Sip of Snoqualmie, a new event to benefit Encompass, will be held on Saturday, March 14 at the Snoqualmie Casino in Snoqualmie, Washington (about 26 miles east of Seattle). Encompass is a non-profit organization whose mission is to nurture children, enrich families, and inspire community.

Thirty-one (31) Northwest wineries will be pouring their wines during this tasting extravaganza, including:

Airfield Estates
Alexandria Nicole Cellars
Bookwalter Winery
Brian Carter Cellars
Canoe Ridge Vineyard Estate Winery
Chandler Reach Winery
Claar Cellars
Desert Wind Winery
Duck Pond Cellars
Fidelitas
Five Star Cellars
Gingko Forest Winery
Hard Row to Hoe Vineyards
Hightower Cellars
Isenhower Cellars
Kalamar Winery
Kestrel Vintners
Lowden Hills Winery
Maison Bleue Winery
Mannina Cellars
Northstar Winery
Red Diamond Wine
Revelry Vintners
Sagelands Vineyard
Saint Laurent Estate Winery
Sleight of Hand Cellars
Snoqualmie Vineyards
Terra Blanca Winery
Vin de Lac
Woodhouse Family Cellars
Woodinville Wine Cellars

In addition to all of the Northwest wines that will be poured, Sip of Snoqualmie will also feature a silent auction and raffle. Those that purchase VIP tickets will also be able to enjoy a two-hour private tasting and educational food pairing experience prior to the main event.

We’ll be there and hope that those of you who live in the greater Seattle area will plan to attend as well. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the Sip of Snoqualmie page on the Encompass website.

Stephenson Cellars, founded in 2001 by owner/winemaker Dave Stephenson, is a small winery located in the Walla Walla airport complex in Walla Walla, Washington. Dave Stephenson moved to Walla Walla in 1999 and began his career in the wine industry. Studying enology and viticulture textbooks and working at other wineries in Walla Walla prepared him to go out on his own with Stephenson Cellars just two short years later. In 2003, he began consulting for other wineries as well. In addition to the 1,200 cases per year he produces under his own Stephenson Cellars label, Dave is also the winemaker for Otis Kenyon.

While Stephenson Cellars currently produces five wines (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Red Wine, and Viognier), Syrah is Dave Stephenson’s specialty. The 2005 Stephenson Cellars Syrah has done remarkably well in two of our blind tastings (see my August 8th post and August 20th post). Recently, the 2006 Stephenson Cellars Syrah was listed as one of the Top 10 Washington Red Wines of the Year (2008) in the Compass Wines newsletter. Dave Stephenson has also produced a single vineyard Syrah, the 2006 Stephenson Cellars Syrah Patina Vineyard, which is offered as a Paul Gregutt Selection through McCarthy & Schiering Wine Merchants in Seattle.

Last spring, Mom (LaGayle) and Dad (John) discovered Stephenson Cellars when they visited Walla Walla on their cross-country road trip. In addition to our blind tastings, we also had their wines at a tasting at Pete’s Wine Shop in Bellevue. We continue to be impressed with the overall quality of Stephenson Cellars wines. And, most importantly in today’s economy, Stephenson wines give you the most bang for your buck with QPR ratings of 4 or 5, depending on the varietal.

If you are in the Walla Walla area, Stephenson Cellars is a winery that you should definitely visit. They are open 11am to 5pm Tuesday through Saturday or by appointment. It won’t be the most memorable visit in terms of a fancy tasting room or a gorgeous view from the patio, but I suspect that you will find it memorable for the quality of wines that you are served. And even if you aren’t able to visit, be sure to try some Stephenson wines.

(Photos from Stephenson Cellars)

For the last year, we have been touting the virtues of Syrah and Washington Syrah in particular. Now Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher, wine writers for the Wall Street Journal, have joined our chorus. Their conclusion after tasting over 50 Washington Syrahs in blind flights over several nights:

“As a group, these are the most exciting red wines being made in America today that you might actually find on a shelf.”

