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

Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine:
Corkage is the charge customarily levied in a restaurant for each bottle of wine brought in and consumed on the premises rather than bought from the restaurant’s own selection. The term is derived from the fact that the number of corks pulled represents the number of bottles consumed. There is considerable variation in the amount charged, and the grace with which the practice is accepted.

Layman’s terms from Kori:
Corkage is the fee charged by a restaurant when a patron brings in their own bottle to consume instead of ordering off of the restaurant’s wine list. Whether the practice is allowed and if so, the amount charged, varies from restaurant to restaurant. Be sure to call ahead before bringing a bottle to a restaurant to verify their policies. Even for restaurants that allow patrons to bring their own wine, only wines that are not already on the restaurant’s wine list will be allowed.

Gilbert Cellars is a family-owned winery located near Wiley City in the Ahtanum Valley west of Yakima, Washington. Even though Gilbert Cellars is only a four year old winery, the Gilberts are veterans when it comes to producing high-quality fruit. The Gilbert family has been in the tree-fruit business since 1897. In 2001, they planted a two acre experimental vineyard on their property near Wiley City. Now that vineyard boasts ten acres, all planted near their winery facilities. The majority of the grapes used in their wines, however, come from their vineyard in the Wahluke Slope AVA near Mattawa. The Gilberts purchased this vineyard (formerly Stewart Vineyard) in 2002. Their vineyard site has proven to be an excellent place to ripen the great red varieties of Bordeaux and the Rhone Valley of France.

Earlier this year, we met Sean Gilbert, General Manager of Gilbert Cellars, at a tasting at Esquin Wine Merchants in Seattle. Sean is a really nice guy and has been the driving force behind getting the Gilbert family into the wine business. We have been impressed with their wines since this first tasting, especially their 2005 Syrah. Since then, we have had their wines at Taste Washington, in blind tastings at home, and on our recent trip to the Columbia Valley. In addition to their Syrah, we have also really enjoyed their 2005 Malbec which was released in April.

Earlier this month on our trip to the Columbia Valley, we had the pleasure to visit both the brand-new Gilbert Cellars tasting room in downtown Yakima and their winery near Wiley City with Sean. Their tasting room opened in July and is different from many other tasting rooms. In addition to offering tastings, they offer their wines for purchase by the bottle or the glass to enjoy in their beautifully appointed wine bar and lounge atmosphere. They also have plans to offer hors d’oeuvres and live entertainment in the future. Another unique aspect of their tasting room is their extended hours (Monday-Saturday, 12pm-11pm; Sunday, 12pm-5pm). This tasting room is sure to become a popular spot in Yakima, for tourists and locals alike. After our visit to the tasting room, Sean took us out to the family’s winery for a tour of their production facilities and treated us to numerous barrel samples. Based on these samples, look for good things to continue from Gilbert Cellars. I’m looking forward to tasting some of these again when they are released in a year or two.

Gilbert Cellars’ expected production for 2008 is 4,400 cases. Ultimately, their goal is to increase production to about 20,000 cases per year. But as Sean emphasized, they will only increase production as long as they are able to maintain quality. That commitment to excellence is one of the main reasons that I believe Gilbert Cellars is a winery to watch.

If you are in Yakima, be sure to stop by the Gilbert Cellars tasting room to sample their wines or to enjoy a glass with a friend. And regardless of whether you are able to visit or not, be sure to try some Gilbert wines.

Thank you for joining us for the fourth “virtual meeting” of the Wine Book Club where bloggers and wine lovers all over the world come together for book reviews and discussions every other month after reading a selected text. Our host for this edition is Farley Walker of Wine Outlook and the text she selected was Tasting Pleasure: Confessions of a Wine Lover by Jancis Robinson.

Jancis Robinson is one of the most well-known and well-respected wine writers in the world. She is editor of The Oxford Companion to Wine, The Financial Times wine columnist, and has authored a number of wine books. She is also a Master of Wine and has received numerous international wine awards.

