Wine 101—The Gathering Place July 2010 - Wines of Substance and Waters Winery
Jamie Brown Wines of Substance Cool note...
Greg was one of the three Master Sommeliers that tested me for my first level Court of Master Sommelier course I passed last year. In 1996 at the age of 26, Greg Harrington became the youngest American to pass the Master Sommelier exam, a title held by less than 80 people in the United States. There are 170 MS in the world now.was one of the Hot small brands of 2009 according to Wine Business monthly magazine. A partnership between Jamie Brown, winemaker of Waters Winery and Greg Harrington, Gramercy Cellars, the Substance wines are a value, Washington brand crafted at Waters winery from a mixture of estate fruit and sourced grapes from various vineyards in Walla Walla and Columbia Valley. These are approachable wines with great finesse and flavor at a reasonable price! 2009 Substance Sb
100% Sauvignon Blanc. Tropical fruit notes of mango and peach, citrus, orange herbs and a almost hidden tinge of grass characterize the nose. Grapefruit arises more distinctly as the wine opens. It has a little CO2 spritz and an extended finish with distinct flavors of orange rind and grapefruit.
Pairs great with grilled or sauteed foods or raw vegies. Especially good with vinaegrettes and smoked seafoods Retail $15.99Columbia Valley Alcohol 12.9%(wine-maker for both wineries) is a Walla Walla native. Jamie moved to Seattle after high school to pursue music, eventually opening his own music store. Several restauranteurs became clients, and started providing Jamie an education in fine wine. Jamie’s passion for wine developed alongside an interest in the art of winemaking. Jamie credits his love and knowledge of making music for helping him to become an intuitive winemaker. “My goal as a musician and song writer was to anticipate a melody, without restricting its natural direction. The same is true for wine. You develop your intuition and experience as a winemaker by recognizing the strengths of a particular vineyard, grape variety, or vintage. You learn to appreciate what nature gives you and allow those elements to shape the way you make wines.”2008 Substance Me Columbia Valley Alcohol 13.7%The 2008 Merlot is sexy. Not like Megan Fox little black dress, young Hollywood sexy, but more like Demi Moore sexy – mature, elegant and refined, but with a dark and dirty side (Ladies- don’t think we’re leaving you out - think Shia LeBoeuf/George Clooney). This Merlot is a lot like a Cab but softer and rounder with focus on green and herbal flavors.
Pairs great with a big steak, lamb or pork chops, meatloaf. This is not your ordinary merlot; it has flavors of cured meat, almond pastry and black tea sifting through, ephemeral but fascinating. At the heart is good black-cherry fruit it shows the ample muscle of Washington merlot. The 2008 Merlot is a “what happens in Vegas people just hav2007 Waters Syrah
100% Syrah Our 2007 Columbia Valley Syrah, could easily compete in the line-up of single vineyard Syrahs that we release in the fall. This wine is known for its high natural acid, creamy mouth-feel, refined tannins and balance of fruit and earth, making it the ultimate wine for food pairing. The aromatics and flavors are marked by numerous layers - black cherry, cola, cracked pepper, Asian spices, olives, mushrooms, grilled meats, charcuterie and so on. The structure is lush without being over-ripe, and offers a streamlined burst of acidity from the tip of your tongue to the back of the mouth. This rather distinct energy in the palate forces you to think more about the crescendo of structure rather than the long finish.
Pairs great with chili, BBQ ribs, hamburgers, beef stroganoff. Retail $29.99Columbia Valley Alcohol 14.2%e tell the entire world about ” dirty wine. And by dirty we mean earthy – stone, mineral, gravel with red and black fruits. But is also seductive and charming. Retail $19.99
Wine 101— May 2010 Yalumba Winery
Yalumba was founded in 1849 by Samuel Smith, British migrant and English brewer, who had brought his family to Angaston seeking a new life. After purchasing a 30-acre parcel of land just beyond the southern-eastern boundary of Angaston, Smith and his son began planting the first vines by moonlight. Samuel named his patch "Yalumba" – aboriginal for "all the land around". Yalumba is one of the few wineries to have its own cooperage on site Five generations and 160 years later Yalumba, Australia's oldest family owned winery, has grown in size and stature, embodying all that has made the Australian wine success story the envy of winemakers the world over.
