The Wine Knows

The Seattle Aquarium Society and Seattle Uncorked co-sponsored a first-time event featuring wines from over 50 new and relatively new Washington and Oregon (two) wineries. Held June 25th at the Aquarium, the well-attended event (dubbed "Debuts and Discoveries") offered an excellent opportunity to taste wine from a large group of geographically dispersed wineries many well off the beaten path.

In the course of 2 1/2 hours I was able to taste through just under 60 wines (yes, he was spitting and dribbling). To keep pace, I was unable to take detailed notes on each of the wines but did attempt to rate all those tasted. Most of the wineries were pouring only a few of their available wines. The program listed two wines per winery but the majority had others to offer. Thus, based just on the wines tasted, here are the wineries that made an impression, followed by the specific wines that stood out.

(In alphabetical order) DAMA Wines (Walla Walla), Darby Winery (Woodinville), DiStefano Winery (established Woodinville winery but pouring somewhat new red blends), Lodmell (Walla Walla), Maison Bleue Winery (Prosser), Otis Kenyon (Walla Walla), Patterson Cellars (Woodinville), Rotie Cellars (Walla Walla) and Upland Estates (Yakima). ((Note: Having just visited the wineries, I did not taste the wines from Airfield Estates (Prosser), Chateau Rollat (Walla Walla), Olsen Estates (Prosser) and Trust (Walla Walla). These are all first-rate operations and would have made this list.))

As for rating the wines, I use the baseball scoring system: Grand Slam, Home Run, Triple, Double, Single, and Out. Among the wines tasted, there were no Grand Slams, 3 Home Runs, 8 Triples, 15 Doubles, 22 Singles and amazingly only 6 Outs. The Home Runs were: DAMA Wines 2007 Syrah, Otis Kenyon 2006 Merlot, Patterson Cellars 2006 Woodslake Syrah. The Triples: Darby Winery 2007 Aunt Lee Syrah, DiStefano Winery 2005 Domenica (merlot focused Bordeaux blend) and 2004 Donna Maria (syrah focused Rhone Blend), Maison Bleue Winery 2008 Notre Vie Viognier and 2008 La Valle'e du Soleil Roussane (almost a Home Run), Rotie Cellars 2007 Northern Blend (almost a Home Run) and 2007 Southern Blend, and Sweet Valley Wines 2008 Viognier.

OBSERVATIONS

1. It is nice to see an ever increasing number of wineries focusing on traditional Rhone white varietals such as Viognier and Roussanne. A blend of these two grapes seems to really work in this area. The floral fruity quality of Viognier melds expressively with the pear, herbal tea and earthy quality of Roussanne. Also, encouraging was to see an Albarino (a personal favorite) wine make an appearance. Shady Grove Winery was pouring its 2008 Albarino. Let's hope WA grown Torrontes wines are soon on the way. I think this Argentine staple grape will excel here, similar to the way Malbec has.

2. Syrah seems to be approaching a crossroad in terms of the style our winemakers are choosing to pursue. This versatile grape can be made in a number ways any of which can find popularity among wine buyers. In recent vintages more wineries are moving toward a somewhat lighter (less dense on the palate), brighter fruit (higher acidity) style while trying to maintain structure and balance. Co-fermentation with Viognier is common in this kind of winemaking. The main contrasting approach is what might be called the traditional style pioneered by David Lake at Columbia Winery with his Red Willow syrahs. This style, while still fruit forward, is generally more rustic, tannic, extracted and lower in acid. My preference is Syrahs from the "old school", but can appreciate the new way as well. The open question is: will a single style-type for WA
Syrah eventually emerge or will it continue to be a polyglot of styles? Does it matter?

3. A pleasant surprise came from one of the two Oregon wineries present. Artisanal Wine Cellars (Newberg) poured a very tasty Viognier and two Pinot Noirs. One of the Pinots came from the Adams Vineyard in the Chehalem Mountains AVA. This brought back fond memories of the now defunct Adams Winery, whose wines were among some of the first Oregon Pinots I purchased back in the late 80's. The Adams Pinots were memorably big and tannic and not for the faint of heart. They stood in stark contrast to David Lett's softer, more elegant style of Pinot at Eyrie. Wish I had some left.

BIG RAVES

1. Loved the venue and the layout of the tasting/food tables. There were two main tasting areas each with their own band playing. The attractions of the aquarium's main section provided a terrific backdrop with lots of interesting things to look at while tasting. It may have been just me but towards the end it seemed like the fish had a quizzical look in there eye, wondering how different this group of folks, some of which by now were approaching their fill, was from the normal daytime crowd. The fish were keenly observing.

2. Another great idea was to have the wines being tasted on site for purchase. Given that most of the wineries participating are small, remote, and/or self-distributed, it made it very convenient to pick up favored wines on the way out. All profits went to the Seattle Aquarium Society. In my view, wineries do not get enough acknowledgment or credit for the wine/profits they donate to these types of events.

SMALL RANTS

1. It was very difficult moving around and from table to table. I am not sure if this was because of the venue's space constraints or too many tickets sold.

2. Each table needs some sort of clearly-placed, standard signage with the winery's name. The only way to identify some of the wineries was by getting up close and reading the bottles. A layout diagram with the program would help as well.

3. Note to all event organizers: Please locate dump buckets at strategic places away from the tasting tables. People drink more than they should or want because there is not a convenient place to dump. As mentioned, access to the tables, where the dump buckets were located, was constricted. I carried a 16oz cup along and probably dumped the equivalent of six or seven full cups or about five 750ML bottles.

To others who attended, I would be interested in your thoughts or comments.

Your faithful reporter,

Mike O.