That’s a pretty strong statement from two very experienced wine reviewers! Their favorite was the 2004 Dunham Cellars Columbia Valley Syrah, a wine we have also rated very highly.

Here are links to some of our posts that have featured Washington Syrah:

Four Up-and-Coming Washington State Wineries (12/1/2008)
Fielding Hills Syrah Vertical Tasting (11/3/2008)
Spotlight On: Fielding Hills (9/17/2008)
Wine Tasting Dinner: Pacific Northwest Syrah (8/20/2008)
Wow! A First for Us in Washington Syrah (8/8/2008)
Red Willow Vineyard: Wines We Tasted (7/30/2008)
Weekend in Walla Walla Valley (7/28/2008)
Red Willow Vineyard: The Mother of Washington Syrah (7/21/2008)

If you haven’t tried a Washington Syrah yet, what are you waiting for? If you have tried Washington Syrah, what did you think of it or what has been your favorite bottle?

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

Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine:
Varietal is a descriptive term for a wine named after the dominant grape variety from which it is made. The word is increasingly misused in place of vine variety. A varietal wine is distinct from a wine named after its own geographical provenance…. Varietal wines are most closely associated with the New World, where they constitute the great majority of wines produced.

Layman’s terms from Kori:
Varietal is a term used to describe a wine named after the grape variety from which it is made. Often confused with last week’s word, variety, varietal describes the wine in the bottle while variety describes the grapes grown on the vine. For example, a bottle of Chardonnay is a varietal wine produced from the Chardonnay grape variety.

This month’s wine tasting dinner featured red blends from Washington State. You may remember that we had Washington Red Blends at our September tasting dinner last fall. We put the winner of the September tasting, the 2006 Mark Ryan “The Dissident,” in this tasting along with five other red blends from Washington. Mark Ryan came out on top again this time.

As you will see from the quality ratings, we felt that all six wines were very good. The Mark Ryan was the clear consensus favorite but the other five were all very close. The bottom line is that, in my opinion, you cannot go wrong with any of these. They all paired quite well with Mom’s roasted beef tenderloin, chipotle-lime mashed sweet potatoes, and seasoned green beans.

Unlike Bordeaux, France, where all of their wines are blends and those blends are regulated by the government, too often wineries in the United States produce blends from their leftovers and label them simply as Red Wine. The wines in this tasting, all of which sell for over $20, do not fall into the leftover category. All of these wineries are striving to produce premium quality Bordeaux-style blends.

From 1st to last in the group consensus rankings:

2006 Mark Ryan “The Dissident” (Columbia Valley): Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot. Very aromatic with aromas of black cherry cobbler and a hint of cedar. Medium to full-bodied with crisp acidity. More black cherry and blackberry come through on the palate. Well-balanced and smooth with a long, lingering finish.
Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $28; Compass Wines (Washington), $29.99

2005 Soos Creek Ciel du Cheval Vineyard (Red Mountain): Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc. Deep red in color with red candied fruits and vanilla on both the nose and palate. Big and bold with high, drying tannins and a long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Esquin (Seattle), $39; Ancona’s Wines (Connecticut), $37.99

2004 Andrew Will Ciel du Cheval Vineyard (Red Mountain): Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot. Aromas are a bit tight at first but open up throughout dinner. Cherry Jolly Rancher and coffee flavors with a medium finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Woods Wholesale Wine (Michigan), $47.94; Available elsewhere, $48 to $60

NV Va Piano Bruno’s Blend III (Walla Walla Valley & Columbia Valley): Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot. Aromatic and youthful with aromas and flavors of red fruits, especially red plums. Very smooth with medium body and medium tannins and a long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $23 [Bruno’s Blend IV is currently available vintage]

2005 Columbia Crest Walter Clore Reserve (Columbia Valley): Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc. Dark fruits and oak are prevalent. Medium body, high tannins, and a long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $34