2008 Chardonnay “Wild Ferment” Barossa Alcohol 13.5% Recent Australian winemaking trends have seen the emergence of an exciting new style of Chardonnay by working more with site and vine selection, and focusing on balance and elegance. For Yalumba the result is a wine boasting a combination of unique terroir, high quality vines and the use of ‘wild ferment’ techniques, allowing the natural yeasts that occur in the vineyard to initiate fermentation. This chardonnay is sourced from the Eden Valley and features the use of indigenous vineyard yeast, or 'wild’ yeast in the fermentation process, which are present on the on the grapes at time of harvest. The many individual yeast strains each participate in the fermentation process by building layers of complexity and finesse into the wine .The colour of this wine is pale gold with green tints. The nose displays lifted citrus zest and fresh quince with subtle notes of white nougat and toasted almonds. Finely structured and seamless, the palate is all about texture. Creamy nougat, citrus and hints of white nectarine combine elegantly with the subtle nuances of French oak and a restrained citrus acidity for a lingering finish. Serve with Thai chicken salad or gnocchi with sautéed prawns and a burnt butter sauce.
The Scribbler 2007 Barossa Alcohol 13.5% This Cabernet & Shiraz wine draws on the strong heritage and unmatched diversity found in Australia’s most celebrated wine region, the Barossa. The Scribbler’ is a wine with excellent depth of colour, richness and complexity, displaying an aroma of riper style Barossa Cabernet Shiraz. It shows dark plum fruits, black cherry, dark tobacco and hints of leafiness all with the dark undertones of mocha oak. It is a well structured wine with a full and robust palate, displaying the classic red berry fruit flavour of Cabernet Sauvignon and the sweet mid-palate of Shiraz. ‘The Scribbler’ finishes with tannins that have a black olive and red spice tone. Perfect with a game pie on a truffled parmesan and parsnip mash. This wine is perfect to enjoy now, but will cellar over the next 5-10 years.
The Cigar 2006 Coonawarra Alcohol 14% Yalumba Coonawarra Estate ‘The Menzies’ vineyard is in the heart of the Coonawarra terra rossa country. ‘The Cigar’ is Yalumba’s newest wine release. This wine is named after the unique Cigar-shaped strip of rich red terra rossa soil. Having established The Menzies Vineyard in 1987, Yalumba is fortunate to be a part of this iconic region and salutes its pioneers and those privileged to inherit its future. Deep magenta in colour with a nose of full intensity, the Cigar 2006 is a brooding wine showing leather, dark chocolate and high tones of cassis and jujube fruit pastilles. The palate surprises as it is not the brute the nose suggests. It is medium bodied wine with fruit flavours of dark cherries and blackberries, Food: Roast Duck with all of the trimmings. Good now—can cellar up to 15 years.
Wine 101 March Wine Club—Mutt Lynch Winery 2010
Welcome to a wonderful world where wine and "all things dog" combine into something truly special. Award winning wines, dog-awesome labels and more If you to sniff around you’ll discover some doggone good. "One of the 10 Most Ultimutt Wineries" - City Dog Magazine "North America’s Most Renowned Dog Winery" - Modern Dog Magazine The California wine business brought them together. A chance meeting over 20 years ago and love at first site. It’s been a wonderful ride ever since. Mutt Lynch Winery was born in 1995 combining their mutual passion for wine and “all things dog.” Their motto is:
Apply dog logic to life: eat well, be loved, get petted, sleep a lot and dream of a leash free world.
