The April installment of Pick My Next Bottle focuses on Super Tuscans from the the 2004 vintage. As I mentioned in the first installment, the purpose of this series is to provide insight into specific wines or producers you may currently have in your cellar. The winning bottle will be opened on Saturday and a Bottle Note will be published the following week. 2004…
Previously known as Grand Rêve, Force Majeure was founded in 2004 by Paul McBride. Force Majeure pairs some of Washington’s highly acclaimed winemakers with fruit from one of Washington’s highly acclaimed vineyards, Ciel du Cheval. The winemakers contributing to the Collaboration Series is a Who’s Who of Washington winemakers including Ben Smith, Carolyn Lakewold, Chris Gorman, James Mantone, Mark McNeilly,…
March is Taste Washington Wine Month. Taste Washington Wine Month is an annual celebration of Washington State’s award winning industry. The culmination of Taste Washington Wine Month is Taste Washington, a massive tasting of food and wine held at the CenturyLink Field Event Center. With that in mind the March Installment of Pick My Next Bottle focuses on great bottles…
The February installment of Pick My Next Bottle focuses on Châteauneuf-du-Pape from the the 2007 vintage. As I mentioned in the first installment, the purpose of this series is to provide insight into specific wines or producers you may currently have in your cellar. The winning bottle will be opened on Saturday and a Bottle Note will be published the following week. Robert…
Betz Family Winery was founded in 1997 by Bob & Cathy Betz. Critical acclaim from local and national wine publications has put Betz Family Winery at the forefront of Washington wines alongside Cayuse, Leonetti and Quilceda Creek. The winery was sold to Steve and Bridget Griessel (with Bob Betz remaining on as the winemaker), and I fully expect quality will…
With the arrival late last week of the Carlisle mailer so began the semi annual struggle of deciding what wines to buy from one of my very favorite producers. It seems that the number of wines available grows with each release making the decision all the more problematic. This particular mailer included a dozen different wines. Pretty convenient if you…
This is my 3rd annual “Birth Year” case blog post. This post can serve as a guide for readers who had children born in the year of 2011. My 2009 list and 2010 list were published around this time in the preceding years. 2011 was a challenging year in many regions known for the longevity of their wines including both…
Memorial Day is a day to remember our fallen soldiers. It is also the unofficial kickoff of grilling season and a great time to sit on the deck with a bottle of Rosé. Smart wineries are releasing their Rosé right now in advance of the hot weather and smart consumers should be stocking their cellars for the Summer. Below are…
I’m on too many mailing lists. It was one of the first topics I wrote about when Zinfandel Chronicles launched almost two years ago in Confessions of a Mailing List Addict. I think the last mailer I added to my annual purchases was Bedrock. All that being said, two new projects have really caught my attention. Sandlands is the personal…
Cayuse was founded in 1997 by Christophe Baron, a native of France who grew up in family of winemakers in Champagne. Baron studied viticulture in Burgundy and Champagne, and had ambitions to make Pinot Noir in Oregon. However, on a visit to Walla Walla, he found property that he believed would be perfect for growing grapes and decided to purchase…