Taste Washington 2009 is now in the books. So now it’s time to reflect on what we learned and tasted and look forward to next year. We had the pleasure to attend all of the Taste Washington festivities this year including the Washington Wine Restaurant Awards on Friday, Education Day on Saturday, and the Grand Tasting on Sunday. Tomorrow I will be posting a complete recap of the Grand Tasting and a breakdown of all the wines that we tasted throughout the weekend.

Today, I want to focus on the Restaurant Awards and Education Day. While they are attended by fewer people than the Grand Tasting, they are no less important. In fact, these two events afford attendees the rare opportunity to learn a ton about Washington wines and mingle with the people that make the Washington wine industry tick. The Restaurant Awards are not open to the public, but Education Day certainly is. If you have not attended any of the Taste Washington seminars in the past, you should make it a point to do so next year. They are definitely worth the time and money.

Washington Wine Restaurant Awards

The purpose of the Washington Wine Restaurant Awards is to honor restaurants, sommeliers, and individuals that help promote Washington wines in restaurants. Judges evaluate restaurants on a variety of criteria, including wine list, service and staffing, promotions and overall wine philosophy. The Walter Clore Honorarium, given to an individual who has demonstrated dedication to the advancement of the Washington wine industry, was awarded to Christopher Chan of The Rainier Club. The Washington Wine Restaurant of the Year is the most prestigious award, given to the restaurant that has promoted Washington wines above and beyond all others. This year’s winner was SkyCity at the Needle.

In addition to the awards ceremony, about 50 Washington wineries were pouring for a Washington Wine Trade Tasting which allowed us to get a head start on the wineries we wanted to taste at the Grand Tasting on Sunday.

Education Day

Education Day featured ten seminars on a variety of topics. The seminars give attendees the opportunity to taste, discuss, meet, and learn from some of the biggest names in the Washington wine industry as well as a few notable guests from outside of Washington State. In order to cover more, the Wine Peeps team split up and attended different seminars. I attended both Common Ground seminars, one featuring Klipsun Vineyard and the other featuring Champoux Vineyard. Dad (John) attended Party Like It’s 1999 and Winery-less Wines – The New Garagiste. Colby roamed from seminar to seminar taking pictures. And then we all came together for the final seminar of the day, Which One’s Washington.

Common Ground I – Klipsun Vineyard
Bruce Schoenfeld of Travel + Leisure Magazine led this seminar focused on Red Mountain’s famed Klipsun Vineyard. Patricia Gelles, owner/grower of Klipsun sat alongside three winemakers (John Bigelow of JM Cellars, Mike Januik of Januik Winery, and Chris Upchurch of DeLille Cellars) who utilize her grapes as well as wine writer Paul Gregutt and Michael Jordan, MS. We tasted three barrel samples, one from each winery, and then three current releases, one from each winery. My favorite of the wines we tasted was the 2006 Januik Winery Klipsun Vineyard Merlot. While Gelles is particular about which winemakers she will work with, she gives the winemakers she does work with a lot of credit. She said, “We wouldn’t have the fame we do without winemakers. It’s a great collaboration.” After tasting and discussing the similarities, differences, and characteristics of wines made from Klipsun Vineyard grapes, we tasted two mystery wines and were asked to identify which one was from Klipsun. Near the end of the seminar, Paul Gregutt made an excellent point regarding winemaking and vineyards: “Winemaking is not all done in the vineyards. It starts in the vineyard but is polished, or screwed up, in the winemaking.”

Common Ground II – Champoux Vineyard
This seminar followed the same format as the Klipsun seminar. Again, Bruce Schoenfeld moderated and Paul Gregutt and Michael Jordan MS were on the panel. Paul Champoux, owner/grower of the famed Champoux Vineyard in Horse Heaven Hills, joined them along with three winemakers who utilize his grapes (Chris Camarda of Andrew Will, Mike Januik of Januik Winery, and Rick Small of Woodward Canyon). Cabernet Sauvignon is the forte of Champoux Vineyard. Paul Gregutt referred to Champoux Vineyard as “iconic Washington at its best” and said that “Horse Heaven Hills really embodies a Washington style.” My favorite of the wines in this seminar was the 2006 Andrew Will Sorella.

