In our inaugural tasting group meeting in January, we explored Spanish Reds from Rioja and Ribera del Duero. Those wines are made predominately with the Tempranillo grape. While only a small amount of Tempranillo is grown in Washington, it is beginning to show some promise here. So we were thrilled when we had what turned out to be a Washington Tempranillo showdown in one of our private tasting dinners pitting the 2007 Pomum Tinto against the 2006 Columbia Crest Reserve Tempranillo. We enjoyed both wines but all four of us preferred the Pomum Tinto. Both wines paired well with Mom’s dinner of pan-seared flank steak, long grain wild rice, broccoli Kugel, and a pineapple/raspberry fruit salad. For a more complete description of how we set up these private tastings, please refer to How We Taste.

Pomum Cellars, founded by Javier and Shyla Alfonso, is located in Woodinville, Washington. Javier was born in Sunnyside, Washington, but was raised in Ribera del Duero, Spain, the home of his father’s family. He returned to Washington to attend college. Now, he spends his days as an aerospace engineer and his spare time as winemaker for Pomum Cellars. Given his Spanish roots, it is no wonder that he has decided to try his hand at producing a Tempranillo blend here in Washington. Pomum’s vineyard sources include vineyards in the Yakima Valley and the Horse Heaven Hills.

Columbia Crest, located in Paterson, Washington, is the largest producer in the state. Regular Wine Peeps readers know that we have long been fans of Columbia Crest. Head winemaker Ray Einberger and his team continue to pump out great wines. Well-known for their Grand Estates, Two Vines, and H3 lines, it is their Reserve line that puts them in the league with the premier producers in the state.

This was a fun tasting. Both wines are very good, and the Pomum Tinto delivers the “most bang for your buck” as well.

2007 Pomum Tinto (Columbia Valley, Washington): 72% Tempranillo, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 12% Merlot. Deep, dark purple. Very aromatic with blackberry, licorice, and bacon coming through on the nose; black cherry and raspberry on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with crisp acidity that seems tart on the mid-palate, medium 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: Full Pull Wines (Seattle, Washington), $22

2006 Columbia Crest Reserve Tempranillo (Wahluke Slope, Washington): 83% Tempranillo, 8.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 8.5% Merlot. Deep, dark purple. Some funky, gamey aromas along with maple syrup lead to flavors of cherry cola, seaweed, and leather. Medium-bodied and lively with medium tannins and a long finish. Improves with food.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 1 bang for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery [Fall 2009 Wine Club selection], $35

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is carbonic maceration.

Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine:
Carbonic maceration is a red wine-making process which transforms a small amount of sugar in grapes which are uncrushed into ethanol, without the intervention of yeasts. It is used typically to produce light-bodied, brightly coloured, fruity red wines for early consumption, most famously but by no means exclusively in the Beaujolais region of France.

Layman’s terms from Kori:
Carbonic maceration, also known as whole-berry fermentation, is the process that places whole grape clusters in an oxygen-free environment to break down the grape sugars to create alcohol without adding yeast.

Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining is billed as a cookbook, but it’s much more than that. It’s also a story about the uniqueness of the Pacific Northwest, its people, its places, its chefs, and its winemakers. Braiden Rex-Johnson (that’s a name you can’t forget) takes you on quite a tour through Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia.

I first came across the writings of Rex-Johnson in Wine Press Northwest, where she writes a food and wine pairing column. I’ve passed on several of her columns to LaGayle, our Wine Peeps food and cooking expert, and she has been impressed as well. I’ve also read about a Texas connection, I believe it was her father-in-law, and that always wins points with me.

While I was familiar with most of the wineries she mentions in the book, I really liked the way she organized them geographically and found many winemakers who are also great cooks or who have a related restaurant on their property with a great chef. Rex-Johnson and her husband, Spencer, did over two years of research seeking out the best winemaker-cooks, chefs and restaurants, bed and breakfast inns and other neat places in the Pacific Northwest that combine good food and good wine.

