cellar for Tuesday night 6

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pot roast or Thursday night takeout pizza.

Instead, we should seek a steady supply of less-expensive wines, bottles that run $20 or less. Leave those more exclusive bottles for special occasions.

It’s important to remember that if every bottle is a high-priced, hand-crafted fine wine, then how many people would actually become wine lovers? It’s the Washington Hills Cabs, the Charles Smith Velvet Devil Merlots and the Columbia Crest Grand Estates Chardonnays that draw in the curious and convert the macro-brew crowd.

Few of us cut our teeth on Veuve Clicquot, Leonetti Reserve or Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. My first memorable wine was a Yakima Valley Merlot. I can still remember how it tasted, and as I recall, it was about $8 at Safeway.

Where would Washington’s wine industry be without the likes of Chateau Ste. Michelle, Hogue Cellars, Pacific Rim, Charles Smith and Precept? During the past 80 years, Ste. Michelle has plowed the road for the rest of the industry, providing quality wines, viticultural research, winemaker recruitment and global marketing.

Today, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates still uses two out of every three grapes grown in Washington (and a whole lot grown in Oregon and California, for that matter).

Without these large wineries pushing the industry along, few vineyards would be planted.

(Folks at Ste. Michelle will be the first to say that they also need the artisan producers to raise the status of Washington wine; thus, it’s a symbiotic relationship.)

Earlier this year, we conducted a blind tasting of 22 of the best Rieslings produced in North America. Twenty of them were small-production wines, lovingly crafted by artisan winemakers in such places as New York, Oregon, California, Michigan, Idaho and British Columbia.

The top two wines of the tasting: Chateau Ste. Michelle’s Dry Riesling and Charles Smith's Kung Fu Girl Riesling — both wines made at large scales yet stunningly world class when the bias of size was re-

moved from the judges' minds.

Can’t mega-producers make wine worth talking about?

Absolutely. Any member of the Chateau Ste. Michelle wine club will tell you that.

While David Rosenthal and his boss, head winemaker Bob Bertheau, focus on the large-scale wines, they also get plenty of opportunities to play. The team crafts no fewer than 10 Rieslings, and nearly that many Chardonnays. While some of those wines hit grocery store shelves across all 50 states, others are made in precious little amounts and make it to just a privileged few.

I recently shared a bottle of Chateau Ste. Michelle 2008 Druthers Cabernet Sauvignon. It was a bottling of fewer than 200 cases. It stole the spotlight at the tasting where I presented it, and the only grumbling came from those who realized they'd never, ever find another bottle of it.

Ste. Michelle and other large-scale producers know they need to provide an outlet for their winemakers to craft wines at an artisan level. It keeps them fresh, sharp and happy.

Some think of Charles Smith as a guy with big hair and a mouth to match. Few realize he makes more vineyard-designated wines — from nearly every American Viticultural Area in Washington — than any other winemaker in the state. His wines range in price from $10 to $140. Ste. Michelle is no different. As a company, its least-expensive Washington wine is around $6 — and its most expensive tops $200 per half-bottle.

Every winemaker is an artist, so let us not forget who actually drives the wine industry.

Andy Perdue is the editor and publisher of Great Northwest Wine, an award-winning news and information company. He's also the wine columnist for The Seattle Times.

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a distant perspective

BY DAN BERGER

Vintage variation open for debate

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hose who believe the old saw about every year being a “vintage year” along the Pacific Coast either know nothing about wine or wine makers, or they are wine marketing people whose first name is Pollyanna.

The quality of a vintage, for good, bad, or strange, is a topic that comes up about August or September (in the Northern Hemisphere) every year with people who are amused by such things. And two things are certain when such talk begins in the same calendar year as the vintage: • Predictions will be based on too little information to be valid.

• Predictions will be made far too soon to make any sense whatsoever.

Two more facts: • Most predictions will be so general that they will overlook the more important facts of specificity that relate more to consumers than anything.

• Most predictions will be so general that they will sound good, so they will stay around as buzzwords, even though they have nothing to do with reality.

For about a decade, I was the California author of a respected international wine society’s vintage chart. Others did other regions. I always wrestled with the fraud I was perpetrating by trying to reduce multiple regions and sub regions, multiple grape varieties, and multiple styles of wine into a single number that would have any meaning.

I finally gave up that task three years ago, and the chart is still doing its best to confuse people and offer bad advice.

I could give hundreds of examples about the reasons it’s idiotic to try to reduce the quality of a vintage to an easily understandable number. But primarily it’s because the number of exceptions would exceed the number of correct projections.

We can all figure this out for ourselves: the aberrant frost of a Washington vintage that affects one region devastatingly but not a nearby region; the disrespectful rainfall in the Willamette that harms the Char-

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donnay but has far less impact om the Pinot Noir; the rain in a California area that leaves wine makers talking of a “Vintage from Hell,” but where the Cabernet Sauvignons all turned out to be splendid.

Such was the long-lasting impact of a huge headline in The Wine Spectator after it got that exact quote late one afternoon from an exhausted Sonoma County grower in 1989 after his Chardonnay had been deluged by heavy rains.

It was two months later that the Cabernet Sauvignon, under blue skies and with the benefit of a great Indian Summer, turned out to be superb. Still, to this day, people speak of 1989 in Sonoma County as the “Vintage from Hell,” even in the face of some spectacular red wines.

Sure, there are some general ideas behind vintage charts, and there is no question that vintages leave their overall marks on wines.

In California, for instance, we know that 1994 and 1997 were warmer years without huge heat spikes and that the potential was all there to make great wines.

And no question about it, both years proved to be a boon for lovers of Cabernet Sauvignon. Notably in Napa.

So by comparison (and only by comparison), the wines from 1995 and 1996 were seen as less good. Such a comparison is utterly unfair since all of the wines are different.

The 1996s were easier to like in general, but had plenty of stuffing to age, and 1995 was overlooked at first because the wines showed the greatness of “Bordeaux in California,” reticent early but exceptional as they aged.

So which vintage was better of the four?

Most wine lovers would point to 1997 since it was a very ripe year. I prefer the 1995s, followed by the 1996s (the grace of the wines was superb), with 1997 being the least interesting of the four. (I found some of the wines slightly over-ripe.) But I only reached this conclusion after the 1995s were already out in the marketplace for four years, in about 2003.

Why did I wait so long to make this judgment? Because judgements made too soon are fragile little china dolls and subject to break if mishandled. The 1997s, in 2003, were so opulent and seductive that even I liked them early on. But I believed that they were short-lived.

The 1998s, on the other hand, were roundly disparaged coming from a year in which rain in the spring caused an uneven set. The wines, said some of the numberscoring experts, were lighter and not very powerful.

Here we are 17 years after the vintage and wine makers up and down California point to the 1998s as a reason that no one should ever disparage a wine because its color isn’t “saturated,” in the argot of a famed Maryland wine seer.

I did not come here to bury the vintage chart, however. There are various validities that we can point to that make it clear that we have some verities the chart can address.

Take 2008 in northern Sonoma and southern Mendocino counties. Please.

Heavy forest fires that lasted for weeks raged along the border and created a horrid and lasting impact for the grapes, mainly the red grapes that were harvested with full impact from the smoke. Smoke damage was widespread and many wineries’ Wines were devastated by the smoke taint. Some called the smell “like licking a used ashtray.”

And this year, the fires along ridgelines in Napa and Lake Counties are doing the same thing. Some wineries are reporting the damage due to smoke to be even worse than it was in 2008 since the vintage this year is so early. Everything looks to be a month ahead of schedule.

So sure, vintages do have their consequences for consumers, but every year is different and the results are always open to interpretation.

DAN BERGER is a nationally renowned wine writer who lives in Santa Rosa, Calif. He publishes a weekly column Dan Berger’s Vintage Experiences (VintageExperiences.com).

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swirl, sniff & sip

BY KEN ROBERTSON

Seek out Port-styled wines

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here’s no bad season to seek out tasty Port-styled wines After sweltering through a record-hot summer that sent pickers into the Northwest’s vineyards by mid-August, perhaps it seems premature to begin talking about Port-style wines, which traditionally are sipped in the chilly months when their extra alcohol adds a little warmth to our lives.

Really, there’s never a bad month to buy Port, because the extra alcohol added by fortification preserves it almost forever. You needn’t fret that your pet Port will go over the hill when you aren’t looking and decline into a shabby old age. While your cocky Cabernet may stay youthful for a decade, the seedy elements of middle age may show up too soon. And the crisp allure of a perfect Pinot Grigio can seem to fade almost as fast as a prom date’s corsage.

In contrast, I’ve drunk Port crafted 100 years ago that seemed likely to last for at least another decade. Here’s a brief summation of how Port is made, drawn from The Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia: Ports owe their durability to the infusion of brandy (usually clear grape-distilled spirits that are traditionally 77 percent alcohol) in the late stages of fermentation when the alcohol from fermentation has reached about 6 to 8 percent. Typically, they end up being in the range of 20 percent alcohol. They are sweet because their fermentation stalls when the alcohol kills the yeast, leaving residual sugar. Sweetness and final alcohol level are determined by how long the winemaker lets fermentation continue and the amount of spirits added.

Ports also are usually fermented at temperatures as high as 90 degrees, which is believed to add some of the “chocolaty, high-pH complexity.”

Our young Northwest grape-growing industry and the region’s innovative winemakers have combined to create scores of Port-styled wines from throughout our region. Most follow traditional practices that lead to smooth, lip-smacking nectars

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redolent with dried fruit, spices, chocolate and aromatic herbs layered with a smoky oak.

Traditionally-styled Ports can range from white to bright red ruby to long-aged brick-colored vintage bottlings to carameltoned tawny. In Europe, the oldest may spend their first 50 years in a cask; the youngest may not have seen their third birthday. The oldest Northwest versions I’ve encountered have seldom turned 10 years old by the time they’re being sold.

Many of the Port-styled wines from our region follow Portugal’s lead in the choice of grape varietals used in their making, including some of the “big six” traditionally used to make Port: Touriga Nacional, Tinta Cão, Tinta Roriz (commonly called Tempranillo outside Portugal), Tinta Baroca, Touriga Francesca and Tinta Amarela, plus an occasion dose of Souzão. Don’t be surprised to find another Portuguese variety or two.

The rising popularity of Tempranillo in the Northwest, in addition to enriching our region’s stock of bold red wines, has added momentum to a trend that has prompted more wineries to add a Port-styled wine to their offerings. And once Tempranillo is planted, why not grow a bit of Touriga Nacional and Tinta Cão as well and make a blended Port or perhaps several different varieties?

Wade Wolfe, the veteran winemaker based in Prosser, Wash., is a longtime fan of Port and offers an array of them, including a tawny that spends eight years in oak casks, a vintage-dated bottling and a blend using Cabernet Sauvignon. His Ports are only a small part of a broad range of Thurston Wolfe wines, but, like everything else he makes, they are reasonably priced, superb examples of what our region has to offer.

Making a Port-styled wine from grapes other than the varieties favored in Portugal is a tradition dating back at least two decades in the Northwest. I’ve encountered Port-styled wines made with Syrah, Ca-

bernet, Merlot, Zinfandel, Pinot Noir and even the French hybrids Marechal Foch and Baco Noir.

You can find a wide variety of styles and blends of these wines from every corner of the Northwest, including entrancing combinations with fruit, especially blackberries, or even straight fruit wines made in a Port style with peaches or cherries.

Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia all make outstanding examples, Wine Press Northwest’s tasting panel discovered when we gathered recently to taste the 40-plus wines featured in this issue.

Wine words: Solera Since the focus of our major tasting in this edition is Port-styled wines, it’s only fitting that we should spend a few minutes on one of the techniques developed over the ages to create Port and some of its fellow Mediterranean relatives in the world of wine, including Madeira, Marsala and Sherry. And, of course, it’s also used to make some kinds of vinegar, beer, rum and whiskey.

