The Wine Knows

I half-jokingly refer to my dad, Ken Degerman, as the North Idaho bureau chief of Wine Press Northwest. Well, dear old Dad came up with something that was news to me.

While my folks appreciate most any wine that I bring to share with them, they aren't shy about enjoying Stimson Estate Cellars as their Tuesday night wine. And Dad bought these 1.5-liter bottles long before he began referring to his 401(k) as his "101(k)."

Now, Dad doesn't routinely call me — usually I call — so when he does ring me, it's usually something quite important. This afternoon blast was more than asking what tee time I want at Twin Lakes Village.

"Did you know they don't make the Stimson any more?" he asked.

A clerk at the Fred Meyer in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, told them of this development. And Stimson shelf space will belong to Columbia Crest's Two Vines products.

Dad was somewhere between incredulous and disappointed. So, today I contacted Lynda Eller, senior communications manager for Ste. Michelle Wine Estates.

"Yes, that is true," she wrote. "We had to discontinue the SEC wines. SEC was created when we had a surplus of juice. We now have a home for all or our grapes and do not have the extra juice needed to make this wine. We hope our loyal fans of SEC wines will try our Columbia Crest Two Vines wines, which are made in a similar fruit-forward style and are also a great value."

Now, I've heard from some critics of Wine Press Northwest that our palates can't be trusted because we enjoy so many SMWE wines, particularly the lower-tier bottlings.

Regardless, the Two Vines wines continually blow us away. (See the Recent Releases section of the Summer 2009 issue.)

We don't judge wines by the label or the price. And historically, the Stimson Estate Cellars wines held their own in the double-blind judgings for Recent Releases.

In the Summer 2008 issue, the 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon received our "Outstanding!" rating. There were 83,000 cases produced. The 2003 Chardonnay was "excellent." Case production was 150,000. And the 2004 Merlot also was deemed "excellent." A mere 59,000 cases were released.

The suggested retail price on each SEC wine is $11, but my folks routinely have found these in Idaho at Fred Meyer or Rite Aid for $9 or less.

Dad, you'd better run back into CDA and load up. I'll be up to help you with them next week.