Tasting Pleasure is basically a glorified autobiography, and the information is a little dated since it was published eleven years ago. Much of the book is devoted to recounting tasting events where she tasted great old Bordeaux and Burgundy. While it is interesting information, it offers little value to those of us who have no access to those kinds of wines. I personally enjoyed her How to Taste book much more than this one.

Ms. Robinson considers herself a wine lover, her love affair with wine ignited by a single, outstanding, and still memorable bottle of Red Burgundy. She believes the two most significant attributes of a great wine are the range of nuances in its smell and the wine’s length.

Since I believe strongly in blind tasting, I was pleased to read the following statement that Ms. Robinson made on the topic:

“Most of us consumer writers on wine acknowledge that the best way of testing a wine’s real quality is to taste it blind with its peers, and we try to base our recommendations on that process as often as possible.”

During her first years as a consumer wine writer, she felt like no one took her seriously, so she just wrote what she thought, however flippant or iconoclastic, and that approach ended up making her stand out from her peers.

In this book, Ms. Robinson states that it is her general philosophy of wine that it should provide as much pleasure for as many people at as low a cost as possible. Her philosophy dovetails nicely with our philosophy here at Wine Peeps: We believe that it is not good enough just to find good wine but to find good wine at a fair price. Later, she went on to say that much of the thrill of wine in general is discovering bottles that cost a fraction of the universally acclaimed greats but which give every bit as much pleasure. The Wine Peeps couldn’t agree more which is why we provide a QPR rating for every wine we rate, and we absolutely love it when we are able to share with our readers a wine that receives a 5-bangs-for-your-buck rating.

She seems most enthusiastic about German Riesling and Red Bordeaux wines in her personal collecting. She does not have much U.S. wine in her cellar because the strength of the U.S. dollar made it too expensive during her prime collecting years. (Of course, that may be changing today with the weakness in the dollar). Speaking of wine collecting, my favorite line in the book was:

“I don’t want to manage my cellar. I want to drink it.”

Now I can drink to that! Cheers, Jancis.

Can’t decide if you want to read this book or not? If you would like to learn more about Jancis Robinson and live vicariously through her recounts of hob-knobbing with the biggest names and best bottles in the world of wine, then head on over to Amazon and pick yourself up a copy. If you are looking to learn more about the basics of wine or for a wine guide, then I would recommend you taking a look at one of her other books instead.

If you’ve already read Tasting Pleasure, please leave a comment and let us know what you thought of it.

While Paul Gregutt named Red Willow Vineyard one of the Top Ten vineyards in Washington State in his book, Washington Wines & Wineries, I got the distinct impression that his ranking was based more on longevity than anything else. As I pointed out in my Red Willow Vineyard: The Mother of Washington Syrah post, Red Willow has one of the oldest Cabernet Sauvignon blocks in the state, planted in 1973, and the first Syrah block in the state, planted in 1986.

In my second Red Willow post on July 30, I mentioned the long and close working relationship between Red Willow Vineyard and Columbia Winery, dating back over 30 years. While Columbia has made some excellent wines with Red Willow grapes, I believe that the Old World-style of most of those wines was more a function of the winemaker than the grapes themselves. As a result, Red Willow has probably not received the attention that they deserve since that Old World-style has not been as popular with many New World consumers.

In the last few years, Red Willow has been able to diversify their grape production away from almost exclusive use by Columbia Winery and into the hands of a number of other notable Washington producers, such as Betz, DeLille, Long Shadows, Owen Roe, Fall Line, Masset, Wineglass, Adams Bench, Barrage, Cavatappi, Natalie’s Estate, ZanZibar, Kana, and Andrew Rich.

You will want to be on the lookout for some of these releases over the next few years. I believe that when you see and are able to taste some of the releases from these wineries and their talented winemakers using Red Willow grapes, the true potential and value of this vineyard to the Washington wine industry will be realized. While Ciel du Cheval, Boushey, and Champoux vineyards get most of the hype today, they may be looking up at Red Willow five years from now.