The photos by Jackie Johnston really bring the stories to life and make it a great coffee table book for anyone interested in the Northwest lifestyle. I really like this book, and I believe that you will, too. My mouth begins to water when I think about some of my favorites from the book, such as Canlis classic prawns with off-dry Riesling, flank steak roulade with Syrah, pesto-glazed halibut with Sauvignon Blanc, buckwheat-honey pancakes and ice wine peaches, and the list goes on and on.

If this isn’t enough, there are also some great personal stories about Northwest winemakers. My favorite was about how Bob Betz went from managing a Spaghetti Factory restaurant (I guess that’s why he’s such a good home cook) to becoming a Master of Wine and owning his own Betz Family Winery. I could tell you more, but just go out and buy the book for yourself.

Have you already read Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining? If so, please leave a comment and let us know what you thought of it.

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 2007 Goats du Roam Red from the Coastal Region of South Africa.

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

Goats do Roam, a Rhône-style blend, was created in 1999 as another label for Fairview Winery in South Africa. Fairview’s owner/vintner Charles Back took the suggestion of a wine buyer to make a blend and give it the humorous name that is a takeoff on the Côte du Rhône wines of France. Even so, Back tells a much more interesting “story” as to how Goats do Roam came about:

“One afternoon, at harvest time, my mischievous son Jason and his friend Justin let the goats out of their tower and sent them for a walkabout amongst the vines. As in the legend of the Yemeni goat herder – whose roaming flock first discovered the joys of coffee beans, our goats picked out the best and tastiest fruit – their choice serves as our inspiration for this wine.” –Charles Back

Don’t let the humorous name, the “story,” or the low price point deter you. This wine is remarkably rich and complex for an under $10 bottle.

Today, Goats do Roam operates as its own independent company aptly called The Goats do Roam Wine Company.

Mom (LaGayle) and Dad (John) had the pleasure to meet Charles Back on their trip to South Africa last year. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out the video interview in which Charles answers their questions on a wide variety of topics and explains why he believes that South African wine is not truly New World nor Old World but somewhere in-between because of the unique geology of South Africa’s winemaking regions.

2007 Goats do Roam Red (Coastal Region, South Africa): 40% Shiraz, 18% Pinotage, 17% Cinsault, 13% Carignan, 10% Mourvedre, and 2% Gamay Noir. Medium-deep ruby red and very aromatic. Red fruits, spice, smoke, beef jerky, and bacon come through on the nose; red fruits, black pepper, and vegetal notes on the palate. Medium-bodied with crisp acidity, medium tannins, and a long finish. Well-balanced and smooth. Good complexity for a $9 wine.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to Buy: Fred Meyer (Seattle, Washington), $8.99; Available elsewhere, $7 to $15

This year marks the 11th anniversary of Open That Bottle Night. Open That Bottle Night, created by former Wall Street Journal wine columnists Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher in 2000, is the one night a year that we are all encouraged to get out that bottle of wine that is so special that no special occasion seems special enough to actually open it. It doesn’t have to be the most expensive or the oldest bottle that you own; it just has to mean something to you. Just open it already…and enjoy!

For this year’s Open That Bottle Night, Dad (John) graciously went deep into his cellar and pulled out a wine on his bucket list that he has been holding onto for years. We enjoyed a bottle of 1982 Chateau Mouton Rothschild with Mom’s fabulous, Julie & Julia-inspired meal of Beef Bourguignon, roasted garlic mashed sweet potatoes, and green beans with tomatoes. Wow! The wine, the food, the pairing, and the evening spent with family were truly amazing…just what OTBN is all about.

Chateau Mouton Rothschild is one of the famous First Growths of Bordeaux, the only one elevated to that status after the original 1855 classification. After years and years of lobbying by owner Baron Philippe de Rothschild, Mouton Rothschild was promoted to First Growth (or Premier Cru) status in 1973.