Basically, a solera is traditionally a stacked system of barrels through which a Port is moved from barrel to barrel, top to bottom, until it reaches the ground-level barrel. At each step, the wine is aged and blended with its predecessors remaining in each barrel below. By the last barrel, the wine has become a blend of an array of vintages, theoretically reaching back to the start of the solera, which can be many decades.

The oldest soleras can claim a pedigree as distinguished and probably as carefully traced as a European royal family. And perhaps as many secrets? Some Port makers in the Northwest have experimented with the technique, which ideally produces a Port with the wondrous elements created by decades of aging and smooths over the vagaries introduced by vintage variation.

Ken Robertson, the retired editor of the Tri-City Herald, has been sipping Northwest wines and writing about them since 1976.

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British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley has come a long way in the past 20 years.

n the late 1980s, the region knew it had to get serious if it planned to compete at all on a global level. So it took the bold move of paying grape growers to pull out their inferior hybrid grapes and planting classic European varieties such as Merlot, Riesling, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc.

The turnaround is nothing short of stunning.

As recently as 15 years ago, the B.C. wine industry was languishing with fewer than 60 wineries. Today, it is thriving with more than 300.

The majority of these wineries reside in the warm Interior, the Okanagan Valley. It starts at the U.S. border near the town of Osoyoos and stretches 100 miles north, following the course of rivers and lakes, all surrounded by beautiful hillsides, rich agricultural history and consistently blue skies.

That a wine industry thrives here is remarkable. This region is on the edge of viticultural viability. It’s a short growing season that features a blast of sunshine that barely lasts longer than 100 days. A cool spring or an early autumn frost can be difficult, even devastating.

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grow grapes and make wine here. The natural acidity that remains when the grapes perfectly ripen is a joy to behold, a perfect pairing for the fresh regional ingredients that go into the superb cuisine found throughout the province.

For the better part of a century, the Okanagan Valley — particularly the communities along the shorelines of Okanagan Lake — has been the sunshine-filled playground to residents of the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island to the west. Thus, the region has long known how to treat visitors. Thus, when the wine industry became established, the infrastructure for tourism already was well established.

The Okanagan Valley is easy to get to. From the Tri-City region, it is a four-hour drive to the border and another two hours north to Kelowna. From Seattle, Kelowna is a five-hour drive or easy onehour flight from Sea-Tac. U.S. travelers to British Columbia will need either a passport or an enhanced driver’s license to enter Canada (and return to the United States).

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OKANAGAN VALLEY // BY ANDY PERDUE

The beauty of the Okanagan captured in this panorama taken by Lionel Trudel at Liquidity Winery and Bistro in Okanagan Falls (top). Photo courtesy of Liquidity Winery and Bistro.

The modern tasting room at Poplar Grove Winery in Penticton, is built to showcase the scenery. Photo by Andrew Topham, courtesy of Poplar Grove Winery.

Wild Goose Vineyards in Okanagan Falls, opened a bistro in 2014 that features Southern cuisine with a German flair. Photo by Andy Perdue, courtesy of Wild Goose

Vineyards.

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BORDER TO OKANAGAN FALLS This region of the Okanagan Valley is the warmest and most fertile.

Its annual heat equals that of California’s Napa Valley, though in a much more compact time period. The majority of the Okanagan Valley’s vineyards are in this stretch, with some of the most important residing on an area known as the Black Sage Bench just southeast of the town of Oliver.

While many of the wineries can be found along Highway 97, many others are just moments from the main highways. Some of the best are along Black Sage Road.

WINERIES TO VISIT

Just minutes north of Osoyoos on Hwy 97, The Miradoro at Tinhorn Creek, one of the area’s finest restaurants, and Tinhorn Creek winery offer spectacular views of the valley. Salmon, charcuterie, scallops are among the Miradoro’s tapas menu items. Photo by Christopher Pouget,

courtesy of The Miradoro at Tinhorn Creek.

If you plan to bring wine back to Washington, it isn’t a huge deal.

If you spend at least 48 hours in British Columbia, you may bring back 1.5 liters (two bottles) of wine duty-free. After that, the cost per liter is a mere 23 cents — regardless of the retail price, even if it’s expensive ice wine. That comes out to $2.07 per case. Conversely, Canadians bringing Washington wines back north pay a much heavier price: 150 percent of the price paid.

With so many wineries and restaurants to delve into, a three-day visit to the Okanagan Valley will serve merely as an appetizer for future exploration. For this brief guide, we have broken the region into three areas: from the U.S. border to Okanagan Falls (a 40-minute drive); the Penticton and Naramata Bench area (20 minutes north of Okanagan Falls); and from Summerland to Salmon Arm (a three-hour drive) with a focus on Kelowna, a city with a population of about 110,000 residents.

While we cannot do complete justice to the entire 100-mile length of the Okanagan Valley, we hope this serves as a starting point for your own visits to the stunning region of the Pacific Northwest.

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Many wineries are well worth visiting. Start with Nk’Mip Cellars near the border town of Osoyoos. It is the first aboriginal-owned winery in North America.

Heading north along Highway 97 are such wineries as Tinhorn Creek Vineyards and Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery, the latter of which is the “king of the Platinums,” as winemaker Walter Gehringer has won 47 Platinum medals — more than any other Northwest winery — in Wine Press Northwest’s annual best-of-the-best competition.

Across the valley from Gehringer and Tinhorn is Burrowing Owl Estate Winery, one of the most intriguing properties in the Pacific Northwest, thanks to a combination of vineyards, tasting room, restaurant and luxury lodging along the Black Sage Bench.

Heading north again on Highway 97, take a right onto the Corkscrew Trail just south of Okanagan Falls and visit such wineries as Wild Goose Vineyards, a past Wine Press Northwest Pacific Northwest Winery of the Year.

To the north side of Okanagan Falls on the east side of Skaha Lake features Blasted Church Vineyards, a fun-loving winery perched above the lake in a beautiful setting, and Pentâge Winery — a former Wine Press Northwest B.C. Winery of the Year that now offers tours of its remarkable 5,000-square-foot granite cellar.

FOOD One of the best features in the Okanagan Valley is the prevalence of wineries with on-site restaurants. For more than a decade, the Okanagan has led the Pacific Northwest in this category, and it has helped to push forward the development of high-quality regional cuisine. In Osoyoos, enjoy a great meal at Dulce Social House.

Heading north toward Oliver, at Tinhorn Creek, Miradoro is one of the finest restaurant experiences in the valley. At neighboring Hester Creek Winery, Terrafina is a highly rated dining experience. Across the river at Burrowing Owl, delicious meals can be found at Sonora Room.

And in Okanagan Falls, Liquidity winery’s bistro and Wild Goose’s Smoke & Oak Bistro are excellent choices for great meals.

LODGING Choices in the southern end of the valley include several beautiful properties. Wine travelers will find exactly what they need at Burrowing Owl south of Oliver, which offers 10 spacious rooms. Osoyoos, WINEPRESSNW.COM

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FEATURE

Gray Monk Estate Winery, north of Pentictin offers fine wines, tours and outstanding views of the upper reaches of Lake Okanagan. (above) Photo by Brian Sprout, courtesy of

Gray Monk Estate Winery.

Built with sacred geometry and aligned to true north, Summerhill Pyramid Winery, southeast of Kelowna, ages their wines in this 1/8 scale replica of the Great Pyramid of Egypt. (right) Photo by Kevin Trowbridge, courtesy of Summerhill Pyramid Winery.

just across the border from Oroville, Wash., features the Watermark Beach Resort and the Walnut Beach Resort.

The wine-loving golfer can find nirvana at Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort and Spa with its challenging nine at Sonora Dunes and Nk’Mip Cellars just a pitching wedge away.

PENTICTON AND NARAMATA BENCH Heading north to Penticton, wine tourists will find plenty to enjoy, from ample wineries in and near the city to plenty of restaurants and places to stay. Penticton is north of Skaha Lake and wraps around the southern end of Okanagan Lake.

On the east side of the lake is the Naramata Bench, one of the most fascinating wine regions in the Pacific Northwest. Naramata Road does not go through to any major roads that will get the traveler to the regions to the north. Thus, ultimately you will need to get back onto Highway 97 to drive up the west side of the lake to head north.

Penticton is home to more than 33,000 residents, a decent-sized city.

Both lake shores (north and south of the city) provide recreation. In particular, the north end of the city along Okanagan Lake has many lodging options, from luxury to budget.

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Sunset over Desperation Hill vineyard at LaFrenz Winery, near Kelowna. Photo by Lionel Trudell, courtesy of LaFrenz Winery.

WINERIES For the most part, the focus of wine touring in Penticton is the stunning Naramata Bench, on the east side of Okanagan Lake. It is simple enough to spend an entire day on the bench, as there are now more than twodozen producers.

Poplar Grove is not far from downtown Penticton and is nearly as famous for its cheese production as it is for its wines. The beautiful tasting room overlooks Penticton and Okanagan Lake.

Farther up the bench, don’t miss such wineries as Kettle Valley, La Frenz, JoieFarm and Township 7. Each crafts some of the finest wines in the Pacific Northwest — all focusing on different styles. Kettle Valley’s Crest Cab (when available) is one of the most remarkable red wines you’re likely to try. JoieFarm produces stunning whites that are styled with the express purpose of pairing perfectly with the Northwest-Asian cuisine of the Lower Mainland. And La Frenz owner 16

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Jeff Martin makes some of the most stunning wines — from Pinot Noir to tawny dessert wines — in the province.

Near the community of Naramata is Bella Sparkling Wines, where Jay Drysdale — trained chef, sommelier, retailer, wine judge and now winemaker — is turning heads with his remarkable bubblies.

FOOD Once again, wineries lead the way in this region, with Poplar Grove’s Vanilla Pod restaurant, Lake Breeze’s Patio Restaurant and Hillside Estate’s Bistro all offering excellent choices for cuisine. JoieFarm recently added Joie Picnique, which features wood-fired oven that produces some of the best artisan pizzas in the valley. The Grape Leaf Café near the Naramata Heritage Inn also comes highly recommended.

Back in Penticton, some of the best food options include Brodo Kitchen, Hooded Merganser and Salty’s Beach House.

Looking for a great breakfast and coffee choices? The Bench Artisan Food Market on the road to Naramata is the perfect stop.

LODGING As we mentioned, there are ample choices for places to stay in Penticton.

The top hotel is the Lakeside Resort, which includes a convention center and casino. It faces Okanagan Lake and provides spectacular views. Be sure to request a lakeside room.

In Naramata, the Heritage Inn & Spa is a beautiful old property first built in 1908 that has a colorful history. On site, the spa provides many ways to relax, and the Rock Oven Restaurant & Lounge provides delicious cuisine.

Several B&B choices are available in and around Penticton. One of the most unusual and exotic is God’s Mountain Estate, which is just south of town overlooking Skaha Lake. It is home to one of the finest Riesling WINEPRESSNW.COM

okanagan valley

FEATURE

With its spectacular lake views, historic old vineyard and new state-of-the-art LEED Certified winery, visiting Tantalus, southeast of Kelowna, is a one of a kind experience. Photo by Lionel Trudell, courtesy of Tantalus.

Tantalus vineyard manager Warwick Shaw harvests Pinot Noir. Photo by Jane Hatch, courtesy of

Tantalus.

vineyards on the West Coast (the grapes go to Wild Goose Vineyards). The 115-acre property feels like something straight out of the southern Mediterranean.

SUMMERLAND TO VERNON Getting back on Highway 97, head up the west side of Okanagan Lake through such communities as Summerland, Peachland and West Kelowna before crossing the lake into Kelowna, the largest city in the valley.

Though it feels pretty far north, Kelowna actually is in the center of Okanagan Lake.

