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 fourth 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, and Atlanta. Today, I’m searching for Washington State wine in the Houston area. As a native Texan who was born in Houston, I am especially excited to explore their wine scene to see how easy it is to find great wines from my adopted home state of Washington.

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 those strict criteria, I wouldn’t have any Houston-area retailers to recommend. The elephant in the Houston market is Spec’s Wine, Spirits, & Finer Foods. I’ve shopped at a number of Spec’s stores in Texas, and they are great wine merchants. However, for whatever reason, they are not listed on Wine-Searcher. The downtown Houston store on Smith Street has a good selection of Washington State wines, but the wines aren’t always the easiest to find because there’s not a Washington State section in the store. They are interspersed with California wines by varietal.

Unfortunately, none of the stores that are listed on Wine-Searcher have a good selection of Washington State wines. Party Pantry Liquors & Fine Wines and Houston Liquors are probably the best of the rest. I’m hoping that some of our readers will weigh in with their comments if they know of other Houston wine shops with a good selection of Washington wines.

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.

Spec’s Wine, Spirits, & Finer Foods, 2410 Smith St, Houston, TX

Party Pantry Liquors & Fine Wines, 8277 Windfern Rd, Houston, TX

Houston Liquors, 16226 Loch Katrine Ln, Houston, TX

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

Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine:
Magnum is a large bottle size containing 1.5 l/54 fl oz, or the equivalent of two bottles. It is widely regarded as being the ideal size for bottle aging fine wine, being large enough to slow the aging process, but not so big as to be unwieldy, or unthinkably expensive (unlike some other large formats).

Layman’s terms from Kori:
Magnum is a large format wine bottle containing the equivalent of two standard bottles or 1.5 Liters.

My first impression of Drink This: Wine Made Simple by Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl was that I wish I had written it myself. It has a tremendous amount of information for the wine novice presented in an easily understood manner. However, when I got to her list of wine varietals, each of which she devotes a chapter, I was dumbfounded at her nine selections.

“I picked the nine varietals I judged would be most helpful to you, the ones that comprise most of the wine sold and consumed in America: Zinfandel, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, and Pinot Noir.”

Don’t get me wrong; she’s done a good job with the ones she selected, but I can’t believe that she left out Merlot. It wasn’t until I got to the Cabernet Sauvignon chapter and stumbled upon a section called “Quick and Dirty Merlot Guide” that I gained some insight into her decision. Basically, while Ms. Grumdahl has great respect for Merlot, she decided to leave it out because she believes that “right now Merlot is terribly out of fashion.” This belief is based largely on the fallout from Miles’ rant in the movie Sideways.

Even though I know that the scathing remarks by a character in a Hollywood movie have influenced some consumers, the facts are that today Merlot is the most popular red wine in America’s grocery stores. So I think that it was a mistake to omit it from a list that is supposed to represent “most of the wine sold and consumed in America.”

Personally, I would have left out either Tempranillo or Zinfandel, and done a dozen varietals, adding chapters on Merlot, Pinot Gris, Malbec, and Cabernet Franc. But this wasn’t my book, and what she did, she did well.

In each chapter on a varietal, she has the following helpful sections:

• What’s to Love About __________ (insert varietal here)?
• What’s to Hate About __________?
• What’s the Story with __________?
• Conversations with Bigwigs
• The “Holy Trinity” of __________: The grape, Terroir, and Winemaking
• Field Guide with recommendations at different price points
• Food and __________
• Tasting __________ Step by Step
• The Takeaway (a five-second cheat sheet summary)
• Knock-Their-Socks-Off Gifts for __________ Lovers

She finishes the book with a chapter on the differences in wine at various price points and a chapter on buying wine in restaurants.

“The way I see it, the key to all wine is simply this: finding the wine you like, at the price you want to pay.”

So, if you have ever been baffled by a restaurant wine list or stood shell-shocked in front of hundreds, maybe thousands of bottles at a wine shop, don’t feel like you are alone. All of us, including the author, have been there early in our wine loving days.

Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl is Senior Editor of Minnesota Monthly, where she writes about food and wine. She’s also known to many people in the Twin Cities for her years as the food critic for City Pages. Drink This is her first book.

Even though she regrettably didn’t include a chapter on Merlot, I would still recommend Drink This. It is available on Amazon.com and through many other booksellers.

Cheers!

Full Disclosure: We received this book as a review copy.

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 NV Gruet Brut Sparkling Wine from New Mexico.

