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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Photo by zoonabar)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Photo from Francis Ford Coppola Winery)

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

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

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

Cheers!

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 Gewurztraminer 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.

Gewurztraminer pairs well with spicy foods, particularly Asian cuisine.

“Aromas of spice, lychee and rose petals are followed by flavors of grapefruit and white peach. A subtle sweetness and bright acidity marry seamlessly to create this balanced wine.” –Winemaker Ray Einberger

2008 Columbia Crest Two Vines Gewurztraminer (Washington State): Pale, greenish yellow. Dried apricots and pear on the nose; pear and white peach on the palate. Off-dry and crisp with a long finish. Residual Sugar: 2.88%
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to Buy: Winery, $8; Available elsewhere, $7 to $8

Wine doesn’t really get better with age. Some wines just become more approachable to enjoy with age.

“I believe wine improves with age, because the older I get, the better I like it.” –Unknown

Actually, as a wine moves from youth to maturity, it simply undergoes changes just as you and I did growing up. Maturity doesn’t necessarily make us better people, but it sure does make us different people. The same thing goes for wine.

As a red wine matures, the harsh tannins of youth become softer and more palatable. On the other hand, the luscious fruit of youth declines, slowly being replaced with a more complex bouquet.

Somewhere along that journey, the wine may hit a “dead” zone where either the fruit has faded too fast or the bouquet has been slow in developing. A wine going through this puberty phase is often referred to as “closed.” If you happen to open a bottle when it is “closed,” you may not be impressed at all, but six months later, the same wine may taste better than ever.

Just as with children, some wines are earlier maturing than others. However, also as with children, simply knowing one wine is early maturing and another is late maturing does not tell you anything about the ultimate quality of either.

In the end, it really comes down to personal preference. If you like your wines to be bigger, bolder, and more luscious, then you probably prefer young wines. But if you like your wines to be softer, smoother, and more aromatic, you probably prefer wines with some age.

Do you generally prefer young wines or wines with some age?

The Marchesi de’ Frescobaldi is one of the most famous wine producers in Italy. Located in Tuscany and comprised of nine estates, the Frescobaldi family has been making wine for over 700 years, spanning 30 generations. They operate 1,000 hectares of vineyards which are divided into nine properties throughout the Chianti region of Tuscany.

The family’s history in the wine industry started around 1300 when Berto de’ Frescobaldi left his properties to his children which included houses, mills, vineyards, orchards, farms, and other various properties. The wine produced on those properties was exported to Flanders and England. During the next 700 years, their wine business grew and flourished. Frescobaldi wines have received numerous accolades from wine publications. Today, many family members continue to be actively involved in the winery.

We recently had the opportunity to taste two Frescobaldi wines in a samples tasting, the 2006 Nipozzano Riserva and the 2008 Remole. These wines represent two of the brands within the extensive Frescobaldi portfolio.

With QPR ratings of 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5), both of these wines are excellent values that are worth a try if you see them on the shelf at your local wine shop. I look forward to trying them both again, this time with food. I think they would be great with pasta dishes or beef stew.

2006 Frescobaldi Nipozzano Riserva (Chianti Rufina DOCG Riserva, Italy): 90% Sangiovese and complementary grapes (Malvasia Nera, Colorino, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon). Ruby red in color and very aromatic. Red Vines, fresh red fruit, and cinnamon come through on the nose; more red fruit, leather, and black plum on the palate. Medium-bodied and lively with medium tannins and a long finish. Well-balanced and smooth.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to Buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $19; Available elsewhere, $17 to $31

2008 Frescobaldi Remole (Toscana IGT, Italy): 85% Sangiovese, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. Ruby red in color. Nose is a bit tight at first, then floral and popcorn aromas come through. Red fruit flavors dominate. Medium-bodied and smooth with soft tannins and a long finish. Well-balanced.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to Buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $12; Fine Wine House (California), $11.98

Today’s post is part of a series featuring the Women of Washington Wine. In an industry once dominated by men, more and more women are joining the ranks as winery owners, vineyard owners, and winemakers. Being a woman myself, I am fascinated by these women and what they have done and continue to do. Through this series, I hope to introduce you to some of the brightest female faces in the Washington wine industry.