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Located northeast of Pencticton, Lake Breeze’ nine acres of vineyards run from the front of the tasting room, Patio Restaurant and production facility to the cliffs overlooking Okanagan Lake. Photo courtesy of Lake Breeze Vineyards.

Highway 97 continues up the east side of the lake to such communities as Okanagan Centre and Vernon. One can even keep going to Salmon Arm, another 45 miles north and home to more wineries, before reaching Kamloops.

WINERIES Perhaps 15 minutes north of Penticton is Summerland, a sizable community with several wineries and restaurants.

Among the most prominent is Sumac Ridge, which is one of the province’s oldest and most-respected wineries (it’s also owned by Constellation Brands, one of the world’s largest wine producers). Stop by 8th Generation Vineyard in Summerland for superb bubbly and one of the best Rieslings anywhere. And visit Di Bello Wines, owned 18

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by former Washington winemaker Tom Di Bello, who spent a decade at CedarCreek in Kelowna.

On the approach to Kelowna, a stop at Mission Hill Family Estate is a visit to one of the most architecturally remarkable wineries anywhere (including Napa Valley). Owned

by Anthony von Mandl, Mission Hill also is crafting some of the finest wines in the province. And von Mandl recently acquired CedarCreek.

Nearby is Quails’ Gate Estate Winery, owned by the Stewart family and long one of the most credible producers in the Okanagan.

On the Kelowna side of the lake, a mustvisit winery is Summerhill Pyramid Winery.

Owned by former New Yorker Steve Cipes, Summerhill features a smaller version of the Cheops Pyramid in Egypt, where wine is

pyramid-aged. Also in Kelowna, one of the most remarkable wine producers on the West Coast is Tantalus Vineyards, which crafts stunning Rieslings.

Farther north in Okanagan Centre, 50th Parallel also produces remarkable white wines, including Riesling. And Gray Monk Estate Winery crafts a delicious array of wines and provides remarkable views of the northern reaches of Okanagan Lake.

Traveling to Salmon Arm will land you at two of the northernmost wineries in the continent. Both Recline Ridge and Larch Hills produce estate wines that are nothing short of delicious.

FOOD There is no shortage of restaurants in this stretch of your travels.

Beginning in Summerland, Local Lounge•Grill is owned and operated by Christa-Lee McWatters Bond and her husWINEPRESSNW.COM

okanagan valley

FEATURE

The Old Vines Restaurant at Quails’ Gate, in West Kelowna, pairs foods made with locally-sourced ingredients with estate wines. (above) Photo courtesy of Quails’ Gate.

Watermark Beach Resort in Osoyoos offers a variety of accommodation options from hotel rooms and suites to beachfront townhouses. (right) Photo courtesy of Watermark Beach Resort.

band, Cameron Bond. Also in Summerland, check out Zia’s Stonehouse.

In Kelowna, Pilgrim & Pearl, Salted Brick, Krafty Kitchen, Minstrel Café and Waterfront Restaurant and Wine Bar are all superb choices.

Ricardo’s Mediterranean Kitchen in Winfield (north of the Kelowna airport on Highway 97) comes highly rated.

And in Vernon, Bamboo Beach Fusion Grille provides delicious Asian cuisine and is considered a can’t-miss restaurant.

Many of the wineries also offer remarkable dining experiences, including CedarCreek, Gray Monk, Mission Hill, Summerhill and Quails’ Gate.

LODGING There is no shortage of lodging choices in and around Kelowna, particularly along WINEPRESSN W .C O M

the lake. Three of the best are the Grand Okanagan, the Manteo Resort and the Coast Capri.

Those looking for B&B experiences won’t go wrong with Touch of English Bed & Breakfast in Kelowna or the Destination Spa B&B in Vernon.

As mentioned earlier, this is by no means a comprehensive view of the Okanagan — that would require an entire book or two — but rather enough of a taste to provide the impetus to head to British Columbia’s Interior for a long weekend, then begin planning another adventure.

* ANDY PERDUE is editor and publisher of Great

Northwest Wine, a news and information company.

He’s also the wine columnist for The Seattle Times. He began traveling to the Okanagan Valley in 1999 and continues to be amazed with each return visit.

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FEATURE

roseberg , oregon

The gardens alone are "grounds for a visit" to Reustle Prayer Rock Vineyards

Mark E Helm Contributing Photographer

Autumn in the Umpqua Valley

BY JADE HELM

T

here is one huge thing missing from the wine tasting experience in Roseburg, Oregon - traffic jams. What’s not missing? Nearby hiking, fishing, history, wildlife, cuisine and a variety of wines so broad no wine lover could be bored. This is the land of Pinot plus. Not only did Oregon get its Pinot Noir beginnings in the Umpqua Valley but two other well known varietals have historical roots here. With 28 wineries to visit, here’s just a glimpse.

just so darn excited to make wine in the Umpqua Valley he can hardly stand it. If he had a tail, it would be wagging. He spent the evening of the Crab Feed giving out hugs, telling stories, and making the rounds.

His enthusiasm is infectious. When a glass inevitably broke the sound was followed with a seemingly practiced group cheer of “Opa” - apparently a staple of a good Melrose party. Sample fun wines including unusual varieties such as Pinotage and Baco Noir. MelroseVineyards.com

THE PARTY WINERY

THE RETREAT

Melrose Vineyards is party central and Cody Parker, winemaker, seems to be the source. We think he got it from his dad Wayne. We caught up with Parker at the much anticipated, sold out, annual Crab Feed. Imagine if a yellow lab were magically turned into a man - a winemaking man that throws parties. Parker is kind of furry, has big paws, excitement in his blue eyes and is

Don’t go to Reustle Prayer Rock Vineyards expecting to taste wine. Go expecting to experience wine. This is a place to take a little break. From the blue “door to Narnia” to the “outhouse” that appears plucked from Dr. Seuss’ Whoville, everything is designed to transport guests to a peaceful and happy place. Wander garden paths bordered by blooming roses, lavender, and grape vines.

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Then venture inside to find a whole other world awaits underground. Tastings take place in catacombs designed by Tom Pappas, a local resident who also designed the Indiana Jones ride for Disney. The most elegant room in the cave, and there is a high bar for elegance, is adorned with a vaulted ceiling and crystal chandelier. Look up as you pass this room and you will see a reproduction of “The Creation” painted on the ceiling.

A wine educator sits down with guests for a guided tasting paired with small bite appetizers. The Grenache paired with pecorino drizzled in honey and black pepper was genius. Be sure to sample the Gruner Veltliner.

Owner/Winemaker Stephen Reustle explains, “I became the first to produce this varietal stateside with our 2005 vintage.”

ReustleVineyards.com

THE NEW “KIDD” ON THE BLOCK Cooper Ridge Vineyard is Umpqua Valley’s newest tasting room - just opened Mother’s W I N E P R E S S N W. C O M

roseberg , oregon FEATURE Day 2015. The first thing you’ll notice inside is the outside. A multi-level deck offers views beginning with vines and ending with mountains and Oregon sky.

The tasting room is open until 7 pm making it easy to squeeze in one more tasting. A bites and nibbles menu could serve as appetizers before dining in town. Recently joining owners Lesa and Robin Ray is Winemaker/Vineyard Manager Charlie Kidd. Kidd was formally trained at California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo, has been designing vineyards since he was 21 and has worked 15 vintages in California, North Carolina, Texas and Oregon. Tasting through the line-up, he pauses to share his vision. “With our new winemaking facility we will have complete control of our wines, which will make them even more complex, rich and wonderful.” CooperRidgeVineyard.com

THE LIFETIME ACHIEVERS A trip to Umpqua Valley isn’t complete without a stop by Abacela. It feels like a privilege to visit this beautiful property, the realized dream of visionaries Earl and Hilda Jones. When they first showed Earl Jones’ ordinarily circumspect father the raw property he responded, “Have you lost your mind?” Today the winery is globally recognized and earlier this year the couple were honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Oregon Wine Symposium. Earl Jones is a man of science and guests can take a self guided tour stopping to read educational signs about this unique property. You might even see Jones go by in his Jeep - his office on wheels. Hilda Jones is a lady of hospitality who calls everyone “honey.” Walk in tastings are welcome and if time allows schedule a private tour and tasting of five wines. Order the cheese pairings to complete the experience. The shortest tasting program Terroirs in Brief showcases three wines grown in different climates and terroirs on the estate, Albarino, Tempranillo, and Port. Oregon’s first commercial varietal bottles of Tempranillo were from Abacela. Abacela.com

THE TRADING FLOOR Winemaker/Options trader Patrick Spangler approaches Spangler Winery like he approaches his “day job.” He has done his research, calculated the risks, and he knows his next move. If a grower has fruit that Spangler wants, he goes after it “I don’t take shortcuts,” Spangler explains. This determination results in some mighty fine wine. There are too many awards to list and most of them involve a medal Midas would have admired. He offers a surprisingly outspoken unoaked Chardonnay with a pinch of Viognier and a long line-up of Bordeaux and Rhone style reds with refreshingly prominent varietal characteristics.

A special treat is the rare opportunity to taste the black-fleshed Alicante Bouschet.

Visitors will also enjoy the gnarly old vine Cabernet Sauvignon planted right outside the tasting room between 1968-1971.

SpanglerVineyards.com

Reustle Prayer Rock Vineyards' fanciful Whooville "outhouse" Mark E Helm Contributing Photographer

EATING, SLEEPING, DOING Wine tasting requires sustenance. Start the day off like a champ at Brix. If you are lucky their pear, bacon, and blue cheese omelet may be on the specials menu. Looking for a hot spot

Earl Jones’ “office on wheels” has 50,000 miles on it and 13 years of vineyard work and trips to the hardware store.

Mark E Helm Contributing Photographer

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FEATURE

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Enjoy wine on the lawn at Abacela

Mark E Helm Contributing Phototgrapher

for dinner? Salud Restaurant and Brewery serves up Latin inspired tapas and entrees plus live entertainment - Tapas and Tunes on Thursdays and Salud Night Life on Saturdays. Roseburg has ample hotel options and wine country lodging is in the works. The Wildlife Inn offers inexpensive rooms convenient to Southern Umpqua wineries like Abacela and Spangler and is across the street from the Wildlife Animal Safari. For other “wild” adventures plan a hike this autumn in the Umpqua National Forest. Visit waterfalls, see fall foliage, and of course taste some wine.

FA L L EVE N TS : VisitRoseburg.com Sept. 10, 17 Music in the Vines at Melrose Sept. 10 Wine Walk Downtown Roseburg Sept. 12 Vineyard Tour Bike Ride Sept. 12-13 Umpqua Wine Your Way Self Guided Tour Sept. 26 Grape Stomp and Harvest Festival at Melrose Oct. 24 Special Release Reustle Prayer Rock Nov. 27-28 Thanksgiving Open House Various Wineries 22

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Pat Spangler - There's a winemaker happy with his wine.

Mark E Helm Contributing Phototgrapher

W I N E P R E S S N W. C O M

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Ocean Crest Resort Get away and truly relax... where the forest meets the sea!

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Ocean View Resort, Indoor Pool & Fine Dining.

Award winning 250+ label NW wine list!

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360-276-4465

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F O RT I F I E D DES S ERT WIN ES Northwest winemakers craft fortified dessert wines with best of them

BY ANDY PERDUE

A

s we enter autumn and begin thinking about cooler evenings and even cold, snowy winter nights, our thoughts naturally begin drifting toward warm thoughts of sipping fortified dessert wines.

Fortified wines are crafted by adding brandy or similar spirits to a wine during the fermentation process. The brandy kills the yeast and stops fermentation, resulting in a sweet, high-alcohol dessert wine.

This style of wine was created and perfected in Portugal, where some of the world’s finest dessert wines are crafted.

Similar wines are made in Madeira, an 26

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island off the coast of Africa that once was a Portuguese colony.