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

With the holidays rapidly approaching, more and more folks are thinking about sparkling wines. While you don’t need a holiday or a celebration to enjoy some “bubbly,” more sparkling wine is consumed this time of year than any other. Personally, I love sparkling wine. I hope you’ll use this holiday season to try some sparkling wines you haven’t had previously. A good place to start would be this NV Gruet Brut which was one of the favorites from our sparkling wine tasting dinner about this time last year.

Gruet et Fils, a Champagne house in Bethon, France, has been producing fine Champagne since 1952. Members of the Gruet family traveled though the Southwestern United States in the early 1980’s and decided to plant an experimental vineyard in New Mexico. They found the warm, sunny days and cool, desert nights to provide the perfect growing conditions for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Later, some of them moved to New Mexico to expand the family’s winemaking tradition. Their first two wines, released in 1989, followed the strict guidelines of Methode Champenoise. Initial production totaled 5,000 bottles. Twenty years later, Gruet Winery in Albuquerque, New Mexico, sells over 100,000 cases of wine per year and distributes it to 49 states.

“Brilliant with ultra fine bubbles. A wonderful fine bouquet dominated by green apple and grapefruit flavors. A truly classic house style!” –Winemaker Laurent Gruet on the Brut

NV Gruet Brut Sparkling Wine (New Mexico): Distinct aromas of citrus, especially grapefruit, come through on the nose. Smells a lot like a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Hints of butter and vanilla mingle with the citrus on the palate. Crisp acidity.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Pete’s Wine Shop (Seattle, WA), $13; Available elsewhere, $10 to $16

For those of you who are not familiar with a vertical tasting, it is a tasting in which you taste different vintages of the same wine from the same winery. We were first “wow”-ed by Fielding Hills in the summer of 2008. Since then, we have visited the winery, tasted all of their new releases, and even helped them with bottling. Last year, we were fortunate to be able to enjoy a vertical tasting of all six of the Syrah vintages they had produced up until that point. Of their 2007 releases that we tasted in October, we were particularly impressed with their Cabernet Sauvignon. So we were thrilled when we were able to get our hands on all eight vintages of Cab that they have produced, from their very first 2000 vintage to their recently released 2007 vintage, for another vertical tasting.

Fielding Hills Winery, located in Wenatchee, Washington, is a small, family-owned winery run by owner/winemaker Mike Wade and his wife Karen. The grapes for all eight of these wines were sourced from the Wade’s Riverbend Vineyard in the Wahluke Slope AVA. However, the 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 vintages are labeled as Columbia Valley because Wahluke Slope was not established as an official AVA until 2006.

Last Friday, the four Wine Peeps and our good friends, Ross and Alison, sat down to dinner to enjoy this vertical tasting. While most of our tastings are blind, we decided not to taste these blind. We simply wanted to enjoy the wines and taste them in a logical order. We started with the oldest and worked our way to the youngest before we ate any food to try to get a good baseline for evaluation. We thoroughly enjoyed this tasting but all agreed that the Fielding Hills Syrah vertical tasting we had last year was better overall.

As you’ll see from the tasting notes below, we think that winemaker Mike Wade is really hitting his stride with the last four vintages, and 2007 is his best Cab yet.

In order of our preference in this tasting:

2007 Fielding Hills Cabernet Sauvignon (Wahluke Slope): Dark purple and very aromatic. Aromas of blackberry, black currant, spice, and leather led to flavors of black fruit, spice, leather, and coffee. Full-bodied with lively acidity and high, drying tannins. Extremely smooth and well-balanced with a very long finish.
Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $38

2005 Fielding Hills Cabernet Sauvignon (Wahluke Slope): Dark ruby red and very aromatic. Black fruits, oak, and vanilla on the nose; black fruits, vanilla, spice, and white pepper on the palate. Full-bodied with lively acidity and high, drying tannins. Smooth and well-balanced with a very long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $38

2004 Fielding Hills Cabernet Sauvignon (Wahluke Slope): Dark red and aromatic. Black fruit, earth, and green pepper aromas lead to vegetal and earthy flavors. Full-bodied with high tannins and a long finish. Improves with food and the longer it is open.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $32

2006 Fielding Hills Cabernet Sauvignon (Wahluke Slope): Dark ruby red and aromatic. Aromas and flavors of black fruits, spice, vanilla, and a hint of pepper. Full-bodied and smooth with medium to high tannins and a long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $38

2003 Fielding Hills Cabernet Sauvignon (Wahluke Slope): Dark red in color. Nose is a bit tight. Black cherry, black currant, and spice come through on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with lively acidity, medium to high tannins, and a long finish.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $30

2002 Fielding Hills Cabernet Sauvignon (Columbia Valley): Dark garnet and aromatic. Black fruits, cinnamon, and chocolate come through on the nose; black fruits and baker’s chocolate on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with medium to high tannins and a long finish.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $28