Located in the village of Pauillac in the Médoc region of Bordeaux, France, Chateau Mouton Rothschild was originally known as Chateau Brane-Mouton until Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild bought and renamed it in 1853. No one else in the family took a real interest in the Chateau until 1922 when Baron Philippe decided to devote his life’s work to it. Today, Chateau Mouton Rothschild is owned by his daughter Baroness Philippine and her children and continues to be regarded as one of the world’s finest wines.

1982 Chateau Mouton Rothschild (Pauillac, Médoc, Bordeaux, France): Very dark, garnet brick in color. Lovely nose of prunes, licorice, smoke, and bell peppers. Gorgeous black fruits come through at first, amazingly vibrant fruit considering its age. Lots of layers to this wine. Licorice, prunes, spice, cinnamon, and smoked game also on the palate. Full-bodied with good acidity and medium to high, drying tannins. Well-balanced and smooth with stunning complexity and a lengthy finish. Decanted 2 hours prior to serving, and remarkably, got even better during the hour it was open with dinner.
Quality: 5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Hart Davis Hart (Chicago, Illinois), $475; Available elsewhere, $740 to $2550

You might be wondering how a $475 wine can have a QPR rating of 4 bangs for your buck. Please keep in mind that a high “bang for your buck” does not always mean a low price. It means that the wine has a good price compared to wines of similar quality within the same varietal or category (i.e. this wine’s QPR is calculated in comparison to other Bordeaux wines). For a more complete explanation of our ratings system, visit Wine Ratings.

If you missed this year’s OTBN, go ahead and open your special bottle anyway. Or you can join us for next year’s OTBN on Saturday, February 26, 2011 (always the last Saturday in February).

What did you open for Open That Bottle Night this year?

As I mentioned last month, 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 second time and explored Cru Beaujolais. This was the perfect theme to expand our palates as a quick search of Wine Peeps reveals that we have only written about one other Cru Beaujolais (in last month’s Challenging Wine Pairing with Spiral Baked Ham).

Beaujolais is located north of Lyon, France, and is a sub-region of Burgundy. Cru Beaujolais, the highest classification in Beaujolais, account for the production within ten villages or areas in the foothills of the Beaujolais Mountains. These wines do not usually list the word “Beaujolais” on their labels, in an attempt to differentiate themselves from mass-produced Beaujolais Nouveau. From north to south, the Beaujolais crus are: Saint-Amour, Juliénas, Chénas, Moulin-à-Vent, Fleurie, Chiroubles, Morgon, Régnié, Brouilly, and Côte de Brouilly.

Gamay is the primary grape in Beaujolais. Wines made from Gamay are generally light, fruit-driven, have low tannins, and are best consumed young. Gamay is also known for its floral aromas. As a result, these wines can be excellent summer-weight reds. Some of the Cru Beaujolais can be a bit fuller-bodied than other Beaujolais and may be able to age a bit longer, though no Beaujolais wines are meant for long-term cellaring.

We tasted seven wines, and the consensus favorite was the 2006 Domaine du Pavillon de Chavannes “Cuvee des Ambassades” Côte de Brouilly. Thankfully, given the limited number of Cru Beaujolais available in local wine shops, we did not have any duplicates. We did have the same wine, Domaine du Pavillon de Chavannes “Cuvee des Ambassades” Côte de Brouilly, from two different vintages, though, which always makes for an interesting comparison (the 2006 finished first while the 2008 finished sixth).