2006 Saviah Une Vallee (Walla Walla Valley): Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc. Nose is a bit tight at first. Red and black fruits come through on the palate. Has a slight tart taste. Well-balanced with a medium finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $32; Available elsewhere, $29 to $36

Kim Crawford Wines, located in New Zealand, was founded in 1996 by owner/winemaker Kim Crawford and his wife Erica. In the beginning, Kim Crawford Wines was one of New Zealand’s first “virtual wineries.” They sourced their grapes from growers across New Zealand, made the wine at other wineries, and managed their sales and marketing from their home in Auckland. In 1998, they began exporting some of their wine to the United States, Canada, and Australia. The Crawfords opened a cellar door (tasting room) facility in Te Awanga in Hawke’s Bay in 1999. Then they opened a state of the art winery and purchased vineyard land in Marlborough in early 2000. Kim Crawford Wines is now part of Constellation Brands.

Regular readers know that we are big fans of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, the country’s flagship wine. And Kim Crawford Wines makes one of our favorite New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs. In fact, Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc has been Mom’s (LaGayle) favorite wine, period, since we visited New Zealand in 2005. The most amazing thing about Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc is its amazing consistency from vintage to vintage. It’s crisp acidity and refreshing grapefruit flavors are especially pleasing to our palates. Their 2006 vintage won one of our monthly wine tasting dinners as well as several private tastings. Their 2007 and 2008 vintages are also outstanding; we recently rated the 2008 as 4.5-star quality during the New Zealand Wine New Release Tasting at the Wine Bloggers Conference in October.

Regular readers also know that Pinot Noir has not historically been one of our favorite varietals. We had heard good things about New Zealand Pinot Noir and tried a few of them at the Conference but were disappointed that we didn’t discover any new favorites. However, we decided to give New Zealand Pinot Noir another chance when we received a bottle of 2007 Kim Crawford Pinot Noir as a sample, and I’m sure glad we did. This wine is excellent, and with a suggested retail price of $17, it is a steal for a Pinot Noir.

“With every wine I make, I aim to let the natural flavour of the grape flow through into the final product. New Zealand grapes benefit from a natural fruitiness. My role as winemaker is to make sure that this succulence and richness is abundantly present in the wine you pour from the bottle.” –Kim Crawford, owner/winemaker

In the United States, Kim Crawford Wines are marketed by Icon Estates and are available at many wine shops, grocery stores, and restaurants across the country. If you see a Kim Crawford wine on the shelf at your local store, I highly encourage you to give it a try. I expect that you’ll find it pleasing to your palate and easy on your pocketbook.

2007 Kim Crawford Pinot Noir (Marlborough, New Zealand): Clear, ruby red. Very aromatic with lots of bright strawberry and cherry aromas. Raspberry popsicle and a hint of black tea come through on the palate. Smooth and fairly well-balanced with a long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to Buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $17; Available elsewhere, $15 to $22

Remember the old sayings, “Believe it to achieve it” and “Write it down to make it real.” Well, there you have it folks. We’re putting it out there for all to see. We want to be the world’s most popular wine blog.

In our year in the wine blogging community, we have observed the formulas for success that some of the current most popular wine blogs employ:

1. Talk about sake regularly, preferably in a green and organic way.
2. At the beginning, middle, and end of your post, ask your readers what they would like to talk about that is green, organic, and has a small carbon footprint.
3. Begin with a racy title, insert an R-rated picture, and tell Alice Feiring that you love her in a biodynamic way.

After analyzing these strategies and doing a little soul-searching to figure out what we are all about, here’s what we believe is the Wine Peeps’ formula for success:

Share our expert reviews of wines from around the world which give you the most bang for your buck, with a special interest in Washington State wines.

If you are not already a regular reader and that formula sounds like something that would interest you, peruse our previous posts and then subscribe to future updates via email or RSS.