2000 Fielding Hills Cabernet Sauvignon (Columbia Valley): Dark, dense brick color. Aromas of raisins and spice. Port-like flavors of raisins and spice come through on the palate as well. Medium to full-bodied with soft tannins and a very long finish.
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $20

2001 Fielding Hills Cabernet Sauvignon (Columbia Valley): During the dinner, we thought that this bottle was corked, and unfortunately did not have a second bottle on hand. However, we opened a second bottle last night to see if we could determine whether or not the first bottle was flawed. At first sniff, the second bottle seemed much better so we thought the first bottle was an isolated incident. However, we decided to leave it open for an hour and revisit it to replicate the conditions in which we tasted it during dinner. After it had had time to breathe, the same medicinal flavors and aromas of paint thinner and spoiled fruit that we observed in the first bottle were present. It seems that this wine is just past its prime and does not hold up well to air; therefore, we would not recommend it.
Quality: 2.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: NR (not recommended)
Where to buy: Winery, $26

Saviah Cellars is a family-owned winery located south of downtown Walla Walla, Washington, near the Oregon state line. Founded in 2000 by winemaker Rich Funk and his wife Anita, Saviah Cellars currently produces about 9,500 cases per year. The name Saviah is a family name from Anita’s great-grandmother.

Rich is a very talented winemaker and an extremely nice guy. He is a native of Montana and moved to Walla Walla in 1991 to take a job as an Environmental Health Specialist for 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.

Recently, we had what turned out to be a Saviah Cellars Syrah showdown in one of our double blind private tasting dinners featuring two wines from the 2006 vintage, the 2006 Saviah Cellars Walla Walla Valley Syrah and the 2006 Saviah Cellars Stillwater Creek Vineyard Syrah. For a more complete description of how we set up these private tastings, please refer to How We Taste.

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. I found it especially interesting to compare these two wines, from the same vintage and made by the same winemaker, but made with fruit from two different AVA’s within Washington State. We enjoyed both wines but preferred the Walla Walla Valley Syrah made with fruit from Les Collines Vineyard and Va Piano Vineyard.

If you are in the Walla Walla area, Saviah Cellars is a winery that you should definitely visit.

2006 Saviah Cellars Walla Walla Valley Syrah (Walla Walla Valley, Washington): Deep, dark red and very aromatic. Aromas of black fruits, earth, coffee, and spice lead to flavors of blackberry, black cherry, black pepper, vanilla, and baker’s chocolate. Full-bodied with good acidity and silky tannins. Improves with food and the longer it is open. Well-balanced and smooth with a very long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $32

2006 Saviah Cellars Stillwater Creek Vineyard Syrah (Columbia Valley, Washington): Deep, dark purple. Nose is a bit tight at first. Fresh black fruit aromas gradually come through. Red and black fruits and pepper on the palate. Medium-bodied with medium tannins and a long finish. Smooth but seems somewhat thin.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $30

Last week, to celebrate Dad’s (John’s) birthday, we had what turned out to be a Washington Cabernet Sauvignon showdown in one of our double blind private tasting dinners featuring two highly-acclaimed wines from the 2005 vintage, the 2005 Columbia Crest Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2005 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon. For a more complete description of how we set up these private tastings, please refer to How We Taste. Dad was the only one of the four of us who knew what the two wines were as he had set this tasting aside specifically for his birthday.

These wines are two of Washington State’s most celebrated right now. In case you haven’t already heard, the 2005 Columbia Crest Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 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, the 2005 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon received a 100-point rating by Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate, their third 100-point rating in four years.

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 at great prices. Well-known for their Grand Estates and Two Vines lines, it is their Reserve line that puts them in the league with the premier producers in the state.

Quilceda Creek, located in Snohomish, Washington, was founded in 1978 by the Golitzin family. Generally considered the premier winery in Washington State, Quilceda Creek remains a small, family-owned and operated winery. Quilceda Creek wines are only offered to members of their private mailing list.

Both of these wines were outstanding and received a high 4.5 stars (out of 5) quality rating. They paired wonderfully with Mom’s dinner of shrimp Louie salad, prime rib, cilantro-lime mashed sweet potatoes, and seasoned green beans. We topped off Dad’s birthday celebration with my homemade pecan pie and French vanilla ice cream. While we gave both wines the same rating, three out of four of us gave a slight edge to the Columbia Crest Reserve.