From 1st to last in the group consensus rankings:

2006 Domaine du Pavillon de Chavannes “Cuvee des Ambassades” Côte de Brouilly (Côte de Brouilly, Beaujolais, Burgundy, France): Medium ruby red, the darkest of these seven wines. Aromas of rocks and minerals lead to flavors of strawberry twizzlers and more minerality. Medium-bodied with crisp acidity and medium tannins. A lot going on in this wine. Well-balanced with a long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Garagiste (Seattle, Washington), $21

2007 Domaine Diochon Moulin-à-Vent (Moulin-à-Vent, Beaujolais, Burgundy, France): Medium ruby in color. Very Old World nose on this one with barnyard and dirty diaper aromas. It mellows out a bit with some air and raspberry notes come through on the palate. Light-bodied and crisp with medium tannins.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Pete’s Wine Shop (Bellevue, Washington), $23.39; Available elsewhere, $18 to $23

2007 Domaine du Vissoux Fleurie Les Garants (Fleurie, Beaujolais, Burgundy, France): Ruby red in color. Earth notes on the nose; more earth as well as sour cherry on the palate. Light to medium-bodied with low to medium tannins, low viscosity, and a long, somewhat sour finish.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Available from various retailers, $21 to $22

2007 G. Descombes Morgon Vieilles Vignes (Morgon, Beaujolais, Burgundy, France): Light to medium ruby red. Aromas of spice, cinnamon, and clove lead to flavors of bitter cherry. Drying tannins and a medium finish.
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 2 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Available from various retailers, $22 to $33

2006 Georges Duboeuf Morgon (Morgon, Beaujolais, Burgundy, France): Ruby to garnet red with some brown brick around the edges. Earth and floral aromas on the nose; cherry and a bit medicinal on the palate. Light to medium-bodied with low tannins and a plain finish.
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Pete’s Wine Shop (Bellevue, Washington), $12.99; Available elsewhere, $11 to $17

2008 Domaine du Pavillon de Chavannes “Cuvee des Ambassades” Côte de Brouilly (Côte de Brouilly, Beaujolais, Burgundy, France): Light, almost transparent, ruby. Nice nose with cranberry and floral aromas. Red fruit flavors. Lots of acidity, almost seems effervescent. Light to medium-bodied with a somewhat bitter finish.
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Pete’s Wine Shop (Bellevue, Washington), $16.79; Available elsewhere, $19

2007 Chateau Thivin Côte de Brouilly (Côte de Brouilly, Beaujolais, Burgundy, France): Light ruby in color. Green olives come through on the nose; sour cherry Kool-Aid powder and green olives on the palate. Light-bodied and lively with low tannins.
Quality: 2.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: NR (not recommended)
Where to buy: Available from various retailers, $19 to $25

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 seventh 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, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Today, I’m searching for Washington State wine in the Phoenix, Arizona, 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 this criteria, I can only find one Phoenix area retailer to recommend, Total Wine and More, which seems to be the largest wine retailer in the Phoenix market, with five locations in the area. I’m hoping that some of our readers will weigh in with your comments if you know of other Phoenix area wine retailers with a good selection of Washington wines.

Total Wine and More carries a good selection of Washington State wines, ranging in price from $6 to $60 per bottle. 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.

Total Wine and More, 17550 North 75th, Glendale, AZ

(Photo by kevindooley)

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

Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine:
Must is the name used by winemakers for a thick liquid that is neither grape juice nor wine but the intermediate, a mixture of grape juice, stem fragments, grape skins, seeds, and pulp that comes from the crusher-destemmer that smashes grapes at the start of the wine-making process.

Layman’s terms from Kori:
Must is the soupy mix of juice, skins, pulp, stems, and seeds that results when harvested wine grapes are crushed at the beginning of the winemaking process.

Before I started making regular visits to Washington State wine country, I had already visited the Napa Valley of California on multiple occasions and had taken a dream trip to the Bordeaux region of France. So I had a good base of knowledge about what many wine lovers consider the best Cabernet Sauvignon in the world. And having lived in Texas for over fifty years, where Washington State wines have been historically hard to come by, I had no preconceived notions about the quality of Washington wines when I moved to Seattle.