In the New World, we don’t necessarily call our fortified wines by the name “Port,” though many wineries still do. For about the last decade, the federal government has not approved new wine labels using the word “Port.” Those wineries that used the name prior to that have been allowed to continue that use, though they are gently encouraged to change the names.

As you’ll see from the list of wines we recently blind-tasted, many Northwest wineries continue to use the name “Port,” while others have found more fanciful

names.

Our tasting of Pacific Northwest fortified dessert wines drew 39 examples. As one might expect, some of the best came from wineries that have specialized in this style of wine. In particular, two Yakima Valley winemakers — Wade Wolfe of Thurston Wolfe and David Padgett of Maison de Padgett and Horizon’s Edge — showed what their years of experience and experimentation can produce.

Fortified wines are easy to love, but our judges looked for the elements they always seek in wines regardless of style: balance and flavor. In the case of this judging, our W I N E P R E S S N W. C O M

fortified TASTING RESULTS

WINE RATINGS All rated wines are tasted blind then placed in the following categories: 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.

Prices are suggested retail.

panel of experts found a lot to like. And that is good for all of us.

Remember that most fortified dessert wines are made in small quantities. In fact, just one of those 39 wines we tasted had production exceeding 1,000 cases. Thus, seek them out at top wine shops or contact the wineries directly.

W I N E P R E S S N W. C O M

Our judges for this tasting included: Richard Larsen, research winemaker for Washington State University; Gregg McConnell, Wine Press Northwest editorin-chief; Ken Robertson, Wine Press Northwest columnist; Mike Rader, a member of the Great Northwest Wine tasting panel and longtime Port lover; Hank Sauer, Great Northwest Wine master facilitator and longtime Northwest wine expert and judge; and Paul Sinclair, a longtime member of Great Northwest Wine’s tasting panel.

Here are the results:

Outstanding!

Thurston Wolfe $13 2010 JTW’s Port Washington Named for Josh Wolfe, the son of owners Wade Wolfe and Becky Yeaman, this delicious fortified wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Touriga Naçional, Tinta Cão and Souzão. It opens with dark, intense,

spicy aromas of chocolate, vanilla bean and boysenberry syrup, followed by stunning flavors of dark chocolate, espresso, toasted almond and black currant that leads to a gorgeous, sensual finish. (150 cases; 19% alc.)

Maison de Padgett $20 NV Smoking Gun Washington This unusual and remarkable dessert wine is infused with coffee flavors, leading to delicious flavors of hazelnut, honey, spice and medium-roasted coffee beans. On the palate, its gorgeous flavors reveal notes of caramel, vanilla and coffee. Java lovers will want to stock up on this. (185 cases; 19.2% alc.)

Barnard Griffin $17 2013 Syrah Port Columbia Valley Owner/winemaker Rob Griffin has been making a Port-style dessert wine from Syrah for many years, and this example from the warm 2013 vintage is a gem. It opens with F a l l 2 015 • W i n e P r e s s N o r t h w e s t

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fortified

F O RT IF IE D S by the numbers:

Here are a few interesting stats about our fortified wine judging. ❧ Number of wines: 38 ❧ Wines rated “Outstanding!”: 19 (50%) ❧ Wines rated “Excellent”: 15 (39.5%) ❧ Wines rated “Recommended”: 4 (10.5%) ❧ Average price: $27 ❧ Total cases represented: 6,582 ❧ Average alcohol: 18.95% ❧ AVAs represented: 16. Washington (14), Columbia Valley (4), Naches Heights (2), Rattlesnake Hills (2), Red Mountain (2), Rogue Valley (2), Southern Oregon (2), Willamette Valley (2), Columbia Gorge (1), Horse Heaven Hills (1), Okanagan Valley (1), Oregon (1), Snake River Valley (1), Umpqua Valley (1), Yakima Valley (2), California: (1).

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aromas of black and blue fruit, vanilla, blackberry pie and bold spice. On the palate, it reveals flavors of Marionberry syrup, blueberry and elderberry. A luscious texture leads to a smooth, lengthy, memorable finish. (1,850 cases; 19.5% alc.)

Brian Carter Cellars $40 2012 Opulento Yakima Valley Longtime Washington winemaker Brian Carter focuses on blends at his Woodinville winery, and this dessert wine uses classic Portuguese varieties. It shows off aromas of molasses, Baker’s chocolate, sarsaparilla and blackberry jam. A smooth entry gives way to rich, bold flavors of ripe dark fruit and just-out-of-the-oven brownies drizzled with dark chocolate sauce. (112 cases; 18% alc.)

Horizon’s Edge Winery $25 2004 Intimate Affair Reserve Port, Rattlesnake Hills Yakima Valley winemaker David Padgett excels with fortified dessert wines, and this

well-aged example uses Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. It’s dark and intense, with aromas of raisin, cherry reduction sauce, violets and horehound candy. The flavors lead with notes of cherry cordial, crème de cassis, toasted filbert and molasses. It’s a delightfully dark, rich wine. (46 cases; 19.2% alc.)

Wedge Mountain Winery $28 NV Crested Butte Tawny California Owner/winemaker Charlie McKee brought in classic Portuguese grapes from Madera and Lodi in Central California to craft a rich, intense tawny-style dessert wine. It opens with beautiful aromas of milk chocolate, raisin and smoky dried cherry. Flavors of dried dark fruit, caramel, hibiscus and Harvey’s Bristol Cream give way to a rich finish. (63 cases; 19.5% alc.)

Kraze Legz Winery $45 2012 Skaha Vineyard Rogue, Okanagan Valley This delicious dessert wine from north of W I N E P R E S S N W. C O M

fortified TASTING RESULTS Understanding fortified F O RT IF IE DS dessert wines by the numbers: Here are few interesting stats about When weathink of fortified dessert ourwines, fortifiedwe wine judging. often are talking about * Number of wines: Ports. But Ports 38 are made only in * Wines ratedspecifically “Outstanding!”: 19 (50%) Portugal, the Douro * Wines “Excellent”: 15 (39.5%) Valley.rated So just as Champagne is the * Wines “Recommended”: samerated as sparkling wine but 4 (10.5%) sparkling wine is not the same as * Average price: $27 Champagne, so too must we * Total cases represented: 6,582 respect the name “Port.” *Port Average alcohol: rose to fame in18.95% the early 1700s * AVAs represented: 16. Washington when the British were at war with (14),the Columbia Valleythus, (4), Naches French and, had to turn to Heights (2), Rattlesnake HillsPort (2),isRed Portugal for their wines.

Mountain (2), by Rogue Valley (2), produced adding brandy Southern Oregon (2), Willamettewine.

Valley (fortifying) to still-fermenting (2),The Columbia Gorge (1), Horse Heaven result is a sweet, high-alcohol Hillswine.

(1), Okanagan Valleyfor (1),a Oregon It isn’t unusual fortified (1), Snake (1), Umpqua wineRiver to beValley between 5 and 10Valley (1), percent Yakima Valley (2),sugar California: residual and 18(1). to 20 percent alcohol.

Similarly, fortified dessert wines are made on the island of Madeira, which is off the coast of Morocco and southwest of Portugal. Like Ports, Madeira wines are made by fortifying with brandy or other spirits during fermentation. However, Madeiras then are exposed to heat, thus creating a nuttier style of wine.

Ports are some of the most age-worthy wines made, and Madeiras can age even longer. The Herbfarm Restaurant in Woodinville, Wash., is regionally famous for its Madeira collection. In fact, you can walk into The Herbfarm and order an ounce of Madeira from 1795 — when George Washington was president! — for $365. Imagine tasting that bit of history.

Fortunately, one of the world’s leading experts on Ports lives in Washington state. Roy Hersh runs the website For the Love of Port (www.fortheloveofport.com). He writes a newsletter on Port and leads tours to Portugal.

the border is 100 percent Merlot, and it opens with aromas of caramel, toasted marshmallow, golden raisin and dried apricot. That leads to expressive flavors of candied orange peel, dried pineapple, peach cobbler and molasses. (50 cases; 19% alc.)

Harry & David Vineyards $20 2010 Beeson Tempranillo, Southern Oregon W I N E P R E S S N W. C O M

Best known nationwide for its luscious pears, this operation in Medford, Ore., also produces a little bit of terrific wine. This fortified dessert wine uses Tempranillo, and it’s a dark, rich, round, inviting red. Aromas of roasted fig, raisin, molasses and spice give way to smooth, dark, creamy flavors of blackberry, vanilla, mocha and fig jam. (320 cases; 18.8% alc.)

Red Lily Vineyards $30 2013 Night School Southern Oregon Winemaker Rachel Martin crafted this dessert wine using Tinta Cão, Touriga Naçional and Tempranillo. The result is a luscious drink with aromas of spice, golden raisin, chocolate and dried cherry, followed by flavors of molasses, candied fruit and hazelnut chocolate spread. (150 cases; 18.6% alc.)

English Estate $26 NV Sweet Autumn Gold Washington Using Pinot Noir juice, this winery near Vancouver, Wash., has crafted an Angelicastyle dessert wine, meaning the juice is fortified with brandy prior to fermentation starting. The result is intense aromas of toasted hazelnut, raisin, dried banana and honey, followed by sensual flavors of ripe apricot and nutmeg. (50 cases; 16.5% alc.)

Maison de Padgett $25 NV Treasure Chest Blackberry Cabernet Sauvignon Washington Winemaker David Padgett blended blackberry juice and Cabernet Sauvignon to craft this superior dessert wine. It opens with aromas of blackberry pie, caramel and toasted almond. On the palate, it’s thick and bold with ripe berry notes and a finish similar to a piece of blackberry saltwater taffy from Bruce’s Candy Kitchen in Cannon Beach, Ore. (46 cases; 19.5% alc.)

English Estate NV Sweet Ruby Red Washington

$28

This wine has quite a legacy. It was started in 2001 by Carl English, founder of this Vancouver, Wash., winery. When he died in 2010, it was taken over by his daughter, Jennifer. So they are co-winemakers on the

project. It’s made with estate Pinot Noir, and fermentation was stopped with the addition of brandy. The result is a smooth, elegant dessert wine with aromas and flavors of date, fig, orange and black licorice.

(100 cases; 17.5% alc.)

Torii Mor $45 2011 Port Rogue Valley French winemaker Jacques Tardy uses Syrah from Southern Oregon to craft this delicious dessert sipper. It opens with alluring aromas of golden raisin, milk chocolate, caramel and toast, followed by intense flavor of date, molasses and sweet herbal notes. It is a smooth and textured wine.

(500 cases; 20.6% alc.)

Lantz Cellars $39 2012 Red Red Mountain Owner/winemaker Kevin Lantz sourced traditional Portuguese varieties from Red Heaven Vineyard on the slope of Red Mountain for this delicious dessert wine at his winery in Lake Stevens, Wash. Aromas of spice, smoke, ripe dark fruit and chocolate shavings give way to intimate flavors of dark cherry and blackberry. It all leads to a long, plush finish. (85 cases; 20% alc.)

Melrose Vineyards $22 NV Solstice Solera Baco Noir Umpqua Valley Melrose, one of the top producers in Southern Oregon’s Umpqua Valley, uses the rare Baco Noir grape for this delicious Port-style red. It opens with aromas of espresso, caramel, boysenberry and maple syrup, followed by smooth flavors of fig, raspberry, vanilla and a hint of walnut. This is a rich, luscious sipper. (106 cases; 19.8% alc.)

Horizon’s Edge Winery $20 NV Wishful Thinking Chocolate Port Washington Winemaker David Padgett has a winner with this chocolate-infused dessert wine, which has won many accolades in regional competitions over the years. It offers deep aromas of dark chocolate, toasted almond, cocoa and cherry Tootsie Pop. On the palate, this incredibly rich wine reminded us of molten chocolate cake and ripe dark F a l l 2 015 • W i n e P r e s s N o r t h w e s t

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fortified

Pairing food with fortified dessert wines There are many classic pairings that go with Ports and other fortified dessert wines. Here are a few of my favorites: Stilton cheese.