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

Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine:
The vintage year is the year in which a wine was produced and the characteristics of that year. … In the southern hemisphere, a vintage-dated wine invariably carries the year in which the grapes were picked, even though much of the vine growth cycle was actually in the previous year. In the northern hemisphere, vintage-dated wines carry the year in which both the vine growth occurred and the grapes were picked….

Layman’s terms from Kori:
Vintage is the year printed on a wine bottle’s label and indicates the year in which the grapes were picked. It is important to note a wine’s vintage since the quality of wines, even from the same producer, can vary year to year (i.e. a 2005 XYZ Merlot is a different wine than a 2006 XYZ Merlot). A wine that does not list a vintage on the label is considered non-vintage and is a blend of grapes from different years.

We have had some exceptional Syrahs lately, and our tasting dinner last Friday evening continued the trend. This tasting featured six Pacific Northwest Syrahs, four from Washington State and two from Oregon. Both Oregon wineries represented, Watermill and Cayuse, are in the Walla Walla Valley AVA just a few miles from the Washington-Oregon state line.

The Wine Peeps always look forward to our monthly wine tasting dinners. They provide an opportunity for us to enjoy six wines throughout a four-course meal and spend quality time with wonderful friends.

We found five of the six wines to be excellent. They all paired well with Mom’s roasted beef tenderloin, chipotle-lime mashed sweet potatoes, and seasoned green beans. The one wine that fell short was the 2004 Cayuse En Chamberlin. While Cayuse routinely receives rave reviews from critics, so far I have found their wines disappointing. This was the second bottle that I’ve tried. Unfortunately, the first bottle I had a few months ago was a bad bottle so I would not use it for evaluation purposes. I do not believe that the bottle we had on Friday was a bad bottle and neither did the other seven people at dinner; however, it received last place votes from all eight of us in attendance. I realize that some may say that Cayuse is just a different style, but it was certainly not to our liking.

I continue to be amazed at the quality of Syrahs coming out of Washington State and northeastern Oregon. In this tasting, my rankings and the group rankings were the same except that I reversed #2 and #4. However, you’ll notice that the first five wines all received a 4.5-star quality rating because they were all excellent. Only the Cayuse failed to impress in this bunch.

From 1st to last in the group consensus rankings:

2005 Watermill Reserve Syrah (Walla Walla Valley): My favorite from the first sip right on through the meal. Beautiful bouquet of black fruits, especially blackberries, and black pepper. More black fruits and cocoa come through on the palate. Smooth tannins, extremely well-balanced, and a long, lingering finish.
Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $35

2005 Stephenson Cellars Syrah (Washington State): Black cherry, chocolate mint, and a hint of bacon come through on both the nose and the palate. Has a smoky component. Smooth tannins and a nice long finish. Improves the longer the bottle is open.
Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $32; Compass Wines (Washington), $31.99

2005 Chatter Creek Syrah, Clifton Hill Vineyard (Wahluke Slope): Seemed a bit lighter in stature than the others at first. A very pleasant sipper, but holds up surprisingly well with food. Really makes a nice transition and picks up intensity throughout the meal. Green peppers and dark chocolate highlight the nose. Smooth tannins and a nice finish.
Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $40; VinoShipper.com (California), $40

2005 Sequel Syrah [Long Shadows] (Columbia Valley): A dense, deep red with aromas and flavors of black cherries, chocolate, and buttered popcorn. This wine really improves with food. Still very young; should improve with some age. Well-balanced with a smooth finish.
Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $55 (Sold Out); Available elsewhere, $45 to $65

2005 Gilbert Cellars Syrah (Wahluke Slope): Luscious black fruits and pepper along with a vegetal component on both the nose and the palate. Full bodied, velvety mouth-feel, and a lingering, smooth finish.
Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $26; Village Wines (Washington), $26

2004 Cayuse Syrah, En Chamberlin Vineyard (Walla Walla Valley): The nose reeks of olive juice, pickles, and rotten food. This wine tastes like a locker room smells. A definite pass!
Quality: 2.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: NR (not recommended)
Where to buy: NicksWineCorner.com, $70 (No longer available)

“Crafting world-class wines that capture the essence of Sonoma County” –Tom Klein, owner of Rodney Strong Vineyards

