Washington State produces many excellent wines from many different grape varieties. There is much debate as to which red wine Washington does best. Some say Syrah, others Merlot, and others red Bordeaux-style blends. Recently, we had what turned out to be a Washington red blends showdown in one of our private tasting dinners pitting the 2006 Saviah Cellars Une Vallee Red Wine against the 2006 Mackay Duck Press Red. We thought both wines were excellent but gave a slight edge to the Saviah Une Vallee. Both wines paired well with Mom’s dinner of mixed green salad, beef tenderloin steaks, baked sweet potatoes, stir-fried broccoli, carrots, and snap peas, and topped off by razzleberry pie with ice cream. For a more complete description of how we set up these private tastings, please refer to How We Taste.

Saviah Cellars (our Best Washington Winery of 2009) is a family-owned winery located south of downtown Walla Walla, Washington, near the Oregon state line. Founded in 2000 by winemaker Rich Funk and his wife Anita, Saviah Cellars currently produces about 9,500 cases per year. The name Saviah is a family name from Anita’s great-grandmother. This classic Left Bank Bordeaux-style red blend is a consistent performer for Saviah Cellars from vintage to vintage.

The Duck Press Red is produced and bottled for Mackay Restaurants by Alexandria Nicole Cellars. Founded in 2004 by winemaker Jarrod Boyle and his wife Ali, Alexandria Nicole Cellars is located on their 243-acre estate vineyard, Destiny Ridge Vineyard, in the Horse Heaven Hills overlooking the Columbia River. They also have tasting rooms in Prosser and Woodinville as well. All of the fruit for the Duck Press Red comes from Destiny Ridge Vineyard. A friend who is a member of Alexandria Nicole’s wine club gave us this wine so we decided to put it into our private tasting lineup against a proven favorite.

This was an excellent tasting. Both wines are also good values that are worth a try if you see them at your local wine shop or restaurant.

2006 Saviah Cellars Une Vallee Red Wine (Walla Walla Valley, Washington): 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 34% Merlot, and 6% Cabernet Franc. Deep, dark purple in color. Very aromatic with leather and burnt wood aromas. Fruit-forward with red and black fruits and spice coming through on the palate. Medium to full-bodied and lively with medium tannins. Well-balanced and smooth with a long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $32

2006 Mackay Duck Press Red (Destiny Ridge Vineyard, Horse Heaven Hills, Washington): 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 24% Merlot, 14% Malbec, and 10% Petit Verdot. Deep, dark purple with aromas of oak, new leather, and vanilla. Black fruit flavors, especially blackberries, dominate the palate. Medium to full-bodied and lively with medium tannins. Well-balanced with a long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $32

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is frizzante.

Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine:
Frizzante is an Italian wine term for semi-sparkling wine (as opposed to spumante, which is used for fully sparkling wines). Frizzante wines generally owe their bubbles to a partial second fermentation in tank, a sort of interrupted Charmat process sparkling wine.

Layman’s terms from Kori:
Frizzante is a semi-sparkling wine. The term originated in Italy but can be found on some semi-sparkling wines in the United States as well.

When I first saw this book, When the Rivers Ran Red: An Amazing Story of Courage and Triumph in America’s Wine Country, on the shelf of my local Barnes and Noble, I knew I had to buy it, not for the great title, but for the last name of the author, Vivienne Sosnowski. When you have a rather uncommon last name as I do, Sosnowy, Sosnowski seemed like she could be a close relative. Unfortunately, after a little research into the family tree, I don’t believe Ms. Sosnowski is a relative, but her book intrigued me nonetheless.

I learned that Sosnowski has had a long and distinguished career as a journalist before writing this book. She was named vice president and national editorial director of Clarity Media Group in January 2007.  She had become executive editor of The Washington Examiner in 2006, and before that was executive editor of The San Francisco Examiner. Prior to coming to San Francisco in August 2004, she had been editor of The Province in Vancouver, B.C., and before that was executive editor of Toronto’s National Post. According to her publisher, she now splits her time between Healdsburg, California, and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

This book is the story of California’s fledgling wine industry during the ugly days of Prohibition. While many winery families struggled to just hang on, others prospered as never before through legal and sometimes illegal means. I found their stories fascinating. Today, people around the world are familiar with California’s wines but are probably unaware that 90 years ago the families who made these wines, and in some cases still do, were faced with momentous decisions about what to do to save the wine industry and their chosen way of life. When Prohibition began in 1919, chaos erupted in the wine country of Northern California. Federal agents spilled untold gallons of wine in the rivers and creeks, gun battles erupted, and local law enforcement officers found ways to evade the federal authorities in order to help their winemaking neighbors.