Ashley Trout moved from Washington, DC, to Walla Walla, Washington, in 1999 to attend college. After only two weeks in Walla Walla, she started making wine. Years later after a climbing accident that caused her to miss the crush season in Washington, Ashley decided to go to the southern hemisphere for their crush so she wouldn’t have to wait a full year to get back to her passion of winemaking. While in Argentina, Ashley fell in love with Malbec and Torrontes. She has been spending part of her year in Mendoza, Argentina, and part of her year in Walla Walla, Washington, ever since that first trip. Flying Trout Wines is a result of her bi-annual, bi-hemispherical winemaking adventures. The first vintage of Flying Trout Wines was in 2004; currently, annual production is fewer than 1,000 cases.

Recently, Ashley was kind enough to take time out of her busy schedule to answer some questions for me and our Wine Peeps readers.

Highlights from Q&A with Ashley Trout:

How did you first get involved in the wine business?
I had only been living in Walla Walla for a week when I saw an email from Chuck Reininger (Reininger Winery), looking for part-time, entry level help. I had just moved to Walla Walla from Washington, DC, so the concept of working in a winery, was pretty novel and exciting. I gave it a try—for 11 years now.

What were the steps that led to where you are now?
If you enjoy what you do, you tend to keep doing it. A part time college job became full time and then a very full time job. By the time I graduated from college, I knew that making wine was what I would be doing for the rest of my life.

The Argentine stuff started happening after I had a bad rock climbing fall. I fell 35 feet and broke a lot of bones. I missed crush in the northern hemisphere that year. Once I was better, I didn’t want to wait another eight months for crush, so I headed down south. I was raised speaking Spanish, so that wasn’t an issue.

Has being a woman been an advantage or a disadvantage in your wine journey? Please explain.
I’m going to let the cat out of the bag here and say that being a woman in this industry is a huge advantage. I’ve shown up to vineyards and had all of my fruit loaded and tied down for me. I’ve shown up to warehouses and watched while other guys restack pallets for me. This is a girl thing, not an industry-courtesy thing. My husband and buddies do not often receive the same benefits. Quite frankly, if everyone wants to think that I am helpless and the consequences of their misconceptions are that they do a bunch of dirty work while I drink some coffee, then that is their loss. I used to fight all of this stuff tooth and nail and I finally came to a conclusion: You can spend all of your time fighting the system and old boy farmers, trying to prove some feminist power thing, or you can drink a cup of coffee. The choice, to me, is clear.

While Flying Trout was still relatively obscure, I got invited to all sorts of wonderful restaurants and places to do events because I am a woman. This is a ridiculous reason to pick a winery. But if it means that I get Flying Trout up and running that much quicker, I am not going to be the one to spill the beans.

Do you use the fact that you are a woman to promote your wines? If so, how?
I don’t, but that doesn’t mean that people don’t do it for me. I get invited to women-only events all of the time, so why not. I do not, however, seek them out.

What advice do you have for a woman wanting to get involved in the wine business today?
What are you waiting for? Tis the Season.

What are your thoughts about the Washington wine industry, in general?
I’ve been in it since 1999, and it has been amazing to see it balloon. We’ve got an increasing understanding of AVAs, technology, soils, etc. The schools in the area (WSU, WWCC, OSU, some facets of Whitman even) are focusing more and more on what’s going on and we are getting more (mostly grad) students working on excruciatingly detailed investigations on terroir and weather. We’ve got big boys, with money, who can fund a lot of their own private projects. The lab people are talking with the farmers, who are talking with the technology guys, who are talking with the vineyards, and a lot of people are listening to each other. The knowledge, interest, and funding are skyrocketing.

In recent years the Washington wine industry has grown at a rapid rate. Do you expect that trend to continue?
Supply and demand is always the issue at stake. You can almost always find the cash to make an extra ten cases, but if year after year those extra ten cases aren’t selling, the cash does run out. If people keep coming in and starting wineries, someone is going to need to start selling to the South Carolina’s and New Hampshire’s of this country. Seattle basement cellars will fill up sooner rather than later. As long as people are getting the word out about Washington wines far and wide, I see the trend continuing. The limiting factor will not be the wines, the land, or people with interest in starting wineries. It will be based more on how many talented marketing people living in New Hampshire want to be hired by Washington wineries.