Party Like It’s 1999! (Attended by John)
Bob Betz MW moderated an all-star panel representing five wineries (Betz Family Winery, Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Winery, Hedges Family Estate, and Woodward Canyon Winery) that provided samples of their Cabernet Sauvignon or Cab Blend from both the 1999 and 2006 vintages for us to taste and evaluate. My favorites were the two Woodward Canyon wines, the 1999 and 2006 “Artist Series” Cabernet Sauvignon, but I thought all of the wines were good. The 2006 Woodward Canyon is also a great bang-for-the-buck wine. Obviously, Washington produces wines that can age as evidenced by these 10 year old wines that were still fresh, and most of them will be good at least another 3 to 5 years in my opinion.

Winery-Less Wines – The New Garagiste! (Attended by John)
This very informative session was moderated by fellow wine blogger Alder Yarrow of Vinography.com. Not only did we taste six very good wines from six different winemakers (Cadaretta, Gorman Winery, Sparkman Cellars, Soos Creek Wine Cellars, Tamarack Cellars, and Walla Walla Vintners), but we learned how each of them got started in the wine business, their motivation for becoming a winemaker, the challenges of the business today, and what their plans are for the future. We also had an interesting discussion about wine critics, which they all basically consider a necessary evil, and how they believe (and I agree) that consistently good ratings across multiple vintages and varietals are a better indicator of a winemaker’s skill than a single high score. However, as we all know, a high score sells. My favorite wines in this session were the 2006 Walla Walla Vintners Sagemoor Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2006 Gorman “The Bully” Cabernet Sauvignon.

Which One’s Washington?!
The day concluded with a fun, game show-like atmosphere in which audience members were called to the stage to blind taste two wines and guess which one was from Washington. Master Sommelier Shayn Bjornholm, the Washington Wine Commission’s Education Director, served as the game show host (dressed in his circa 1970’s powder blue tux) and was flanked onstage by a stellar panel including Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers, and prominent wine writers. The contestants were asked to name the varietal as well as the region of origin for both wines. Everyone in the audience got to taste along with them and learn more about the basics of blind tasting and some of the typical flavors of Washington State wines. I’ll leave you with what I thought was the quote of the day. When asked to describe the typicity of Washington wines:

“Washington sits between the Old World and the New World. It has the fruit of the New World and the elegance and finesse of the Old World.” –Patrick Comiskey of Wine & Spirits

On our recent trip to Hawaii, we decided to give ourselves a reprieve from eating out and paying restaurant wine prices every night by taking some wines from home and cooking a few meals in the condo where we were staying. So we grabbed a couple pairs of sacked-up wines from our private tasting lineup and stuffed them in our suitcases. Fortunately, the bottles made the journey intact. The best of the tastings turned out to be this Syrah/Shiraz showdown. Both wines were very good and paired well with our beef fajita dinner, but we all preferred the 2006 Stephenson Cellars Patina Vineyard Syrah from Washington State over the 2005 Massena Epsilon Shiraz from Australia. For a more complete description of how we set up these private tastings, please refer to How We Taste.

Dave Stephenson of Stephenson Cellars is a very talented winemaker. We continue to enjoy his wines. This was the first time that we had tasted his Patina Vineyard Syrah which is offered as a Paul Gregutt Selection through McCarthy & Schiering Wine Merchants in Seattle. Paul Gregutt is one of the foremost authorities on Washington wines. He is the Wine Adviser for The Seattle Times, writes for Wine Enthusiast, and authored Washington Wines & Wineries: The Essential Guide. Through this program with McCarthy & Schiering, Gregutt is showcasing one-of-a-kind offerings to highlight some of the best wines Washington State has to offer that would otherwise only be available to the winery’s mailing list or through their tasting room. Only 48 cases of the 2006 Stephenson Cellars Patina Vineyard Syrah were produced.

Massena is a partnership between Dan Standish, who began his career making wine at Torbreck, and Jaysen Collins from Turkey Flat. They have been producing wines under the Massena label in the Barossa Valley of Australia since the 2000 vintage.