“Sosnowski’s fascinating account of how Napa and Sonoma winemakers struggled to survive during the national insanity known as Prohibition fills a giant hole in the history of American wine. Wine lovers everywhere should thank her for tracking down survivors, many now in their 90s, who provided rich accounts of what it was like to live through that terrible nightmare. A tale well told—Sosnowski has a fine touch.” –George M. Taber, bestselling author of Judgment of Paris

This is very good book; I recommend that you pick up a copy today. Have you already read When the Rivers Ran Red? If so, please leave a comment and let us know what you thought of it.

Cheers!

Would you like a quick suggestion for a good wine to drink tonight (or this weekend) that won’t break your budget and is widely available? Many of our readers have said this is something they would like, so here is this week’s selection, the 2006 Jacob’s Creek Reserve Shiraz from South Australia.

Our selection criteria include:

• A very good Quality rating of >=3.5 stars (out of 5)
• A price tag of <=$15
• Must be widely available

When we visited the Barossa Valley of Australia in 2005, one of our stops was at the beautiful, modern Jacob’s Creek Wine Tasting Centre, located fittingly on the banks of Jacob’s Creek, close to the site of the first commercial vineyard in the Barossa, planted in the mid 1800’s.  Today, Jacob’s Creek is one of the world’s most popular wine brands and part of the Orlando Wines family.

We have tasted a number of the vintages of Jacob’s Creek Reserve Shiraz, and it has been a consistently good wine with an excellent QPR. While the suggested retail price is $14, I’ve often found it for $10 or less.

“The 2006 Jacob’s Creek Reserve Shiraz is a full bodied wine displaying rich fruit flavours of dark berries and plums and velvety tannins. Lovely acid balance and integration of flavours result in a supple and engaging wine with a lingering finish of spice, chocolate and mocha. A true expression of Australian Shiraz, to be enjoyed now or which with careful cellaring will develop gracefully over the next ten years.” –Jacob’s Creek

2006 Jacob’s Creek Reserve Shiraz (South Australia, Australia): Deep, dark red in color. Black fruits and black pepper on the nose, along with a hint of Ben-Gay. More black fruits, particularly black plums, black pepper and spice come through on the palate. Medium to full-bodied and lively with medium to high tannins and a long finish. Well-balanced.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to Buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $14; Available elsewhere, $8 to 15

One family tradition that has emerged in recent years is to make Bananas Foster, which just happens to be my favorite dessert, after our Christmas Eve dinner. Mom (LaGayle) decided to shake things up a bit this year, and we enjoyed a different Christmas Eve meal than we normally do. However, not wanting to forego Bananas Foster for a whole year, we decided to have a special post-holiday family dinner. Nothing like extending the holidays, right?

Recently, Mom prepared a fabulous meal of mixed green salad, prime rib, baked sweet potato, and seasoned green beans. Unbeknownst to the rest of us, Dad selected a wine from his bucket list that he had in his cellar. He decanted it for three hours prior to dinner. When I sat down and took my first sip, I was immediately blown away. Wow! When he unveiled the bottle, we found that we had been enjoying the 1996 Penfolds Grange. This was only the second time I’ve ever had the pleasure of drinking a Grange, Australia’s most famous wine and one of the most sought after wines in the world. You may remember that the other, the 1976 Penfolds Grange, was the best wine I’ve ever had. And I must say that this 1996 Grange certainly makes my top 10.

I was excited to learn that one of my favorite winemakers, John Duval, was the winemaker for this 1996 Penfolds Grange. John Duval is one of the most famous winemakers in Australia and around the world. He spent 16 years as the chief winemaker for Penfolds and is best known for his work with Penfolds Grange. In 2002, he left Penfolds to establish John Duval Wines. Now he is also one of the Long Shadows winemaker-partners making Sequel Syrah here in Washington State. I have been fortunate enough to taste a number of his wines, and they are all fabulous.

What a special family dinner this was, a great meal, a “Wow!” wine, and Bananas Foster. For me, it doesn’t get much better than this.