Rogue Creamery smoked blue cheese.

Crème brûlée.

Dark chocolate.

Fresh-baked brownies.

Baked brie.

Chocolate cake with raspberry sauce.

Cigars.

berries, yet it isn’t over-the-top sweet. (185 cases; 19.5% alc.)

English Estate $49 NV Raspberry Delight Washington Winemaker Jennifer English collected estate raspberries from her farm near Vancouver, Wash., then fortified the partially fermented wine with brandy distilled from her Pinot Noir. The result is an incredible drink with aromas and flavors of raspberry chocolate sauce, cocoa powder and s’mores.

(20 cases; 17% alc.)

Bitner Vineyards $26 2008 Cole Vincent Snake River Valley Grape grower Ron Bitner and winemaker Greg Koenig have been collaborating for 20 years in Idaho’s Snake River Valley. This beautiful dessert wine is named after the Bitners’ grandchild. It reveals aromas and flavors of Marionberry, blackberry, dark chocolate, spice and fig. It’s a beautiful wine to enjoy on a cold autumn day. (90 cases; 19% alc.)

Thurston Wolfe $16 2010 JTW Reserve Washington Longtime Yakima Valley winemaker Wade Wolfe has his Port-style wines beautifully dialed in. This blend of three traditional Portuguese red varieties results in a stunning dessert wine with aromas and flavors of spice, brooding dark fruit, molasses and cola. It’s a bold, round, rich wine with great depth and length. (100 cases; 19% alc.)

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Excellent Claar Cellars $30 NV Fouled Anchor Port Columbia Valley This blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah from winemaker Joe Hudon offers aromas and flavors of chocolate, molasses, dried cherry and toasted marshmallow. It opens with a smooth entry that waltzes across the palate. (130 cases; 18% alc.)

Northwest Mountain Winery $28 2012 Dark Moon Rising Columbia Valley Olympia, Wash., winemaker Raymond Curtis crafted this dessert wine from Barbera grapes, and the results are superb. Aromas and flavors of caramel, spice, dried cherry and chocolate slide across the palate to a long finish that invites another sip.

(150 cases; 19.6% alc.)

English Estate $28 NV Gravel Mine Vineyards Pinot Noir Nectar, Washington This beautiful, pale-colored dessert wine is made in the Angelica style, with brandy infused before fermentation starts. The result is a wine with aromas and flavors of golden raisin, fresh straw and toasted hazelnut. It’s a smooth and tasty treat. (100 cases; 16.5% alc.)

Maison de Padgett $25 2003 McHargue True Friendship Malbec Port, Rattlesnake Hills This well-aged fortified wine from Yakima Valley winemaker David Padgett is a rich and luscious effort, thanks to aromas of black pepper, black currant, coffee and ripe dark fruit, including black cherry and blackberry. It’s a big, round, bold sipper.

(46 cases; 19.5% alc.)

Mt. Hood Winery $34 2009 Puerto Montaña Columbia Gorge One of the Columbia Gorge’s finest producers has crafted a delicious dessert wine from Pinot Noir. It opens with enticing aromas of spice and black cherry, followed by round, rich, smooth flavors of ripe strawberry. (100 cases; 19% alc.)

Eleven Winery $17 2012 Sweet Sarah Washington Bainbridge Island winemaker Matt Albee named this luscious Syrah dessert after his wife. It opens with aromas of Arabic cardamom coffee, ripe dark fruit and chocolate, followed by smooth, dark flavors of ripe black raspberry. (146 cases; 19.3% alc.)

Maryhill Winery $18 2008 Vintage Port Columbia Valley Our Pacific Northwest Winery of the Year has put together a classic red dessert wine using traditional Portuguese varieties.

The result is a dark and intense wine with aromas and flavors of spice, caramel, vanilla bean, mocha, toasted marshmallow and ripe dark fruit. (277 cases; 19.3% alc.)

Corvus Cellars $24 NV Crescendo Red Mountain Walla Walla winemaker Steve Lessard blended Merlot and Zinfandel from estate grapes on Red Mountain to craft a delicious dessert wine with aromas and flavors of blackberry pie, black cherry, coffee and chocolate. It’s a big, rich, dark wine. (59 cases; 19.5% alc.)

David Hill Vineyards & Winery $28 2008 Estate Muscat Port Willamette Valley Longtime Oregon winemaker Jason Bull has crafted a beautiful and rare white fortified wine using the aromatic Muscat grape.

Aromas of honey, toasted walnut and dried apricot give way to bold flavors of white chocolate, spice and ripe peach. (95 cases; 19% alc.)

Thurston Wolfe $16 NV Tawny Port Horse Heaven Hills This rare Zinfandel Port-style dessert wine was aged eight years in oak before being bottled. It’s a gorgeous effort with aromas and flavors of golden raisin, cocoa and ripe dark fruit. It smells like a North African spice market and is rich, round and focused throughout. (150 cases; 20% alc.)

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fortified TASTING RESULTS Northwest Mountain Winery $28 NV Blazing Blackberry Washington This Olympia, Wash., winery used ripe blackberries to craft a superb dessert wine.

It shows off aromas and flavors of blackberry jam, vanilla cream and toasted marshmallow. It’s a round, approachable red with delicious length and ample weight. (100 cases; 19.8% alc.)

Maison de Padgett $20 NV Bite Me Peach Port, Washington Zillah, Wash., winemaker David Padgett produces as many different Port-style dessert wines as anyone in the Northwest. This reveals classic aromas of ripe peach, spice and golden raisin, followed by elegant and rich flavors of bright orchard fruit. (46 cases; 19.5% alc.)

David Hill Vineyards & Winery $45 2009 Estate Pinot Noir Port Willamette Valley This longtime winery in the northern Willamette Valley near Forest Grove, Ore., used estate Pinot Noir grapes to craft a yummy dessert wine. Aromas of toasted marshmallow, spice and ripe raspberry lead to smooth, rich, dark flavors of Bing cherry and cocoa powder. It’s an elegant sipper.

(153 cases; 18.2% alc.)

Recommended Perennial Vintners $21 NV Frambelle Washington Mike Lempriere crafts his wine on bucolic Bainbridge Island, west of Seattle, and he uses island berries for this tasty dessert wine. It opens with intense aromas of smoky raspberry and dark chocolate, followed by bold, ripe flavor of ripe raspberry and vanilla cream. (102 cases; 17% alc.)

Horizon’s Edge Winery $25 NV The Bomb Washington This cherry-infused dessert wine from Washington’s Rattlesnake Hills offers aromas and flavors of black cherry, caramel and horehound candy. It’s a smooth, luscious wine with a rich, bold finish. (90 cases; 19.5% alc.)

Wilridge Winery $20 2014 Estate Muscat Blanc Naches Heights Delicate aromas of lavender and golden raisin give way to flavors of poached peach drizzled with honey. This rare white fortified wine provides elegant flavors and a long finish. (95 cases; 19.5% alc.)

Garnier Vineyards $27 NV L’Amour Cerise Oregon This winery in the Columbia Gorge town of Mosier, Ore., has crafted a supple fortified dessert wine using cherries. The result is aromas and flavors of dark cherry, dark chocolate and spice, giving way to a long and incredibly smooth finish. (250 cases; 18.5% alc.)

Andy Perdue is the editor and publisher of Great Northwest Wine, a news and information company. and wine columnist for The Seattle Times.

Wilridge Winery $20 2014 Estate Red Dessert Wine Naches Heights Longtime Seattle winemaker Paul Beveridge blended five varieties from his estate grapes in Naches Heights near Yakima to build this young fortified wine. Black cherry, black raspberry and dark chocolate highlight the aromas and flavors. Give this a couple of years to really turn into something intense. (229 cases; 19.2% alc.)

Cairdeas Winery $35 2014 Fortified Petite Sirah, Yakima Valley This up-and-coming winery on the north shore of Lake Chelan dipped into the Yakima Valley for bold Petite Sirah grapes. The resulting wine is young and fresh with aromas and flavors of black raspberry, boysenberry syrup, vanilla and molasses. (56 cases; 20.1% alc.)

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FEATURE

idaho wine

Casey Lea Photos courtesy of Split Rail Winery

La Bohème and Le Commandante, Idaho’s first Canned Wine.

Winemaker Jed Glavin samples his 2012 Cabernet.

La Bohème suggest pull tabs, not corks

BY ROBERT EHLERT

C

ans of Idaho wine may have arrived at a counter or cooler near you.

That’s right, a can. It is a 12.7-ounce lined aluminum vessel equivalent to 375 milliliters - which is exactly one half of a bottle of wine.

La Bohème White Wine, a Split Rail Winery venture out of Garden City, Idaho, launched in the spring thanks to a mobile canning operation that has set up at Sawtooth Vineyards, where the Riesling was sourced. La Bohème Riesling is another offering from Split Rail's sub-label, Strange Folk Wines, which is also sold in keg containers. La Bohème cans retail for $6.

Split Rail owner and winemaker Jed Glavin is excited about his venture into

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canned wines, even though things were up in the air for a while regarding its release date and distribution.

After the juice got into the can he wanted it to settle down a bit so he could taste it and make sure he was happy with it. Bottles sometimes can suffer from “bottle shock” there’s even a classic wine movie by that name. Could there be can shock? Not likely, but he wasn't taking any chances.

Glavin’s target market for La Bohème is convenience wine drinkers and outdoor enthusiasts. He especially has his eye on campers, or anybody who packs a cooler but doesn't care much for dealing with bottles.

“It makes wine more mobile. It can bring wine to new places: backpacking and river rafting, for example,” says Glavin. “Plus, it is easier to recycle than glass.”

On-the-go wine drinkers will enjoy the convenience of popping open a can of La Bohème and joining in with beer drinkers who have the same option. As the La Bohème label says: “Pull Tabs, Not Corks.”

When they taste it, I think they are going to like it. But let's be honest, it is coming from a can. The off-dry Riesling inside was tasty and refreshing when I tasted a bottled sample. When I saw it for sale at Boise's Treefort music festival in March I popped one open and thought the sweetness stood out a bit more, but it still had the floral nose and the crispy, peachy and slightly mineral flavor notes that one would expect from a Riesling. And even though it is on the sweet side (if you prefer drier wines), the acid in this one balances it out a bit.

But be careful. This slightly larger-thana-beer-can libation packs 13.3 percent alcoW I N E P R E S S N W. C O M

idaho wine FEATURE hol, and is the equivalent of two glasses of wine. So don’t try to keep up with your Coors Light pals or you will quickly be in trouble.

Glavin is not the first winemaker to can his grape products, and that actually bodes well.

California producer Francis Ford Coppola (he of the movies and the resort-style Sonoma County tasting retreat with the pool) sells four-packs of Sofia Blanc de Blanc, a white sparkling wine for under $20 per four-pack.

Those cans are only 187 milliliters - half the size of La Bohème’s cans. But they are pink, and dainty, meant to be sipped with a straw and, well, Sofia is FFC's daughter and, well ..

The Union Wine Company just south of Portland cans a line called Underwood and features Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris for $6 per 375-milliliter can - pretty much the same deal Glavin offers.

Like Underwood, Glavin hopes to add some red wines to the La Bohème line in due time. He's strongly considering some of the great Syrah that is produced in Idaho.

But first things first. Canning and distributing the 55,000 cans that should translate into 1,500 cases.

As for the name, La Bohème?

If Glavin knew about the classic Puccini opera by that name, he wasn't letting on. It is the story of a love affair between a poor poet and a struggling seamstress in 19th century Paris.

The story was made into a movie in 1965 and a Broadway Musical about 20 years ago that we have come to know as “Rent.”