2005 Columbia Crest Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon (Columbia Valley, Washington): Deep, dark purple in color and very aromatic. Aromas of blackberry, black cherry, oak, spice, and a hint of cayenne pepper lead to flavors of blackberry, black currant, and chocolate. Full-bodied with good acidity, high tannins, and a very long finish. Well-balanced and extremely smooth.
Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR:  5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $27 [sold out]

2005 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon (Columbia Valley, Washington): Dark, dense purple. Very aromatic with black fruits, beef jerky, leather, bacon, fried okra, and a hint of asparagus on the nose. More black fruits, bacon, and earth come through on the palate. Full-bodied and smooth with high, drying tannins, and a very long finish. Well-balanced.
Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $125 [sold out]

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is large format.

Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine:
Large format is a bottle size larger than the standard 75 cl size and of particular interest to collectors and investors (provided it is filled with fine wine).

Layman’s terms from Kori:
Large format is any wine bottle larger than the standard 750 ml bottle.

Wily Jack Wines, produced by Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines, launched nationally in October with three varietals including Zinfandel, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon. They are all fruit-driven wines from California vineyards with a suggested retail price of $8.

Their wines, each with a slightly different label, feature a visually compelling silhouette of the Wily Jack character wearing his signature cowboy hat on the front and a “chapter” from his story on the back. Wily Jack is a fictitious character designed to grab the attention of and entertain consumers.

We tasted the Wily Jack wines blind in a recent samples tasting and were impressed with how they stacked up to more established labels. Winemaker Jason Becker did a nice job with this inaugural effort. Our favorite was the Zinfandel but we also found the Chardonnay enjoyable. And best of all, both the Zin and Chard came in at 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5). The only disappointment was the Cab which we found to be a bit watery and plain.

With the economy these days, many wine lovers are looking for a price point or two below their previous wine purchasing level. At $8 per bottle, I’d encourage you to give Wily Jack wines a try with your mid-week dinners.

2007 Wily Jack Zinfandel (California): Deep ruby red. Very aromatic with marionberry on the nose. More red fruits and spice come through on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with good acidity, medium tannins, and a long finish. Smooth and jammy. At 13.5% ABV, not a throat-burner like some Zins.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample; Available nationally, $8 to $12

2008 Wily Jack Chardonnay (California): Greenish straw-yellow in color. Aromas and flavors of pears and apples. Light-bodied with lively acidity and a medium finish.
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample; Available nationally, $7 to $12

2007 Wily Jack Cabernet Sauvignon (California): Deep ruby red. Candied red fruits on the nose, cherry Jolly Rancher on the palate. Medium-bodied with medium tannins and a medium finish. A bit too watery and plain.
Quality: 2.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: NR (not recommended)
Where to buy: Received as sample; Available nationally, $7 to $12

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 2006 Peter Lehmann Barossa Shiraz from the famed Barossa Valley of Australia.

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

Peter Lehmann has been one of our all-time favorite wines (a consistent high Quality, high QPR wine), so today being Dad’s (John’s) birthday as well as Thanksgiving, I couldn’t think of a more fitting recommendation to celebrate and thank both Dad and Peter Lehmann.

Peter Lehmann has become affectionately known as the “Baron of the Barossa.” Prior to founding Peter Lehmann Wines, he was winemaker and general manager for another winery. With an overproduction of grapes in the late 1970s, the winery he worked for asked him to go back on his word to some of the local growers from whom he had promised to purchase grapes. A man of integrity, Peter Lehmann would not do it. Instead, he put together some financial partners and purchased the grapes himself.

His actions saved many of the grape growers from financial ruin and earned Peter Lehmann tremendous respect in the community. Ultimately, he went completely out on his own and found investment partners to form Peter Lehmann Wines. While it was initially founded to produce wine from purchased grapes, today Peter Lehmann Wines owns some of its own vineyards as well as continues to support numerous local growers.

We fell in love with Australia and Australian wines when we visited in the spring of 2005 and were especially taken with the Barossa Valley. While the Barossa Valley is quite versatile in the number and quality of wines it can successfully produce, it is best known for Shiraz. Our favorite wine of our Australian trip was the 2002 Peter Lehmann Barossa Shiraz, which we rated 5 stars (out of 5). Since then we have given the 2005 vintage a Quality rating of 4.5 stars (out of 5). The current vintage is the 2006, and it is another good one. I encourage you to pick up a bottle any time you can find one at your local wine shop.

2006 Peter Lehmann Barossa Shiraz (Barossa Valley, Australia): Deep, dark red. Gorgeous nose with aromas of cocoa, coffee, black plums, and licorice. Black fruits, mocha, and licorice come through on the palate. Full-bodied with high tannins and lively acidity. Well-balanced and smooth with a long, lingering finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: K&L Wine merchants, $12.99; Widely available elsewhere, $12 to $22

Happy Thanksgiving!