2006 Stephenson Cellars Patina Vineyard Syrah (Walla Walla Valley, Washington): Deep, dense, dark purple. Nose is a bit tight at first. Aromas of black fruits and sawdust. Black pepper, black plum, and coffee come through on the palate. Medium tannins. Smooth and well-balanced with a long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: McCarthy & Schiering (Seattle), $30

2005 Massena Epsilon Shiraz (Barossa Valley, Australia): Deep, dense, dark purple. Very aromatic with aromas of black licorice and blackberry cobbler. Jammy with flavors of thick black fruits and black pepper. Seems a bit overripe. Medium finish.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Wine.com (California), $25

This weekend, April 4th and 5th, is Taste Washington in Seattle, featuring over 200 wineries, 60 restaurants, and a day of seminars for wine and food lovers. In fact, fellow wine blogger Alder Yarrow of Vinography is leading one of the seminar panels tomorrow. If you are located in the Seattle area and haven’t yet made your weekend plans, you ought to try Taste Washington.

Most of you are not located in Seattle, though, so I realize that attending this event is not practical. However, you should still follow Washington wines for a variety of important reasons:

1. Washington State is #2 in wine production in the United States, behind only California.
2. Washington now has over 600 wineries, 602 to be exact as of the latest count.
3. Unlike California, Washington State is a likely beneficiary of global warming, as the areas suitable for grape growing move northward.
4. The wine country of eastern Washington has the perfect conditions for grape growing—plenty of sun and an abundance of water from the Columbia River.
5. As you can see from our posts on Washington wines, Washington is producing outstanding wines that deliver the most bang for your buck [high QPRs].
6. Washington has had a string of excellent vintages since 1999, and the 2007 vintage, which is beginning to be released this year, may be its best ever!

I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that if you don’t already follow Washington wines, you should start now. They are world class and getting better every year. Best of all, we have found that Washington wines are easier on the pocketbook than most comparable wines from other regions.

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

Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine:
Yeast, microscopic, single-celled fungi, having round to oval cells which reproduce by forming buds, are vital to the alcoholic fermentation process, which, starved of oxygen, transforms grape juice into wine. Sugars are used as an energy source by yeast, with ethanol and carbon dioxide as major by-products of the reactions.

Layman’s terms from Kori:
Yeast is the microscopic organism responsible for the fermentation of grape juice into wine by converting sugar into alcohol.

Recently, I had the opportunity to try several wines from two Sonoma County wineries located in Healdsburg, California. Dry Creek Vineyard and Simi Winery are both worth checking out. They produce good quality wines across the board.

For those of us that drink wine virtually every day, it is not economical (nor necessary) to spend over $30 per bottle for everyday wines. The key is to determine varietals and styles that you enjoy, from brands that you can trust for consistency, at prices that you can afford on a daily basis, and that are widely available. If you haven’t had many Sonoma County wines but would like to explore the region, either Dry Creek Vineyard or Simi Winery would be a good place to start. All seven wines mentioned below retail for $25 or less.
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Dry Creek Vineyard

Dry Creek Vineyard, founded in 1972 by David Stare, is located in the heart of Dry Creek Valley just outside of Healdsburg. Well-known for their Fumé Blancs and Zinfandels, Dry Creek Vineyard also produces a number of other good wines including Cabernet Sauvignon and Chenin Blanc. And best of all, they deliver serious bang-for-your-buck. “A great wine at a fair price” was founder David Stare’s mantra, and the family continues to uphold this philosophy. Today Dry Creek Vineyard is run by David’s daughter Kim Stare Wallace and her husband Don. I had the pleasure to meet Kim at the Wine Bloggers Conference last fall. She is a blogger herself, writing very witty and entertaining posts from the perspective of a wine industry insider on Wilma’s Wine World.

2005 Dry Creek Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (Dry Creek Valley, California): Dark purple. Beautiful bouquet of cassis and black fruits. Black currant and baker’s chocolate come through on the palate. Medium-bodied with medium tannins and a very 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 $23; Available elsewhere, $17 to $29

2007 Dry Creek Vineyard Dry Chenin Blanc (Clarksburg, California): Pale greenish yellow. Very aromatic. Aromas and flavors of lime and lemon. Light-bodied and lively with a long finish.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to Buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $12; Available elsewhere, $10 to $17

2007 Dry Creek Vineyard Fumé Blanc (Sonoma County, California): Pale straw yellow with floral aromas. Grapefruit and grass come through on the palate. Light-bodied and crisp with a long finish. This is a unoaked Sauvignon Blanc.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to Buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $14.50; Available elsewhere, $11 to $16