When I pondered the fact that La Bohème is an Italian opera/French story set in Paris, I was wondering why Glavin would choose a white grape with German heritage for his operatic-sounding product.

But then I decided I was thinking too hard about that when I should just be thinking about the new, can-do way Idaho wine will be featured.

Split Rail’s concrete egg was delivered in time for use during the 2015 harvest. It will be the first Idaho winery to explore concrete fermentation.

Casey Lea Photo courtesy of Split Rail Winery

Robert Ehlert is the editorial page editor and wine columnist for the Idaho Statesman newspaper in Boise, Idaho and former food and wine editor for the Sacramento Bee newspaper in California.

Canning production line with Mother Road Mobile Canning from Albuquerque, NM. Casey Lea Photo courtesy of Split Rail Winery

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FEATURE

langley wineries

Greg Osenbach, inspects the vineyards at Whidbey Island Winery.

Alex Frescobaldi-Grimaldi Contributing Photographer

Langley wineries worth ferry ride

BY DAN RADIL

F

rom rural Eastern Washington, to the Olympic Peninsula, to Puget Sound’s island communities, the proliferation of Washington wineries now offer a rich variety of choices for wine enthusiasts to visit when planning a day-trip or weekend getaway centered on premium wines.

The town of Langley, located on southern Whidbey Island 10 minutes from the Clinton/Mukilteo ferry landing, is one of those options. Home to slightly over 1,000 residents, Langley’s historic “downtown district” has a decidedly artsy feel to it, while surrounding rural areas boast bucolic settings where expansive views of Possession Sound are either on the horizon or just a stone’s 36

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throw away.

Four wineries claim a Langley zip code, and each offers a unique tasting experience by utilizing grapes that range from Eastern Washington vineyards to those grown on the island within the Puget Sound Appellation.

Distribution for Langley’s wineries is almost exclusively limited to Whidbey Island, so unless you order online, a visit is recommended for those who wish to taste the wines firsthand. And that’s not a bad thing at all, because beautiful scenery, a laid-back atmosphere and good wines can only add up to a memorable experience that make the trip to Langley well worth it.

OTT & MURPHY WINES Located on Langley’s main drag with a

waterfront tasting room, Ott & Murphy Wines provides wine tasters with both a cozy wine bar and ample table seating that invite guests to linger over a glass while enjoying the view of nearby Camano Island.

Owner and winemaker David Ott has lived on Whidbey Island for over 30 years and started the winery in 2007 with Eric Murphy (whom was bought out a few years ago). The winery’s first release in 2009 was a natural progression for Ott, who tried his hand at making beer before moving on; first to fruit wines and then to premium grape varietals in about 2002.

From the beginning, “we were able to get really good grapes,” Ott notes, with a nod to his sources, “(and now) we have very good

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langley wineries FEATURE

Rita Comfort pours visitors wine samples at Comforts of Whidbey.

wines that are almost entirely attributable to the brilliance of our growers. They really make us look smart.”

Elephant Mountain, Boushay, Lawrence, Sugarloaf, and Coyote Canyon are just a few of the Eastern Washington vineyards used by Ott & Murphy. Although the winery features European-based varietals, Ott’s winemaking skills really shine through on those from the Rhone Valley, with stand-alone varietals and blends that include Viognier, Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, and Mourvèdre, to name a few.

THE COMFORTS OF WHIDBEY When Carl and Rita Comfort purchased their 22-acre Langley farm in 2006 they had no idea it would soon become a winery.

Included on the property was the Island’s largest vineyard: four acres of grapes originally planted in the late 1990’s consisting of Madeleine Angevine, Madeleine Sylvaner, Siegerrebe, and Pinot Noir.

W I N E P R E S S N W. C O M

The Comforts continued to grow the grapes and sell them mostly to local wineries.

But in 2009, a large order that was unavoidably canceled at the last minute forced them to “save the crop and do things ourselves,” says Rita. “It was either feed the birds or make wine.”

“We worked with Ken and Virginia Bloom (of Blooms Winery) in Freeland that first year,” recalls Carl. They told us, “you have such a perfect spot for a winery, just start one,” and the Comforts of Whidbey was launched shortly thereafter.

Since that time the Comfort’s production of red wines, such as Sangiovese and Malbec, has been in Woodinville. But a new on-site facility, scheduled to open in September, will house all of their production in Langley.

The three-story building will also be home to a new tasting area, event/meeting room, and six-room bed and breakfast service. Carl enthusiastically notes, “we’ve got so much flexibility (here)….weddings, music, and

Alex Frescobaldi-Grimaldi Contributing Photographer

farm-to-table dinners,” are just some of the possibilities.

SPOILED DOG WINERY Jack and Karen Krug moved to Whidbey Island from Colorado with plans for a winery and vineyard from the start. "We had come up here sailing and we knew this area specifically,” says Karen. After the soil tests proved favorable, roughly three acres of Pinot Noir grapes were planted on their 25-acre property just south of Langley. Spoiled Dog Winery was established in 2003 and the winery’s first vintage was produced in 2007.

“We have seven clones of Pinot Noir on the estate,” Karen says, “which gives the wines (added) complexity.” She notes that their estate grapes are farmed using all-organic practices and an additional Pinot Noir they produce, sourced from McMinnville, Oregon, is made from biodynamically grown grapes.

“We’re picky about our grape growers and their practices,” Karen says with a smile, F a l l 2 015 • W i n e P r e s s N o r t h w e s t

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FEATURE

langley wineries

noting that some of the winery’s other red wines are sourced from Connor Lee and Klipsun Vineyards. Current releases also include a Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc for those with a preference for white wine.

And yes, there really are dogs at Spoiled Dog Winery. They’re likely to greet guests on the drive in or be waiting inside the contemporary-styled barn, which serves as both barrel and tasting room.

WHIDBEY ISLAND WINERY Greg Osenbach has to be considered one of the trailblazers of the Washington wine industry, and most certainly for Western Washington wine producers and grape growers. He planted his two acres of Madeleine Angevine, Madeleine Sylvaner and Siegerrebe nearly 30 years in Langley.

“We’re a little bit wetter than the north of the island, but also a little bit warmer,” he explains.

That extra heat makes the difference for grapes in this part of the state, and Osenbach’s wines have been rewarded with a number of accolades, not only from his locally-grown varieties, but also for those he sources from east-of-the-Cascades vineyards such as Crawford in Yakima Valley and Destiny Ridge in the Horse Heaven Hills Appellation.

In addition to the three varietals planted

Ott & Murphy Wines Sunday – Thursday, 3 to 8 pm.

Friday & Saturday 1 to 10 pm 204 First Street (360) 221-7131 ottmurphywines.com

Comforts of Whidbey Friday 2 to 5 pm, Saturday & Sunday 11 to 5 pm 4361 Witter Road (360) 969-2961 comfortsofwhidbey.com

Spoiled Dog Winery Friday – Sunday Noon to 5 pm or by appointment 5881 Maxwelton Road (360) 661-6226 spoileddogwinery.com

Whidbey Island Winery: Summer: 11 to 5 pm, closed Tuesday Winter: 11 to 5 pm, closed Monday & Tuesday 5237 Langley Road (360) 221-2040 whidbeyislandwinery.com 38

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This contemporary-styled barn serves a barrel and tasting room at Spoiled Dog Winery

at the estate, Pinot Noir is also being grown on the island a few miles to the south. The 2014 vintage is in the barrel and should be available for release in spring, 2016.

Pinot Gris, Malbec, Sangiovese, Dolcetto, and Grenache are just a few of the many other wines you’ll find at a winery that now produces over 3,000 cases annually.

There’s so much to choose from that even Osenbach sheepishly admits, “I may have a problem.”

Problem or not, Whidbey Island Winery has something for virtually everyone’s taste preference in wine, with versatile, wellcrafted choices that are impeccably balanced.

Alex Frescobaldi-Grimaldi Contributing Photographer

umn for the Bellingham herald and produces a wine blog at danthewineguy.com

DAN RADIL is a freelance wine writer based in Bellingham, Wash. Dan teaches wine classes at Bellingham Technical college, writes a wine colW I N E P R E S S N W. C O M

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NORTHWEST WINE EVENTS September 12 A Toast of Life, Seattle. The seventh annual Seattle Hope Gala at Fremont Studios features nearly 20 Washington wineries in support of the American Cancer Society. Go to seattlehopegala.org.

12 Carlton Crush Harvest Festival, Carlton, Ore. This family-style event staged by Ken Wright Cellars features local wines, live music and fun in Upper Park. Go to carltoncrush.com.

12 Gold Medal Wine Experience. Taste more than 150 of the top entries from the Seattle Wine Awards and Oregon Wine Awards. Meet the winemakers and enjoy a buffet with chocolates. Go to SeattleWineAwards.com.

12-13 Umpqua Wine Your Way Tour, Roseburg, Ore. Enjoy a self-guided tour starting at one of six wineries and visit as many of the participating 17 wineries involved. Cost is $35.

Go to umpquavalleywineries.org.

17-20 Feast, Portland. Bon Appétit magazine’s fourth annual celebration of Oregon food includes more than 30 Northwest wineries and benefits hunger prevention. Go to feastportland.com.

19-20 Oregon Grape Stomp Championships and Harvest Celebration, Turner. Willamette Valley Vineyards plays host to the 25th annual competition, which sends the winner to the world championship in California. Go to wvv.com.

October 3 Eagle Food and Wine Festival, Eagle, Idaho. A dozen Snake River Valley wineries meet at BanBury Golf Course to benefit Special Olympics and the Eagle Food Bank. Go to eaglefoodandwinefestival.com.

3-4, 10-11 Lake Chelan Crush, Lake Chelan, Wash. Experience two weekends of harvest in one of the state’s youngest appellations. Go to lakechelanwinevalley.com.

10 Uncork the Cure on Red Mountain, Benton City, Wash.

Red Mountain wineries pour to benefit Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Go to redmtn.eventscff.org.

10-11 Catch the Crush, Yakima, Prosser, Tri-Cities. Harvest celebrations span Yakima, Zillah, Prosser and the TriCities. Call 866-360-6611 or go to wineyakimavalley.org.

11 Wine at its Best, Bellevue, Wash. Walla Walla vintner Michael Corliss and retired NFL star Lawyer Milloy headline this benefit for Bellevue Life Spring. Go to bellevuelifespring.org.

6 Epicurean Delight, Spokane. This 34th annual gala gathers 30 wineries and 30 restaurants to benefit the Inland Northwest Blood Center. Go to bloodcenterfoundation.com.

6-8 Walla Walla Fall Release Weekend. The Walla Walla Valley comes alive with new releases, winemaker dinners, live music and art festivals. Go to wallawallawine.com.

7-8 Harvest Wine Tour, Olympic Peninsula, Wash. The Olympic Peninsula Wineries’ annual fall wine touring event.

Go to olympicpeninsulawineries.org.

12 Women, Wine and Shoes, Seattle. A number of regional wineries join this fashion show at the Sheraton Hotel to benefit Olive Crest. Go to winewomenandshoes.com.

13-14 Taste of Tulalip, Tulalip, Wash. More than 60 Washington wineries pour at this seventh annual celebration at Tulalip Resort Casino. Go to tasteoftulalip.com.

13-14 Salud! Dundee and Portland. The 24th annual Pinot Noir auction benefits Oregon’s vineyard workers and their families. Call 503-681-1850 or go to saludauction.org.

14 Tri-Cities Wine Festival, Kennewick, Wash. The 37th annual tasting returns to the Three Rivers Convention Center. Go to tricitieswinesociety.com.

14 Wish Ball, Portland. Portland Art Museum assists MakeA-Wish Foundation Oregon and Clark County. Call 503-292-2280 or go to oregon.wish.org.

14 Northwest Wine & Food Festival, Portland. This 10th annual event returns to the Doubletree Lloyd Center. Go to nwwinefestival.com.