1996 Penfolds Grange (South Australia, Australia): Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon. Dark, dense, almost opaque garnet in color. Gorgeous nose with blackberry, black cherry, sage, cinnamon, and caramel aromas. Blackberry liqueur, spice, and chocolate come through on the palate. Full-bodied and lively with high tannins and a very long finish. Big, bold, chewy, smooth, and extremely well-balanced. Wow!
Quality: 5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bang for your buck (out of 5)
Where we purchased it: The Wine Center (Illinois), $175; Available elsewhere, $220 to $400

One of our resolutions for the New Year is to explore more wines from around the world. Since we live in Washington State and often drink wines from Washington State, we want to make sure that we continue to hone our knowledge of the entire world of wine and maintain well-rounded palates in order to make us even more objective when we evaluate wines from Washington State. As a result, we have put together a Wine Peeps Tasting Group which includes what we think is an excellent peer group of knowledgeable wine lovers to taste, share, and learn more about wine together. Unlike our monthly wine tasting dinners in which the guests rotate, this tasting group includes people who are committed to getting together once a month which we hope will benefit all of us. In addition to trying varieties and regions that we do not taste frequently, the other main difference between this group and our wine tasting dinners is that each group member will bring a bottle consistent with the month’s theme so no one will know all the wines in the blind tasting.

Last week, we met for the first time and explored Spanish reds from Rioja and Ribera del Duero. All of the wines were predominately Tempranillo. Rioja, located in north-central Spain, is probably the most well-known wine region in Spain. Red wines from Rioja are typically Tempranillo-based and may have some Garnacha (Grenache), Mazuelo, or Graciano blended in as well. Ribera del Duero is also located in north-central Spain but is south of Rioja. Red wines from Ribera del Duero are also typically Tempranillo-based but are often blended with small amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and sometimes Malbec. In Ribera del Duero, Tempranillo is frequently called Tinto del Pais or Tinto Fino.

Tempranillo is not particularly a fruit-driven wine, often showing aromas and flavors of wood and leather up front. Given this flavor profile, Tempranillo wines often seem older than they actually are. Taking its name from the Spanish word “temprano” which means early, Tempranillo tends to ripen early.

We tasted seven wines, but unfortunately, one of them was corked so it is not included in the tasting notes below. The consensus favorite was the 2006 Alejandro Fernandez Tinto Pesquera Crianza which garnered six out of seven first place votes. There were some other good wines in the tasting, but unfortunately, only the Tinto Pesquera had a high QPR.

From 1st to last in the group consensus rankings:

2006 Alejandro Fernandez Tinto Pesquera Crianza (Ribera del Duero, Spain): Medium, ruby red in color. Gorgeous nose with vanilla, cedar, and jalapeno pepper aromas. Red fruits and spice come through on the palate. Good acidity and medium tannins with a long finish. Extremely well-balanced.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Fred Meyer (Seattle, Washington), $31; Available elsewhere, $23 to $39

2004 Cillar de Silos Altos de Revilla (Ribera del Duero, Spain): 100% Tempranillo. 60 year old vines. Aged 18 months in 100% new French oak. Deep red and very aromatic. Cherry Coke and root beer barrel candy on the nose; big, red fruits on the palate. Drying tannins and a long finish.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 1 bang for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Available from various retailers, $50 to $65

2004 Finca Villacreces (Ribera del Duero, Spain): Deep, ruby red in color. Aromas of tobacco and smoke lead to flavors of raspberry, spice, espresso, and cocoa powder. Medium-bodied with good acidity and medium tannins. Smooth.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 1 bang for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Available from various retailers, $36 to $37

2005 Emilio Moro Malleolus (Ribera del Duero, Spain): 100% Tinto Fino (aka Tempranillo). Aged 18 months in new French oak. Medium red with floral and spice notes on the nose. Red fruit and leather flavors come through on the palate. Medium-bodied and viscous with chewy tannins and a long finish.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 1 bang for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Available from various retailers, $59 to $72

2004 Lan Reserva (Rioja, Spain): Medium to deep red with some vegetal aromas and funk on the nose. Good fruit up front but trails off a bit in the mid-palate. Drying tannins and lively acidity.
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR:  1 bang for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Fred Meyer (Seattle, Washington), $17.50; Available elsewhere, $13 to $24

2005 Conde de Valdemar Crianza (Rioja, Spain): 90% Tempranillo, 10% Mazuelo. Aged 15 months in American oak. Ruby red in color. Tobacco, alcohol, and raisins dominate the nose. Bland and watery on the palate. Not much to it.
Quality: 2.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: NR (not recommended)
Where to buy: Available from various retailers, $11 to $19

For years, I’ve had friends tell me that they can’t find the great Washington State wines that I tell them about where they live. So with the help of Wine-Searcher.com and a lot of legwork, I’ve set out on a mission to prove them wrong.