2006 Dry Creek Vineyard Heritage Zinfandel (Sonoma County, California): Raspberry aromas fade a bit on the palate. Medium-bodied and medium, drying tannins. Spicy and crisp with a very long finish.
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to Buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $17; Available elsewhere, $14 to $25
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Simi Winery

Simi Winery, founded in 1876 by brothers Giuseppe and Pietro Simi, is also located in Healdsburg. The Simi brothers were originally from Tuscany, Italy, and moved to California during the Gold Rush. After they passed away, Giuseppe’s daughter Isabelle took over management of the winery. She retired in 1970 and sold the winery. Simi is now part of Constellation Brands and marketed by Icon Estates. California native Steve Reeder has been the head winemaker since 2003.

2005 Simi Cabernet Sauvignon (Alexander Valley, California): Deep purple. Aromas of licorice and oak lead to flavors of dark chocolate and black currant. Extremely dry and smoky. A big, bold wine that should soften with some age.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to Buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $25; Available elsewhere, $17 to 27

2007 Simi Chardonnay (Sonoma County, California): Greenish yellow with aromas of apples, pears, and just a hint of oak. Light to medium-bodied with lively acidity. Tinny flavors as well as pear and vanilla come through on the palate. Smooth.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to Buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $18; Available elsewhere, $14 to $21

2006 Simi Zinfandel (Sonoma County, California): A bit tight on the nose at first. Medium-bodied with medium, dry tannins. Spicy black fruit flavors. Well-balanced with a very long finish.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to Buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $20; Available elsewhere, $14 to $19

It all began on February 3rd of this year with 22 hours of flying time from Seattle and a 10 hour time change until we landed in Cape Town, South Africa the following afternoon. Since then, I have posted thirteen times from the trip as we visited 33 wine farms (what they call wineries in South Africa), drank wines from 46 different producers, and sampled a total of 228 South African wines.

Obviously, I hope that you have read all of my posts from the trip and that they have helped you learn more about South African wines as well as pointed you in the direction of some good wines to try. But in case you haven’t read them all yet, you will find links to them at the end of this post.

Before I summarize my thoughts on South African wine, I want to give special thanks to several folks who were especially generous with their time and their thoughts on South African wines: Neil Pendock, prominent South African wine writer and blogger who gave me a number of leads on wine farms not-to-miss on my trip and four winery owners and/or winemakers who helped make this a very memorable trip, Charles Back of Fairview, Chris Williams of Meerlust and The Foundry, Richard Mueller of Buitenverwachting, and Jose Conde of Stark-Conde.

Several general observations and thoughts:

1. The Cape coastal areas and the Cape winelands are as beautiful an area as I’ve ever seen anywhere in the world. If you have a chance to visit, do it!
2. The South African wine industry is much older than I would have thought, 350 years old to be exact, and the wines are generally good.
3. The people are great; their hospitality is wonderful.
4. The price is right…if you live, buy, and drink your wine in South Africa. (Take the R___ price numbers in my posts and divide by 10. That’s what a bottle costs over there in US Dollars.)

Now my thoughts on South African wine from the perspective of an American consumer:

Best of the South African varietals:
Based on our Quality Ratings of the wines we tasted, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cab Blends are what South Africa does best, followed by Shiraz/Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc.

Best South African producers we visited:
Jordan (Jardin in USA), Stark-Conde, Fairview, Meerlust/The Foundry, Boekenhoutskloof, and Warwick.

Top Winery Discoveries (wineries we weren’t familiar with before this trip):
Jordan (Jardin in USA) and Stark-Conde.

Biggest disappointment of the trip:
Discovering how much more South African wines cost here in the U.S. versus in South Africa and how difficult it has been for us to find a number of the wines we liked best once we returned home.

Good news to end on:
In each of the posts I’ve done on South African wines, which we have links to below, I’ve put in bold the wines I liked best that are available in the U.S. along with the name of a vendor and their price. You might also want to check out some of the value labels of the better producers widely distributed in the U.S. such as MAN Vintners (Back/Conde/Myburgh partnership), Goats do Roam (Fairview), and Porcupine Ridge (Boekenhoutskloof).