I understand that you work part of the year in Mendoza, Argentina and part of the year in Walla Walla. How did that arrangement come about and what have you learned from that experience?
I went down there without a lot of planning the first year. I was told that I had a job lined up by an Argentinean…. To make a long story short, he had been humoring me, and I was stuck in Argentina for two months without any reason for being there. So I started knocking on doors and talking to people and I got an internship with one of Michel Rolland’s wineries, Alta Vista. I worked in the lab and because I was the same age as all of the guys going through enology programs who worked at dozens of different wineries, I got to know a lot of the industry quickly and in an informal way. It was very fluid for such an unplanned event.

I’ve learned a lot about Malbec and Torrontes, two varieties that weren’t very prominent in the Walla Walla Valley. Torrontes still isn’t, and I don’t see it popping up here in big quantities ever. It really likes altitude. I deal with a lot more hail down there and some potassium issues that don’t exist up here in the same way.

They do a lot more “wine by numbers” in the lab due to the quantity of wine that they are making. Theirs is a much more scientific and numbers approach whereas, for the most part, we are more on the farming, artistic approach. Neither is better or worse, but they certainly are different.

What is your vision for the future of Flying Trout Wines?
I am really excited to be taking the winery to the next level. I will be working with others in a great production facility. I grew tired and frustrated working alone in a garage for so long. I actually have access to floor drains now (gasp!) and I can’t tell you how exciting that is. I can’t say who yet, because we are still in the process of dotting and crossing, but we’re going to throw a big party once we are allowed to tell.

Feel free to share any other thoughts that you believe would be of interest to our readers.
Wine drinkers of my generation are not afraid to try new things or weird varietals. This purchasing of oddities allows the wineries and vineyards to keep pushing the boundaries. Every single one of us benefits from this ripple effect, so keep up the good work everyone—and thank you.

—

Many thanks to Ashley for sharing her story and thoughts with us. I wish her all the best and will be following her work and Flying Trout Wines with great interest, and I hope that you will too.

(Photos from Flying Trout Wines)

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

Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine:
Cellar is a widely used word that is roughly the English counterpart to cave, cantina, and bodega in French, Italian, and Spanish respectively. It can therefore be applied to both wine shops and wine-making premises, but is here considered only in its domestic sense, as a collection of wine and the place in which it is stored.

Layman’s terms from Kori:
Cellar can have several different meanings but most often refers to the place within a house where wine is stored, traditionally in a dark, cool, underground room.

Thank you for your input to Wine Peeps. We had twice as many survey respondents as last year, although the percentage of responses was less than last year because our readership is so much larger. We have studied the survey results very carefully and plan to use them to make Wine Peeps even better in the coming months and years.

We want to give special thanks to those of you who not only checked the boxes and filled in the blanks but also took the time to give us constructive advice in the comments sections. It was amazing to us how many of you obviously took considerable time and gave serious thought to your comments. We really appreciate you and will do our best to make Wine Peeps your favorite wine destination on the Internet. Congratulations to Nicholas Kolnick of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, the winner of our survey drawing; he won a copy of the book, What to Drink with What You Eat.

For those of you who like statistics, here are some highlights:

1. 90% of the respondents said Wine Peeps was either “very good” or “the best” wine blog.
2. 95% of the respondents rated Wine Peeps as a blog they would recommend to a friend or colleague.
3. “Wine Reviews/QPRs,” “Interesting, Competent Content,” and “Washington Wines” were the most popular answers to “When you think of Wine Peeps, what is the first thought that pops into your mind?” garnering 98% of the responses between them, distributed almost equally.
4. The median age of our respondents was 45, with a range from 23 to 68. Men outnumbered women by 60% to 40%, and more preferred red wine than white wine.
5. The answers to “Favorite Varietal” and “Favorite Wine Region” were all over the board, however Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah were the two top vote getters among varietals; and Washington State had the most votes among regions, no doubt a reflection on our geographical location and blog emphasis.

Several things on tap in 2010:

• More winemaker and vineyard manager interviews.
• More food and wine content, including a Recipes section.
• More trips to wineries, vineyards, and AVAs where we have not previously spent much time, such as the Columbia Gorge.
• Maintain our position as the reviewer of more Washington State wines than any other publication.

As we stated in our survey results post last year, we are working to develop a Consistency score and ranking system to go with our existing Quality ratings and QPRs, and make available a sortable database of all the wines we taste, whether they are written up on our blog or not.

Thank you for your interest in Wine Peeps, and please let us know what else we can do to get and keep your attention.

Cheers!