This is the sixth in a series of posts to help you find great Washington State wines in the major cities and areas all around the country. So far, the series has featured New York City, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, and Los Angeles. Today, I’m searching for Washington State wine in the San Francisco, California, area.

Here’s the format: To be selected, a store first has to have a Wine-Searcher.com rating of 4 or higher on a scale of 1 to 5 for customer service, reliability, etc. Next, it has to stock Washington State wines that we really like. Finally, they need to be an online retailer as well, so that if you don’t live close enough to the store to drop in, you can still purchase their wines.

Based on the Wine-Searcher rating alone, I would only have two San Francisco area retailers to recommend, K&L Wine Merchants and J.J. Buckley.  However, because I have personally done business with and been pleased with the service at Beverages and More, I have included them in this list as well. I’m hoping that some of our readers will weigh in with their comments if they know of other San Francisco area wine retailers with a good selection of Washington wines.

Of the three retailers that I’ve selected, K&L Wine Merchants has the largest overall selection of Washington State wines, which includes a good mix of mainstream and high end wines. Beverages and More comes in as a close second and has five locations in the San Francisco area. J.J. Buckley doesn’t have a huge selection but carries some great Washington wines. I was hoping for more retailer choices in San Francisco that met our criteria, but its proximity to Napa and Sonoma probably explains why there are not more.

Listed below are the three retailers with their street addresses and links to their websites. Please let me know how you find their service and selection when you visit in person, and don’t hesitate to ask us any questions you might have about any of the Washington wines they are offering.

K&L Wine Merchants, 638 4th St, San Francisco, CA

Beverages and More, 1301 Van Ness Blvd, San Francisco, CA

J.J. Buckley, 7305 Edgewater Dr, Suite E, Oakland, CA

(Photo by zoonabar)

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is enology.

Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine:
Enology, or oenology, is the knowledge or study of wine, derived from the Greek oinos meaning ‘wine’. …. Enology has been used as synonymous with wine-making and distinct from viticulture, which is concerned with vines.

Layman’s terms from Kori:
Enology is the study of winemaking.

For years we’ve had wine marketing folks trying to dream up the best way to package and present wine: eye-catching labels, heavy bottles, then light bottles in an effort to be more “green,” and different shaped bottles to catch your attention. However, in all of the above, the basic package was still a glass wine bottle. Today, alternative wine packaging is everywhere.

Here are some of the most common wine packaging alternatives on the market today:

• Boxed wine. Boxed wine is actually a bag-in-a-box, a plastic bladder housed by a cardboard box. The most popular boxed wine is Franzia.
• Plastic bottle. Wolf Blass and others are experimenting with plastic (polyethylene terephthalate or PET) bottles in an attempt to lower its carbon footprint.
• Aluminum bottle. Think Wines, Volute, and Boisset are among the producers using aluminum bottles. Boisset’s bottle even features a dot on the label that changes color when the wine is chilled to the proper temperature.
• Aluminum can. Wine in a soda can ought to be a big hit, as long as a straw comes with it, and it does in the case of Francis Ford Coppola’s Sofia Mini Blanc de Blancs.
• TetraPak. Boisset is again a leader in alternative packaging, this time with a TetraPak carton, commonly used for juice boxes.
• Mini-barrel. We first saw this at the Wine Bloggers Conference last fall. It looks like boxed wine gone upscale. It’s actually wine in a bag inside an oak mini-barrel that collapses as the wine is consumed. Some claim that the wine will remain fresh for a month or two.

With these new packaging choices, the biggest question is whether any of them will ever catch on with the mainstream wine lover. In my opinion, some of these new packages actually make some environmental and economical sense, but I wonder if producers will really put decent wine in them. And even if they do put decent wine in them, will the average wine consumer buy them or not?

We’d love to hear your thoughts. Have you had wine in any of these alternative packages? If so, what did you think of the package itself and of the wine inside? What other alternative wine packaging have you seen?

(Photo from Francis Ford Coppola Winery)

We are thrilled to announce the release of our new Wine Peeps iPhone app. For those of you who have an iPhone or iPod Touch, this app is yet another way to connect with us and access our content. And best of all, right now it is FREE.

The Wine Peeps app, created in partnership with MotherApp, allows you to easily scroll through and read our recent posts as well as my Twitter feed. And if you enjoy the post and/or would like to share it, the app makes it easy to mark it as a favorite for quick future reference or to share it with others via email, Twitter, or Facebook.

We hope you’ll check the app out and let us know what you think. And, if you like it, we would appreciate it if you would also post a positive review in iTunes.

Cheers!