2008 Unleashed Chardonnay Central Coast Alcohol 14.5%
Unwooded equals “Unleashed”. Our Unleashed Chardonnay is all about “fruit jumping out of the glass”, like a dog jumping out of a vineyard! Get it? Brenda balances Chardonnay’s natural fruit character with two key winemaking steps - malolactic fermentation to soften the wine’s natural acidity and sur lie aging and stirring in tank to provide mid palette richness. What’s not to like. Aromas and flavors of peaches and cream, baked red apple and just a hint of honey, a tangy entry with ripe fruit flavors followed by a soft and creamy finish. And the drum roll please… no oak. Great with Dungeness crab and other shellfish, poached chicken breast, pasta in cream sauce or a fresh fruit salad 5,422 cases produced Retail $ 10.99
2007 Portrait of a Mutt Zinfandel Central Coast Alcohol 14.5%
89% Zinfandel, 8% Carignane Always a blend—thus a mutt. Wonderful aromas of pure jam (raspberry, blackberry and cherry - take your pick) are followed by Zinfandel’s signature ripe and viscous entry. The ‘mutt’ shows itself in the finish where tannins and cleansing acidity give the wine complexity and drinkability at the same time. Portrait of a Mutt is amazing in its ability to pair with a wide variety of foods - BBQ, pastas, summer-grilled veggies, or by itself watching a ball game while lounging on the couch (okay, with some chips and dip) 5,380 cases produced Retail $10.99
2006 Canis Major Petite Sirah Dry Creek Valley Alcohol 15%
100% Petite Sirah The wine has an inky, purple color so typical of Petite Sirah. Ultra ripe boysenberry and blackberry fruit literally explodes in the wine’s aroma and entry. The wine has a lush, fruit driven mouth-feel that is all about ripe fruit and ripe tannins. The tannic structure again so typical of Petite Sirah “sneaks up” and creates a mouth filling, extra long finish. The tannins are ripe and plush, and truly complement the ultra ripe fruit flavors of the wine. 110 cases produced. Retail $25.99
Our Jan wine club has representations from Northern Italy in the Alto Adige and Austria. These German style wine production areas are primarily known for production of white wine. Red wine production surged in the 1990s. Primarily fueled by domestic demand, the proportion of the vineyards devoted to the cultivation of dark-skinned grape varieties has now stabilized at slightly more than a third of total surface.
Sudtiroler Gewurztraminer 2007 Alcohol 13% Notes Winery: Josef Weger Located in the alpine region of northern Italy, Alto Adige – Technically this is in Italy – but it is a German speaking region that was part of Austria until 1918. The Weger family was one of the first family wineries in the region to bottle their own wine, starting in 1820. Johannes Weger, the current owner, is the 6th generation to run the estate. This 100% Gewurztramier (the w is a v sound) was fermented in stainless steel tanks. This dry Gewürztraminer is very aromatic with juicy tropical fruits on the palate. Delicate texture with spice cake flavors on the finish-Very elegant! Great with shell fish. 5 grams RS/L. 625 cases produced. Retail $20.99
St. Laurent Klassik 2008 Alcohol 12.5% Notes Winery Weingut Pittnauer Located in the wine region of Neusiedlersee, Austria. The special microclimate of this district is characterized by Austria's longest hours of sunlight, high humidity and moderate temperatures influenced by the large, shallow lake, the Neusiedlersee. St. Laurent is a grape found in Austria and southern Germany that is related to Pinot Noir, but it is much bigger in style than most pinots. Sometimes St. Laurent is compared to a big Central Otago Pinot Noir. The Klassik is a St. Laurent that sees only 6 months in used barriques. Fruit-forward style. Dark cherries and blackberries on the palate. 100% Biodynamic! 1 gram RS/L. 833 cases produced. Retail $23.99 Blaufrankisch Klassik 2006 (Lemberger) Alcohol 13% Notes Blaufrankisch is an Austrian grape, comparable to Syrah. Pittnauer’s Blaufränkisch is BIG and Bold, loaded with black berries and plum flavors with a spicy finish. (German for blue "Frankish") is a dark-skinned variety of grape. Blaufränkisch, which is a late-ripening variety gives red wines which are typically rich in tannin and may exhibit a pronounced spicy character. Young wines are deeply fruity and become more velvety, supple and complex with age. Perfect for BBQ or Pizza! 2 grams RS/L. Note— Our state is one of the few major wine regions to have significant plantings of Lemberger.) 2,500 cases produced. Retail $19.99 Jan 2010