Tom Klein, owner of Rodney Strong Vineyards, truly believes that Sonoma County, California, has the capacity to grow grapes and produce wines that compare in quality to anywhere in the world. Spurred by this belief, he has embarked on a mission to craft wines at the highest level and over the last ten years, he and his team have replanted or purchased high quality vineyards, including Rockaway Vineyard, in the northern part of Alexander Valley. The Alexander Valley AVA is located in northeastern Sonoma County. Also, in 2005, he added a “winery within a winery” concept to the Rodney Strong portfolio to focus on small-lot, artisan winemaking. The debut release from their “winery within a winery” is the 2005 Rockaway Cabernet Sauvignon.

Rockaway is completely made from free-run juice from the best rows and vines in the vineyard. Their goal is for it to be the ultimate expression of terroir because they believe that place is, above all else, the most important factor in quality wine. Rockaway is the first in a series of three single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons to come from Rodney Strong’s “winery within a winery.” There will be two from 2006 and three from 2007 and going forward.

We recently had an opportunity to enjoy a bottle of the 2005 Rockaway. It has a very captivating nose that draws you in before you’ve even taken a sip. Fortunately, it does not disappoint on the palate. It is a big, bold food wine. (See below for complete tasting notes.)

In order to properly evaluate this wine in light of the competition it will face upon release, we opened a bottle of 2005 Paul Hobbs Cabernet Sauvignon from the Napa Valley to see how it would fare. Both are California Cabernets that retail for around $75, and Paul Hobbs is a well-known, highly acclaimed, established brand. While Napa has the greater reputation for high-quality wines, many critics believe that northern Sonoma County, particularly Alexander Valley, compares very favorably to parts of Napa Valley. Based on this tasting, I would agree. While these wines are definitely different, I give them both a 4-star rating with a slight nod to Rockaway. And while $75 is a lot of money for a bottle of wine, they both have a 4 bangs-for-your-buck QPR rating since the average price of a 4-star New World Cabernet Sauvignon in our database is $120.

If you can handle the price point and are looking for a top-flight Cabernet Sauvignon, Rockaway is a great opportunity for you to get in on the ground floor with a new allocated brand.

2005 Rockaway Cabernet Sauvignon (Alexander Valley, Sonoma County, California): 92% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Malbec, and 4% Petit Verdot. Inky, dark garnet in color. Pleasant aromas of blackberry and plum. Almond and licorice come through on the palate along with a very distinct smoky component. Bold tannins with a long finish. Should improve with age. Side note: Packaged in a heavy glass bottle with a deep punt. Has a very classy appearance.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Sign up to receive an offer for the inaugural release on September 1, 2008 (est. retail: $75)

Full disclosure:
I received the Rockaway as a trade sample. In a first in the industry, Rockaway was pre-released to a select group of wine bloggers before it was released to the print trade publications. For other reviews and stories, visit the sites of my fellow participants who will be posting about Rockaway sometime this week: Deb from Good Wine Under $20, Tim from Winecast, Renee from Feed Me/Drink Me, Joe from 1Wine Dude, Jeff from Good Grape, Arthur Black (Master Sommelier candidate) guest blogging at Good Grape, and Megan from Wannabe Wino.

Saviah Cellars is a family-owned winery located south of downtown Walla Walla, Washington, near the Oregon state line in the Walla Walla Valley AVA. Owner/winemaker Richard Funk and his wife Anita, both natives of Montana, moved to Walla Walla in 1991. Rich became acquainted with a number of the area wineries while working as an Environmental Health Specialist with the Walla Walla County Health Department. Through his work at the Health Department on water quality and wastewater issues, he got a firsthand look at the vineyards in the area and developed a relationship with a number of local winemakers who helped him get his start in the industry. Saviah Cellars was founded in 2000 and currently produces over 6,000 cases per year.

On our recent weekend visit to Walla Walla, we had the pleasure of having Rich personally pour our tasting and share with us his winemaking philosophy. We especially liked his Malbec and his Une Vallee Red Wine, but most important to us, all of his wines were ones that we could recommend which is not the case with most wineries that we visit. Incidentally, Rich is also the winemaker for the Brown family at Watermill Winery in nearby Milton-Freewater, Oregon, where he has made some excellent Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.