Now after tasting hundreds and hundreds of Washington Cabs, as well as many more Napa Cabs and left bank Bordeaux, and visiting Australia and South Africa where good Cabs are also produced, I can tell you with some authority that Washington State Cabernet Sauvignons are among the best in the world and they are much better values (higher QPR) than most Cabs in other wine regions of the world.

You are probably aware that the 2005 Columbia Crest Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($27) was recently named as the #1 wine of 2009 in Wine Spectator’s annual Top 100 Wines list, the first Washington wine to receive the honor. Meanwhile, another Washington wine, the 2005 Quilceda Creek Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($125) received a 100-point rating by Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate, their third 100-point rating in four years.

“The father-son team of Alex and Paul Golitzin are making, by anyone’s standards, as fine a cabernet sauvignon as anyone in the world. Their single-minded focus, their ability to make brilliant wine in virtually every vintage, and, most impressively, their unbroken track record of excellence are unparalleled. Nobody does it better.” –Paul Gregutt, Washington Wines & Wineries

Last March, long before Spectator rated the 2005 Columbia Crest Reserve Cab #1, we Wine Peeps had a tasting dinner featuring six excellent Washington Cabs in a blind tasting in which the Columbia Crest Reserve Cab was the consensus favorite. Given that Cabs of this quality level from California would most likely set you back over $100, Washington wines are perfectly positioned to thrive in the current economy. This is excellent news for the Washington wine industry as well as excellent news for you and me as wine consumers.

“I’ve been a huge fan of Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon over the years. I think the wines can be every bit as good as those from Napa, and they tend to be much more affordable. The (2006) Fidélitas Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is a perfect example: for about $20 this kicks most Napa Valley $40 Cab’s backsides.” –Bryan Brick, K&L Wine Merchants

When you want a great Cab for a fair price, I’d suggest that you look in the Washington wine section at your favorite wine retailer. Both the Columbia Crest and Quilceda Creek Cabs mentioned above source their fruit from multiple vineyards in the Columbia Valley. In addition, there are a number of fabulous vineyards in Washington State producing single-vineyard worthy Cabernet Sauvignon. A few notable examples include Ciel du Cheval and Klipsun on Red Mountain, Champoux in the Horse Heaven Hills, DuBrul and Red Willow in Yakima Valley, Pepper Bridge in the Walla Walla Valley, and Riverbend in the Wahluke Slope.

What is your favorite Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon?

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 2008 Columbia Crest Two Vines Vineyard 10 White Wine from Washington State.

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

Columbia Crest, located in Paterson, Washington, has been one of our favorite sources of value wines for many years. Head winemaker, Ray Einberger, took the reins in 2002 from Doug Gore who had been the winemaker since Columbia Crest was founded in 1983. Under Gore and Einberger’s leadership, the Columbia Crest winemaking team has produced more 90+ scoring bottles of wine than any other winery in the world. For those of us who live in Washington State, it is nice to have such a consistent, affordable producer in our own backyard.

This 2008 Columbia Crest Two Vines Vineyard 10 White Wine is a blend of Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Semillon. It is a great go-to white wine for parties and other large groups because it is good, inexpensive (often found in local grocery stores for under $6), and appeals to both Chardonnay lovers and Sauvignon Blanc lovers.

“This medium-bodied white wine showcases intense aromas of fresh sliced peaches and fresh cut grass. Upfront flavors of peach and melons give way to a juicy and refreshing finish.” –Winemaker Ray Einberger

2008 Columbia Crest Two Vines Vineyard 10 White Wine (Washington State): 40% Chardonnay, 34% Sauvignon Blanc, 11% Semillon, 15% Other various aromatic varieties. Pale yellow with green tinges. Citrus aromas, especially grapefruit, come through on the nose; lots of lime, grapefruit, and white peach on the palate. Medium-bodied with lively acidity and a long finish. A smooth, refreshing sipper.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to Buy: Winery, $8; Widely available