South Africa: An Old Wine Region Beginning To Realize Its Potential
South Africa: Nosing around Cape Town
South Africa: Wines of Constantia Valley
South Africa: A Day in the Paarl Region
South Africa: Day 1 in Stellenbosch
South Africa: Day 2 in Stellenbosch
South Africa: Day 3 in Stellenbosch
South Africa: A Day in Franschhoek
South Africa: Day 4 in Stellenbosch
South Africa: A Day in Durbanville
South Africa: Video Interview with Charles Back of Fairview
South Africa: Video Interview with Chris Williams of Meerlust

I hope you have enjoyed traveling with us by reading our posts during our trip. If you are curious about any of the sights we saw in addition to our wine stops, leave a comment and I would be happy to share those highlights with you as well.

Carpenter Creek Winery, located in Mount Vernon, Washington, was founded in 2001 by owner/winemaker Jeff Hammer and his wife Tara. They opened their tasting room in 2003 and did an extensive remodel in 2006. Their remodeled tasting room is very nice and quaintly situated off the road among fir and cedar trees. Currently, Carpenter Creek produces 2,300 cases per year.

We visited Carpenter Creek in January during their Sinful Syrah Weekend. Their 2005 Syrah debuted during the event and was poured alongside their 2004 and 2002 vintages. They pulled the 2002 Syrah out of their library vault just for that weekend. At the time of our visit, they only had one case of the 2002 left which is really a shame since it was our favorite. In addition to tasting their three Syrahs, we also tried eight of their other wines. Carpenter Creek primarily sources their grapes from eastern Washington vineyards, but they do have a small estate vineyard just across the lane from the tasting room. They blend estate-grown Siegerrebe, a lesser known variety that does well in the cooler, damp climate of the Puget Sound AVA, into their Rose wine.

You may be wondering…If you visited Carpenter Creek in January, why are you just writing about them now? The answer is very simple. I highly recommend that you visit Carpenter Creek Winery…in April. And given that Wednesday is April 1st, I thought today would be a good time to tell you about them. For those who are not familiar with Washington State, Mount Vernon is located in the Skagit Valley, and the Skagit Valley is famous for its beautiful tulip fields which bloom in April each year. Not to mention the fact that the weather should be much better in April than the blustery, freezing rain we encountered in January.

In fact, for the month of April, Carpenter Creek is hosting their 5th annual Spring Wine and Tulips Festival. During the event, they will be open Thursday through Monday from 11am to 6pm. They will be pouring their wines as well as offering samples of gourmet products like dipping sauces, infused olive oils, and shortbreads. For those of you needing more than a few bites during your visit, they will be serving burgers and brats on the weekends. Just as they did during the Sinful Syrah weekend, they will be pouring some of their limited edition and reserve wines as well.

Here’s a complete listing of the wines we tasted at Carpenter Creek Winery. Under each Quality heading, the wine name and region will be listed along with price and QPR rating. Wines in bold type received a QPR rating of 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5).

Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
2002 Carpenter Creek Syrah, Washington State, $55, QPR: 2

Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
2007 Carpenter Creek Signature Series Riesling, Washington State, $12.50, QPR: 5
2006 Carpenter Creek Semillon Ice Wine, Washington State, $24, QPR: 5
2004 Carpenter Creek Cabernet Franc Port, Washington State, $28, QPR: 4
2007 Carpenter Creek Rose, Washington State, $17.50, QPR: 3

Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
2005 Carpenter Creek Syrah, Washington State, $24, QPR: 3
2006 Carpenter Creek Cabernet Sauvignon, Yakima Valley, $32, QPR: 3
2005 Carpenter Creek Sauvignon Blanc, Washington State, $14.99, QPR: 2
2005 Carpenter Creek Cabernet Franc, Yakima Valley, $26, QPR: 2

Quality: 2.5 stars (out of 5)
2004 Carpenter Creek Meritage, Washington State, $9.50, QPR: NR
2004 Carpenter Creek Syrah, Washington State, $18, QPR: NR

On our recent trip to South Africa, we had the opportunity to have a private tasting, tour, and very nice visit with Chris Williams, winemaker at Meerlust and owner/winemaker of The Foundry. I previously reported on the tasting in my February 27th post, South Africa: Day 2 in Stellenbosch.