After the standard tasting, Rich gave us a tour of Saviah’s facilities and treated us to numerous barrel samples of his upcoming 2006 and 2007 wines. He is already making great wines and has some exciting projects in the works such as a multi-vintage Syrah.

“The winemaker’s cycle repeats itself over and over, year after year. Always the same and always different…and the winemaker is always hopeful.” –Richard Funk, owner/winemaker

What impresses me the most about Saviah Cellars is the quality of fruit Rich is getting from vineyards not only in the Walla Walla Valley but also in Red Mountain and the Columbia Valley. In fact, we recently visited Stillwater Creek Vineyard where Saviah has some specific rows with exciting potential. Rich has invited us back in early October near crush time to tour the vineyards with him. I’m especially excited about seeing some of the Brown family vineyards and sites they own in “The Rocks” where even more exceptional vineyards may be planted in the future.

Not only is Rich making some great wines, but he is an extremely nice guy to boot. If you are in the Walla Walla area, Saviah Cellars is a winery that you should definitely visit. And even if you aren’t able to visit, be sure to try some Saviah wines.

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

Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine:
Nose is the most sensitive form of tasting equipment so far encountered, the sense of taste being so inextricably linked with the sense of smell. …. Nose is also used as a synonym for the smell, aroma, or bouquet of a wine, as in wines having ‘a nose of raspberries’, ‘a raspberry nose’, or even ‘raspberries on the nose’.

Layman’s terms from Kori:
Ms. Robinson’s definition is fairly straightforward on this one. Basically nose has two definitions in relation to wine:

1. An extremely important body part since smell and taste are so closely linked.
2. Another word for the smell or aroma of a wine; i.e. “black fruits come through on the nose.”

This month’s edition of Wine Blogging Wednesday marks the fourth anniversary of the blogosphere’s monthly virtual wine tasting event. Our host is none other than the founder of WBW himself, Lenn Thompson of LENNDEVOURS. In celebration, he has asked us to go back to our wine drinking roots and revisit a wine from our past, something from the beginning of our wine journey, such as the first wine we ever drank, the first wine we really liked, or the first wine to grab our attention.

As soon as I read Lenn’s theme, I knew which wine I would revisit…the Columbia Winery Cellarmaster’s Riesling. My first real exposure to wine was visiting the nearby wineries in Woodinville with friends during my days at the University of Washington. Ten years ago there were not nearly as many wineries in Washington State. A wine tasting trip to Woodinville generally consisted of two stops, Chateau Ste. Michelle and Columbia Winery, which are located across the street from each other. Of the wines we tasted in those early days, the Columbia Winery Cellarmaster’s Riesling was my clear favorite. As a wine newbie, I was drawn to this sweet white wine. When my parents came to visit, I took them to the wineries and introduced them to the Cellarmaster’s Riesling as well. They were sold, too.

My, how far we have come. Ten years and thousands of wines later, my preference is for big, bold reds, and I hardly ever drink sweet whites anymore. But thanks to Lenn, I headed for the local grocery store and picked up a bottle of our old favorite. We had this wine with Mom’s wonderful braised chicken breast, dressing, green beans, cranberry sauce, and fruit salad. While the trip down memory lane was a lot of fun, none of us really cared for this wine anymore.

It is fascinating how our tastes and palates change over time. I would encourage you to go back and try a wine from your past just to see how you have changed on your wine journey. If you are fairly new to wine, be sure to remember what you like now so that you can revisit it in five or ten years.

2006 Columbia Winery Cellarmaster’s Riesling (Columbia Valley): Aromas and flavors of apricot, pear, and honey. Very sweet and smooth but also a bit heavy and syrupy on the palate. A long finish that coats your mouth and lingers, but I wish it wouldn’t.
Quality: 2.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: NR (not recommended)
Where to Buy: QFC (Seattle), $7.99; Available elsewhere, $7 to $14