What others are saying about Wine Peeps:

Wine Peeps is one of 12 wine blogs featured in the December/January issue of Mutineer Magazine as “Blogs You Should Be Reading”:
“The Wine Peeps blog is very intuitive and well laid out, with additional pages beyond the blog explaining how the blog works.” –Editor Alan Kropf, Mutineer Magazine

“A frequent stop of mine, Wine Peeps is one of the best-informed and thorough wine blogs on the ‘net. If you haven’t checked it out, you should!” –Dr. Debs, Good Wine Under $20

Together we can make all of our dreams come true. Cheers!

If you haven’t already, we hope that you will take a few minutes of your time between now and Sunday night to answer our short reader survey:

Click here to take the Wine Peeps Blog Survey

As an added incentive, if you answer the survey and provide us with your email address in the last question, we will enter you into a drawing for a chance to win a Vinturi Essential Wine Aerator.

Thanks!

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

Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine:
Vine varieties are distinct types of vine within one species of the vine genus vitis. Different vine varieties produce different varieties of grapes, so that the terms vine variety and grape variety are used almost interchangeably. Each variety of vine, or grape, may produce distinct and identifiable styles and flavours of wine.

Layman’s terms from Kori:
Variety refers to a specific type of grape with each variety having its own distinct characteristics; therefore, wines produced from each different variety have their own distinct characteristics as well. Examples of grape varieties include Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Shiraz/Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, etc.

Don’t be misled by the title of this post. We are not advocating that you drink wine with your breakfast in the morning. However, if you are like us, there are times when you are in the mood for breakfast foods at dinner time. And since we like to enjoy a glass or two of wine with dinner, it’s a good idea to experiment with pairing wines with your breakfast foods of choice which is exactly what El Jefe of El Bloggo Torcido (Twisted Oak Winery’s blog) asked us to do as the host of this month’s Wine Blogging Wednesday, the blogosphere’s monthly virtual wine tasting event. His instructions were as follows, “For the wine, choose anything you want, as long as it is a dry red or white wine. This means no sparkling wine, no rosés, no dessert wine, and no mixing with anything – i.e. no wine cocktails. The idea is to get outside of the ‘Sunday Brunch’ mentality. Mimosa would be too easy, right?”

Mom prepared a delicious breakfast casserole (eggs, cheese, bacon, mushrooms, and green onions) accompanied by sliced tomatoes garnished with parsley, and sour cream biscuits with butter and jalapeño jelly. We selected Gewurztraminer as the varietal to taste with our breakfast meal because we wanted wines that would pair well with eggs and would also stand up to the kick of the jalapeño jelly. We blind-tasted the 2007 Columbia Winery Gewurztraminer and the 2007 Covey Run Gewurztraminer which are both produced by Washington State wineries. All four of us preferred the Columbia Gewurztraminer but both were excellent matches for the meal. And best of all, both wines roll in under $10 and give you the most bang for your buck. On a side note, Gewurztraminer is a varietal that will also stand up well to other spicy foods such as Asian cuisine.

We enjoyed our breakfast for dinner meal with Gewurztraminer on New Year’s Eve in lieu of fighting the crowds to go out to eat. The meal was so good and we had so much fun; it just might become a family tradition.

2007 Columbia Winery Gewurztraminer (Columbia Valley, Washington): Straw-yellow in color. Off-dry with medium body and crisp acidity. Very aromatic with predominately pear aromas. Flavors of pear, tropical fruits, guava, and spice come through on the palate. Well-balanced with a long, lingering finish. A perfect match for our breakfast for dinner meal.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to Buy: Fred Meyer, $8; Available elsewhere, $6 to $12

2007 Covey Run Gewurztraminer (Columbia Valley, Washington): Straw-yellow. Off-dry and light-bodied. Hints of oak and vanilla on the nose lead to grassy, floral, honeysuckle, and spice flavors. Smooth with a medium finish.
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to Buy: Fred Meyer, $7; Available elsewhere, $6 to $10