During our visit, Chris was kind enough to do a video interview and answer questions about Meerlust, The Foundry, and South African winemaking. I believe you will find his comments about the 300 year history of Meerlust interesting as well as his prescription for South Africa making the same impact in the United States as have other New World winemaking regions.

Here’s our full interview:

Cheers!

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

Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine:
Ullage, which derives from the French ouillage, has had a variety of meanings and uses in the English-speaking wine trade. It can mean the process of evaporation of wine held in wooden containers such as a barrel. The head space left in the container is also called the ullage, or ‘ullage space’, and the wine in that state is said to be ‘on ullage’. The word ullage is also used for any space in a stoppered wine bottle not occupied by wine. And ullage is also used as a verb so that a bottle or barrel not entirely full is said to be ‘ullaged’.

Layman’s terms from Kori:
Ullage is most commonly known as the space between the wine and the cork in a bottle of wine. Too much ullage increases the danger of oxidation.

Since we are in the midst of Washington Wine Month, we thought it was fitting to feature Syrah, our favorite Washington varietal, in this month’s wine tasting dinner. And taking it one step further, we focused on the 2005 vintage. To this point, many consider the 2005 vintage to be one of the best, if not the best, in the history of Washington State. Although, as I’ve said before, I believe that the 2007 vintage may ultimately be considered the best ever.

This was a very difficult tasting because there were no duds in the bunch. All six wines paired well with Mom’s dinner of tomato basil soup, mixed green salad, filet mignon, roasted asparagus spears, sweet potatoes with watercress sauce, and a heavenly chocolate cake topped with raspberries.

While the top three wines were very close in the group rankings, it was the Gorman The Pixie that stood out for me from the very first sip. I had not had the pleasure of tasting The Pixie before this tasting. Gorman Winery, located in Woodinville, Washington, was founded in 2002 by owner/winemaker Chris Gorman. He’s basically running a one-man show and doing a phenomenal job. He focuses primarily on Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon that he sources from Red Mountain. In seven short years, he has received numerous accolades from the wine media. After tasting The Pixie, I can certainly see why. Gorman also partners with Mark Ryan McNeilly of Mark Ryan Winery to make wines under their Giant Wine Company label.

Following closely on the heels on The Pixie were the Columbia Crest Reserve and the Stevens BlackTongue. Once again, Columbia Crest delivers on both quality and price. Like Gorman, Stevens Winery is located in a business park in Woodinville and was founded in 2002 by owner/winemaker Tim Stevens and his wife Paige.

I always look forward to these monthly wine tasting dinners. There’s nothing better than enjoying wine in the company of good friends and family.

From 1st to last in the group consensus rankings:

2005 Gorman Winery The Pixie Syrah (Red Mountain, Washington): My favorite of the evening from the first sip right on through dessert. Aromas and flavors of raspberries and blackberries. Medium to full-bodied with medium, soft tannins. Smooth, well-balanced, long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Seattle Wine Co. (Washington), $30.95

2005 Columbia Crest Reserve Syrah (Horse Heaven Hills, Washington): A bit tight on the nose at first; opens up with food. Intense flavors of blackberry and chocolate. Medium to full-bodied with high, drying tannins and a long finish. A big but well-balanced wine.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $20; Available elsewhere, $18 to $28

2005 Stevens BlackTongue Syrah (Yakima Valley, Washington): Blackberries and buttered popcorn aromas. More black fruits come through on the palate. Medium-bodied with medium tannins and a long finish. Gets better with food.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $30 [Sold Out]

2005 Boudreaux Cellars Syrah (Washington State): Plums and black cherries dominate the nose. Leather and oak make an appearance on the palate. Medium-bodied with medium tannins and a long finish. Smooth.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 2 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Pete’s Wine Shop – Eastside (Washington), $37

2005 Chateau Ste. Michelle Ethos Syrah (Columbia Valley, Washington): Dark red with aromas of beef jerky and dark fruits. Cherry cola comes through on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with medium, drying tannins and a long finish.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5);
Where to buy: Pete’s Wine Shop – Eastside (Washington), $25; Available elsewhere, $25 to $28

2005 Beresan Syrah (Walla Walla Valley, Washington): Very different from the others with floral aromas and oaky flavors. Medium-bodied with medium tannins. Has a medium-length, funky finish.
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 2 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Avalon Wine (Oregon), $31.45