20-22 Holiday Wine Festival, Spokane. The 30th annual weekend of wine, art and food is staged the weekend before Thanksgiving. Go to spokanewineries.net.

21 Skagit Wine & Beer Festival, Mount Vernon, Wash. Skagit County wineries will be featured at the Best Western CottonTree Inn. Go to mountvernonchamber.com.

27-29 Thanksgiving in Wine Country, Yakima Valley, Wash.

Tour Washington’s oldest wine region. Visit wineyakimavalley.org.

27-29 Wine Country Thanksgiving, Willamette Valley, Ore. More than 150 wineries of the Willamette Valley celebrate the holidays. Go to willamettewines.com.

27-29 Lake Chelan Fall Barrel Tasting, Chelan, Wash. Get a peek at future releases from the state’s 11th American Viticultural Area. Go to lakechelanwinevalley.com.

16-18 Northwest Taste Food and Beverage Show, Spokane. This second annual event at the Spokane Convention Center features a number of wineries and benefits Wishing Star. Go to northwesttaste.com.

December

November

5 Mount Rainier Wine Festival, Ashford, Wash. Mount Rainier Lions Clubs stage this sixth annual gathering of small wineries from 2-8 p.m. Go to road-to-paradise.com.

5 Sippin’ in the City, Boise. Gem State wineries meet for the fifth annual food-and-wine festival at the Linen Building.

Go to sippininthecity.com.

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4-6 Holiday Barrel Tasting, Walla Walla, Wash. Enjoy a weekend visiting the wineries of the Walla Walla Valley. Go to wallawallawine.com or call 509-526-3117.

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MATCH MAKERS

LAS VEGAS CULINARY TALENTS ADD PANACHE TO LITTLE CREEK STORY BY ERIC DEGERMAN // PHOTOS BY RICHARD DUVAL

T

hree years ago, Little Creek Casino Resort in Sheldon, Wash. began to lure Las Vegas culinary talent to the South Puget Sound.

The Squaxin Island Tribe’s recruitment of sommelier Victo Mortazavi and executive chef Troy Sandoval has combined to create a world-class culinary experience using ingredients from the Salish Sea and wines from Washington. This month marks the 20th anniversary of the resort, a 20-minute drive from Olympia along Highway 101 and near Little Skookum Inlet.

“I figured I was going to be here for six weeks, and it’s been 2 1/2 years,” Sandoval said with a smile. “I like the climate. I like the trees, and even my 13-year-old daughter really likes it — starting with the temperature.”

Mortazavi, a native of Hamburg, Germany, who continues to dress the part of an Old World wine professional, spent 30 years working for Las Vegas Hilton before deciding to embrace the challenges he faced when hired by Little Creek CEO Michael Starr.

The two were classmates at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, and the tribe’s commitment to Starr, Mortazavi and Sandoval proves their resolve to take the resort to the next level after the September 2011 opening of Salish Cliffs Golf Course.

“When I started here, the first thing I 46

W in e P r ess N or th w e s t • F a l l 2 0 1 5

looked at was the wine list,” Mortazavi said.

“I have a passion for wine, and aside from Australia, I’ve probably been to all of the world’s major wine regions. That’s where I would go on my vacations.”

His extensive background makes him a remarkable fit for the Squaxin Island Tribe’s operation. He graduated from UNLV’s School of Hotel Administration and achieved the third level of the Court of Master Sommelier program along a career path that included wine director and ultimately the role as food and beverage director at the Las Vegas Hilton.

Kevin Molica, Little Creek’s food and beverage manager, who spent several years with Anthony’s Restaurants, said, “Victor is the biggest reason why I am here. There is so much to learn from him.”

There are seven restaurants serving the 190-room hotel, and Mortazavi wants to share his international wine background with the resort’s guests. He’s enjoyed learning more about the wines of Washington state, and it’s natural for this German to become particularly fascinated with Riesling.

“My favorite is Eroica, which I had on my wine lists in Vegas. It’s the best U.S. Riesling,” Mortazavi said. “I’ve never been in a state where there are grocery stores with as many Rieslings. In Vegas, you are lucky if you find one. Here, I can’t believe it.“

He’s also been impressed with the red wines being produced from the Columbia Valley, which he said are underappreciated.

“California overpowers everyone, so Washington wines are not that known in the rest of the U.S.,” he said. “There are some great wines here. You just have to find them.”

On the other hand, Salish Cliffs achieved acclaim from the golf world’s leading publications soon after it opened for play. It’s been ranked among the state’s best courses by Golf Digest and GolfWeek for the past three years, the latter naming it No. 6 on its list of the country’s top casino courses. Last year, it played host to the PGA Pacific Northwest Championship.

And in fitting with the Squaxin Island Tribe’s beliefs, it became the world’s first Salmon-Safe certified golf course, working step-by-step with Stewardship Partners. The tribe also maintains a country club atmosphere on the course and in the clubhouse by requiring proper golf attire, and they made a great hire in David Kass, the affable head professional who spent time at three courses in Florida, including Jupiter Hills, along his path to Salish Cliffs.

“We like to say that Chambers Bay has its tree, and we got all the rest,” Kass jokes.

At the same time, Salish Cliffs is hoping the buzz created by the picturesque backdrop and exciting finish to the 2015 U.S. Open WINEPRESSNW.COM

Victor Mortazavi, food and beverage director at Little Creek in the resort’s Skookum Spirit Cigar & Wine Lounge

MATCH MAKERS

Upchurch Vineyard 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Mountain

$65

— 500 cases, 14.6% alcohol Upchurch Vineyard serves as one of the great stories of the Washington wine industry, a sign of past success and a strong belief in the future of Cabernet Sauvignon on Red Mountain.

The timeline began in 1992 for Chris Upchurch when the University of Washington grad and former Seattle wine merchant began vineyard research for a new Woodinville winery, DeLille Cellars. While he continues to enjoy his accomplishments at DeLille Cellars, Upchurch Vineyard is the vision and joint venture for him and his wife, Theodora, a former Seattle restaurateur and now one of the Washington wine industry’s most charming ambassadors. The next generation is involved, too, as daughter Kelsey heads up marketing and sales for the family brand.

From their balcony of a two-story barn/cellar in the middle of their 18-acre estate — established in 2007 — Chris and Thea can see much of Red Mountain, the northern slopes of the Horse Heaven Hills and look into the Yakima Valley to the west.

But the reason for their investment is not for a residence. It all stems from Red Mountain fruit, and the Upchurches rely on Dick Boushey, one of the most acclaimed and perhaps most active vineyard managers in Washington. There’s a waiting list for his own Boushey Vineyard fruit in the Yakima Valley, and his influence now includes much of Red Mountain as Boushey oversees Upchurch Vineyard and several other sites coming into their own.

Responsible farming is a hallmark of the Upchurches, and their hand-harvested vineyard is certified sustainable by the L.I.V.E. (Low Input Viticulture and Enology) program and also is a member of the Salmon-Safe network of vineyards and wineries.

Based on the dream team partnership, the meteoric success and fanfare for “UV” comes as no surprise. Last year, the 2011 Upchurch Vineyard Cab — only the second commercial vintage — placed No. 5 on The Seattle Times top 50 list. This 2012 vintage received a whopping 96 points from the Wine Advocate, the publication founded by iconoclast Robert Parker.

Upchurch, who makes these wines at DeLille, prides himself on a level of craftsmanship that allows him to take what the Columbia Valley presents to all winemakers and create wines of balance with decades of enjoyment. Most of all, they must be delicious.

Production of UV Cab — the only wine the Upchurch family produces under their eponymous brand — is slowly increasing. The role of Merlot (9 percent) adds another paintbrush stroke to the layers accented by the 100 percent new French oak from cooperages of Taransaud and Orion.

That 18-month barrel program and contribution of Merlot have been virtually identical for the first four vintages. They work in concert for a wine filled with opulence of black cherry, cassis, roasted coffee, Baker’s chocolate, vanilla extract, cedar and earthiness. Skilled tannin management means lean cuts of beef and pork will pair nicely.

Spanish artist Salustiano created “Instante de Eternidad,” a painting of a young woman on a swing, and that image serves as the label for Upchurch Vineyard. The striking lipstick-red mural is displayed inside the tasting gallery, just a few steps from the vines responsible for the wine. Visits to Upchurch Vineyard are by the appointment only.

Upchurch Vineyard, 12022 NE 97th St., Kirkland WA 98033, 425-298-4923, upchurchvineyard.com.

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Troy Sandoval, executive chef at Little Creek Casino Resort, preparing ribs.

will inspire golfers around the world to play not only Chambers Bay but also Salish Cliffs, less than an hour’s drive around the South Sound.

Meanwhile, Little Creek continues to bring in some top-name recording artists, acts such as Boz Scaggs, rocker Paul Rodgers and groups such as Yes and Toto, as well as country stars Trace Adkins, Kellie Pickler and Dwight Yoakam.

However, the food and wine culture is what Mortazavi and Sandoval are promoting as they spotlight ingredients provided by their employers.

“The tribal people are culinarians in their own right, working with what they gather,” Sandoval said. “Look at all the sustainable seafood — the clams, the oysters, geoducks — we use a lot of their products, and Salish Seafoods is owned by this tribe.

“When we have a big tribal event, we will do our part as caterers, and if they want to bring us elk or venison, we prepare it and use, say, blueberries or different ingredients from around here,” Sandoval added. “They do their salmon out in the pit in a traditional style, yet we’re working side-by-side a lot of the time for those functions.”

Sandoval pointed to the 2014 memorial for Nisqually tribal leader Billy Frank, Jr., an event staged at Little Creek and attended by 6,000 people, including U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, former Congressman Norm Dicks and Gov. Jay Inslee.

“I went out in the forest with a tribal member and gathered probably 120 pounds of chanterelle mushrooms for the meal,” Sandoval said. “It’s great that you can just go outside here and sustain yourself.

In Vegas, there’s nothing there. I’ve learned from them, and I’ve showed them some things that I do, too.”

Dining options on the property range from the Salish Cliffs Grille inside the clubhouse to the Squaxin Island Seafood Bar — ask for the gluttonous Seafood Trio ($25) and a glass of Maryhill Rosé of Sangiovese — and the Island Grille. Its menu supports the Open Prairie WINEPRESSNW.COM

MATCH MAKERS

Braised Short Ribs

with Chanterelle Mushrooms and Parmesan Risotto Serves 2

Short ribs 2 pounds short ribs 10 ounces carrots, chopped 10 ounces celery, chopped 10 ounces onion, chopped 2 ounces fresh thyme 1 ounce fresh rosemary 8 ounces butter 16 ounces red wine 1 quart demi glaze Salt and pepper to taste 1. Season the short ribs generously with salt and pepper, then roast both sides of the meat in a shallow pan with cooking oil.

Reserve the meat.

2. Melt the butter gently then sauté the vegetables. Add the thyme and rosemary.

3. Add the meat and red wine. Reduce completely and add the demi glaze.

4. Cook in oven for 90 minutes at 350 degrees.

Chanterelle Mushrooms 1 pound chanterelles 4 ounces shallots 1 shot cognac 3 ounces cream Salt and pepper to taste 1. Sauté in a pan the butter, chanterelles and shallots.

2. Season with salt and pepper 3. Flambé with cognac.

4. Add cream.

Parmesan Risotto 1 cup arborio rice 6-8 cups chicken stock 3 tablespoons olive oil ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for grating or shaving 4-6 tablespoons unsalted butter ½ cup dry white wine ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped 1 pinch saffron Salt to taste Freshly ground pepper to taste 1. Infuse the saffron with the chicken stock.

2. In a separate pan, gently roast the rice with the olive oil. Add the white wine.

3. After the wine reduces and the rice is fully cooked, add the chicken stock/saffron liquid.

4. Add Parmesan cheese and butter.

5. Garnish with parsley. Salt and pepper to taste.

Baby vegetables 2 pieces baby green zucchini 2 pieces yellow squash 2 pieces baby carrots 1. Steam the vegetables.

2. Salt and pepper to taste.

Final prep 1. Plate the Parmesan Risotto, top with Braised Short Ribs and Chanterelle Mushrooms, then place the baby vegetables alongside.

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MATCH MAKERS

Seared Scallops and Potato-Chive Mousseline Serves 2

Scallops 4 pieces U10 scallops Clarified butter to taste Salt and pepper to taste 1. Pan fry gently to a rich, golden brown color

Potato-Chive Mousseline 12 ounces peeled potatoes 6 ounces butter 4 ounces cream Salt and pepper to taste Nutmeg to taste 4 ounces fresh chives 1. Cook the potatoes in hot, salted water until tender.

2. Mash the potatoes.

3. Melt butter with the cream and add to mashed potatoes.

4. Season with salt and pepper and grated nutmeg.

5. Top each plate with two scallops.

Natural Angus Program and adds a chop house feel to the property.

Each Wednesday evening, there’s a wine tasting in the Skookum Spirit Cigar & Wine Lounge, which is one of two dining spots on the property where smoking is permitted.

The other is the sports bar. There’s even a 5,000-square-foot smoke-free gaming room.

“A person who likes fine wine with food typically does not like tobacco smoke,” said Mortazavi, whose career at Hilton Las Vegas once included overseeing tobacco sales. “The minute you have tobacco, you cannot taste the wine anymore. You ruin it. So at none of our events do we allow smoking — even the concerts.”

Little Creek and Mortazavi do weave regional wines into a number of promotions,

••• Little Creek Resort Casino 91 West State Route 108, Shelton, WA 98584, 800-667-7711 little-creek.com 50

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programs and events. There is the Casino and Vino Sweepstakes, a partnership with nearby Walter Dacon Wines. Mortazavi even offers remarkable values at the Espresso Coffee and Wine Bar, selling in the resort lobby bottles from the likes of Barnard Griffin, Chinook, Gamache and Matthews at below retail prices for in-suite enjoyment.

“It’s something that I did in Vegas,” he said. “Our markup for some of the world’s greatest wines is less that what you see in Costco. I want people to come and enjoy wine at very reasonable prices. I buy my wine here.”

Another touch of Las Vegas is reflected in the resort’s annual Chocolate and Wine Festival, which Mortazavi and Sandoval developed and stage each spring at the Squaxin Island Museum.

“I would challenge anyone in Seattle to match what we do for that festival,” Mortazavi said.

There’s a crêpe station that ranges from salmon to desserts. The fromagerie station

features more than a dozen cheeses from around the world and includes regional favorites such as Seastack from Mt. Townsend Creamery and Bermuda Triangle by Cypress Grove Chèvre. There were four pâtisserie stations, two charcuterie stations and another dedicated to seafood.

And more than 70 wines were poured, an international list that featured the likes of Barnard Griffin, Chateau Ste. Michelle, DeLille Cellars, Matthews Winery and Saviah Cellars. Next year, look for Browne Family Vineyards to be poured and perhaps a new favorite of Mortazavi — Kiona Vineyards & Winery’s Lemberger, the German name for Blaufränkisch, a grape he was stunned to find made so well in Washington.

But he’s particularly smitten with the work

by Chris Upchurch of DeLille, and Mortazavi’s introduction came via touring and dining with friends who took him to Woodinville.

“We tried their wines and looked at each other — especially after tasting the D2,” Mortazavi said. “It was amazing. Beside the WINEPRESSNW.COM

MATCH MAKERS

Bordeaux style, another area I have passion for is Provence, especially Bandol, and I would put DeLille’s Doyenne rosé against any Bandol rosé. That wine is amazing.”

Mortazavi, whose education includes studies within the wine program at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley, collaborated with Sandoval on the Match Maker dishes. They created a four-course meal to pair with a selection of Upchurch’s wines, but space limits the profile to two recipes.

They paired the DeLille Cellars 2013 Chaleur Estate Blanc, a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Sèmillon, with Seared Scallops and Potato-Chive Mousseline. For the entree, they offered up Braised Short Ribs with Chanterelle Mushrooms and Parmesan Risotto, matching it with the Upchurch Vineyard 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon from Upchurch’s young estate planting on Red Mountain. Both dishes will be available at the Island Grille restaurant.

“It’s a totally different tempo than Las Vegas,” said Sandoval, a native of Vegas and a mix of Pueblo Indian and Conquistadors from New Mexico. “It’s amazing to work with the tribe, and they want to treat you like family. You don’t get this kind of unity in Las Vegas. I’m sure there are other areas of the country where you get that, but I’m here and it’s really nice.”

ERIC DEGERMAN is president and CEO of Great Northwest Wine, a news and information website. For more information, go to greatnorthwestwine.com.

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DeLille Cellars $38 2013 Chaleur Estate Blanc, Columbia Valley — 2,400 cases, 13.2% alcohol This year, the Auction of Washington Wines named DeLille Cellars as its Honorary Vintner, and the Woodinville landmark’s annual work with this blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon is one reason why.

Each vintage, Chris Upchurch’s melding of these two Bordeaux varieties ranks among the Pacific Northwest’s most acclaimed white wines and has come to be known as one of the United States’ top examples of wines in the style of France’s Graves District.

DeLille Cellars opened its chateau with the 1992 vintage. As the founding winemaker, Upchurch, with a science degree from the University of Washington, essentially had been preparing for the job most of his life. He grew up in a household that appreciated fine wine and encouraged him to experience the great wine regions of Europe. The combination led Upchurch to employment at some of Seattle’s finest restaurants and into the wine trade.

At DeLille Cellars, he created wines intended to enjoyed at the dining table and with the structure to age with grace and complexity. At many wineries, that discussion normally is limited to red wines. That’s not been the case with Chaleur Estate Blanc, one of only two white wines produced at DeLille.

It all starts with the fruit, and Upchurch created the blend of Sauvignon Blanc (65 percent) and Sémillon by relying on three important vineyards in three distinctively different American Viticultural Areas.

Boushey Vineyard in the Yakima Valley contributes both Sémillon (22 percent) and Sauvignon Blanc (21 percent). Klipsun Vineyard on Red Mountain also presents the two varieties, Sémillon (13 percent) and Sauvignon Blanc (7 percent). Sagemoor Vineyard along the Columbia River north of Pasco, Wash., makes up more than half of the Sauvignon Blanc at 37 percent.

While the ratios have fluctuated a bit over the years, Sémillon has ranged from as low as 21 percent to as much as 44 percent, Boushey, Klipsun and Sagemoor have formed the core of Chaleur Estate Blanc since 2006.

Starfruit, lemon pepper, seashell and chalkboard dust aromas lead into gooseberry, Golden Delicious apple and lemon juice. This is much more fruit-forward and complex than most West Coast examples.

This wine merited a double gold and earned best of class at the second annual Great Northwest Invitational Wine Competition, a judging dominated by West Coast wine merchants and sommeliers. Earlier this spring, the same wine grabbed a gold medal at the Great Northwest Wine Competition, and it still shows no signs of slowing down.

These wines are available daily at the Carriage House Tasting Room in Woodinville — for a $20 tasting fee — and the Maison DeLille Wine Lounge in Kirkland.

The DeLille Chateau is limited to private events.

DeLille Cellars Carriage House Tasting Room, 14421 Woodinville-Redmond Road NE, Woodinville 98072, 425-877-9472, delillecellars.com.

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COLUMN

grapes of roth

BY COKE ROTH

Nothing foolish about SB

A

gain you arrive at the last substantive page of Wine Press that will ultimately result in floccinaucinihilipilification. This word will come to describe your critique of what you are about to read. I’ll save you and the editor(s) the keystrokes on Google; it means you will likely find this column worthless.

What you are about to be subjected to, if you foolishly wish to continue, is only my opinion and a few minor points of plagiarism. So forget anything you want but do remember two words; Sauvignon Blanc.

With the goal of brevity by way of acronyms, SB has been a most important grape variety for centuries. Not only has SB been a delicious wine to drink over the millennia; not only do you find it grown and vinified on every continent except Antarctica; you wouldn't have one of your favorite red wines without it. As the paparazzi geneticists now tell us, long ago late at night in a vineyard in France when no one was watching, Cabernet Sauvignon was conceived on a wild one–nighter between SB and Cabernet Franc. Scandalous.

In the grand scheme of viticulture this naughty little grape has a comparatively short growing season and likely will be in the tank a month before other varieties. Part of the desire to harvest early is due to its physiology - it hangs too long.

The appealing and much desired acidity often respires, so it loses its crispness. In addition, its trademark herbal flavor profiles become somewhat innocuous.

There are at least a half-dozen styles of SB. Sometimes it's downright vegetative; green beans, asparagus and mowed weeds. Surprisingly, this style of SB made a delicious lunch companion one time with a squash and asparagus soup.

But you know me, I could find a perfect wine with sautéed tractor parts.

Then there is that lighter style of vege54

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tative character possessing nuances of bell pepper and lemon grass. This is the classic SB that made it so popular due to these appealing distinctions along with citrusy and mineral notes. Among other things, it quenches with its zesty acidity and sets the stage for just about anything that grew from dirt, had wings or spent its life in saltwater.

Loved by some, particularly felines, and despised by others, some SB has the odor of cat urine…surprisingly delicious…for some, not me.

I never really thought of SB as having a rose character until last month when I smelled about 1,000 roses at the Portland Rose Garden (highly recommended). I found two particular floribunda, Eternal Flame and Talisman, which were spot–on SB; floral, lightly grassy with hints of cantaloupe. It made me crave SB so much I immediately departed for a food truck pod…or two (likewise highly recommended).

During the Great ‘70’s Chardonnay Shortage, several vintners put SB in new barrels, subjected it to malolactic fermentation and send it out as a poor substitute. No thanks! There are those that continue to barrel-age SB. When done right, it can be particularly harmonious with clams and mussels in their juices with butter, garlic and herbs. But what isn’t good with butter, garlic and herbs?

SB ascends to French royalty when blended with Semillon to make one of the world’s most expensive and delicious liquids, Sauterne; albeit SB making up about half. Sell a kidney and you, too, can get a case of First Growth Chateau d’Yquem. And you may think it is worth it! Honey, lime, viscosity, acidity, sweetness. Dang, there goes the retirement.

Importantly, SB is normally value priced, so you can keep all your important parts. I don’t know whether it’s my rapidly advancing age or dietary changes

to increasing, somewhat gluttonous quantities of lighter food, but SB hits my mark. Mind you, it’s not healthy to stand between me and the dinner table with anything on it, but over the years I’ve gravitated to particularly lighter wines; SB being a favorite.

In prior columns I have noted my personal affinity for sparkling wine and Riesling with anything, steak and cigar included. Not so with SB, at least not in my mouth. For me, SB is the perfect cocktail and light – fare food wine with its normally low alcohol, high acidity and pleasing quaffable flavors.

I’m aware this rag promotes Northwest wines, however, I think it’s important for you to try wines of the world, SB being one of them. I do, and by doing so I think it broadens my overall appreciation for SB. Try a Sancerre from France, an Australian Daryl Groom, a Geyser Peak Californian and New Zealand SB. They are intriguing, different and delicious. But it will likely show you the Northwest is squarely in the SB game.

It’s extremely important for you to drink wine exactly as I do; after all, I’m a columnist and you are not. None of us with an opinion and a pen would fool you, would we? So my important advice is to chill a bottle of SB, if you haven’t lately, and invite over your friends and family. You can tell them they won’t feel fooled when they drink SB, in moderation, frequently. is an attorney who lives in Richland, Wash. He is an original member of Wine Press Northwest’s tasting panel. Learn more about him at cokerothlaw.com.

COKE ROTH

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