Wednesday, Jul. 04, 2007

Pacific Northwest Wine of the Week: July 3, 2007

By Andy Perdue, Wine Press Northwest

This week: Domaine Serene Jerusalem Hill Pinot Noir, wine list competition, Walla Walla, savoring greatness, great things to do, serious Chardonnay at Columbia Crest, Wine Knows blog.

---------------------------------------------------------

July 3, 2007
Vol. 8, No. 27

Wine Press Northwest's Wine of the Week is an independent opinion based on double- and single-blind tastings.

---------------------------------------------------------

Advertisement

Pacific Northwest Wine Club

Explore the world of Pacific Northwest wines with us. Join the Pacific Northwest Wine Club and receive our carefully selected wines at affordable prices. Choose from reds, whites and dessert wines. Each month, you'll receive two bottles, and your cost will be a total of $21 to $28. To join, call 800-288-3008 or go to:

http://www.pnwc.com

---------------------------------------------------------

Pacific Northwest Wine Of The Week

Domaine Serene 2004 Jerusalem Hill Estate Pinot Noir

Appellation: Willamette Valley

Here's one of Oregon's top wines from a searing season. Alluring aromas of vanilla, cinnamon, raspberries and shavings of bittersweet chocolate yield to flavors of more rich berries and red currants. The superb balance crafted by winemaker Tony Rynders - in just the third vintage from this Eola Hills vineyard - shows with well-managed oak and whispering tannins as a cream midpalate finishes with more bittersweet chocolate. Rated "Outstanding" by Wine Press Northwest magazine.

Price: $75.

Cases produced: 485. Look for this in wine shops or order directly from the winery.

Food matches: Pair with grilled meats or salmon.

Domaine Serene, 6555 N.E. Hilltop Lane, Dayton, OR 97114, 503-864-4600, http://www.domaineserene.com

---------------------------------------------------------

Recent wines of the week

-- Vin du Lac 2006 Vie! Viognier, Columbia Valley

-- Tamarack Cellars 2005 Firehouse Red, Columbia Valley

---------------------------------------------------------

Best Buys

-- Ridge Crest 2003 White Bluffs Syrah, Columbia Valley, $10

-- Hyatt Vineyards 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, Yakima Valley, $10

---------------------------------------------------------

Advertisement

AVALONWINE.COM ONE OF "TEN TOP ONLINE WINE SHOPS"

Food & Wine Magazine, June 2007

NEW AND IN STOCK: St Innocent Single Vineyard 2005 Pinots, Hamacher 04 PNoir, Boudreaux Cellars Merlot & Cab 04, Animale 05 releases, O'Reilly PNoir 06, Le Cadeau PNoirs made by Bergstrom, Francis Tannahill, Chehalem.

NEW ARTICLE: Hard Wired for Excellence, St Innocent's Mark Vlossak

MAY WINE CLUB WINES

Reserve PNoir Club: Hamacher 04, St Innocent Shea 05 Big Reds Club: Boudreaux Cab 04, Dusted V "Stomp" 04, Terra Blanca Rsv Cab 01 NW New Discoveries Club: Patton Valley Rose 06, Coeur de Terre PNoir 05 NW Dessert Wine Club: Hood River Marionberry, Dobbes Family Lt Hvst Viognier

We're available by phone or online at Avalon Wine:

541-752-7418

http://www.avalonwine.com

store@avalonwine.com

---------------------------------------------------------

More about Domaine Serene

Domaine Serene is owned by Ken and Grace Evenstad, who launched the winery in 1990. They own Upsher-Smith, a pharmaceutical company in Minneapolis.

When they opened Domaine Serene in downtown Carlton, Ore., they smartly hired Ken Wright to make their wine. Wright owned Panther Creek Cellars then and later sold it and launched Ken Wright Cellars. He made the Evenstads' wines until 1998. Tony Rynders then was lured away from Hogue Cellars in Washington to take over, and Rynders remains Serene's head winemaker today.

I visited Domaine Serene's then-new facility in 2001. It sits atop the Dunde Hills, just above Domaine Drouhin Oregon. It's an amazing facility, and as I toured one magnificent room after another, I asked, "Just how much wine are you making here?" I was flabbergasted to find out it was just a couple thousand cases.

While that production has expanded a bit since, Rynders' dedication to quality has only continued to deepen, and today's Wine of the Week selection is a superb example.

---------------------------------------------------------

Wine list competition

For the past eight years, we have honored the Northwest's finest restaurants in our annual Great Northwest Wine Lists competition.

It's time for No. 9.

If you're a restaurant owner, chef or wine steward, we want to see your list. If you're a consumer with a favorite haunt, encourage the owner to submit. There's no cost involved. Simply email a PDF of your list to edegerman@winepressnw.com or mail a copy to:

Great Northwest Wine Lists
333 W Canal Dr
Kennewick, WA 99336

---------------------------------------------------------

Walla Walla

Today's Wine of the Week, Vin du Lac's 2006 Vie!, was the top wine in our Viognier competition. Learn more about this once-obscure white grape and who the other top winners were in The Wine Knows blog at:

http://community.winepressnw.com/node/416

---------------------------------------------------------

Inside Quilceda Creek

Late last week, the Wine Press Northwest crew traveled to the Walla Walla Valley for a blind tasting of its wines. The day started with a vertical of Three Rivers Winery's red Meritage, and we tasted the 1999 through 2004 with winemaker Holly Turner. The 2005 is about to be bottled, and it will be the final Meritage blend, as the winery plans to move to a red wine that might use non-Bordeaux varieties in the future.

Savoring greatness

How often do you get the opportunity to taste a wine that was made the same year William McKinley defeated William Jennings Bryan to become U.S. president?

It isn't an everyday occurrence for me, either, but a good friend recently opened a bottle of 1896 Port for a group of us, and it was an amazing experience.

Great things to do

Managing Editor Eric Degerman writes a column each issue called "10 Great Things to Do in Northwest Wine Country." Here is one of those great things to do:

RHONE RANGERS RIDE SHOTGUN. Founding father Randall Grahm has since re-dubbed himself "The Rhine Ranger" as he focuses on Riesling production in Washington, but he and others continue to champion the cause for Rh�ne varieties. On July 11, there's a public tasting of Cinsault, Grenache, Mourv�dre, Syrah and Viognier in Seattle entitled, "Guest Chef on the Waterfront." It rounds up the Rhone Rangers and gathers about 100 of the Seattle area's top chefs at Bell Harbor's Elliott Hall on Pier 66 for a weekday night carnival-style tasting of food, wineries, breweries, spirits and live jazz. The sunset could be sensational. Proceeds go to FareStart. Cost is $60. Visit rhonerangers.org for info.

What is your favorite thing to do in Northwest wine country? E-mail Eric at edegerman@winepressnw.com

---------------------------------------------------------

Serious Chardonnay

If your impression of Columbia Crest is massive amounts of delicious and inexpensive wines - well, then you're right on the money. But winemaker Ray Einberger is about more than that. He didn't leave Opus One just to make some of the country's greatest $5 wines. Ray wanted to be in wine's next frontier.

In this week's Northwest Winecast, we talk to Ray about his passion for small-production wines, especially his new Reserve Chardonnay, the Paterson, Wash., wine giant's first bottling to carry the Horse Heaven Hills appellation on the label.

The Wine Press Northwest Winecast (or video podcast) can be viewed online at:

http://www.winepressnw.com/video/vodcast/

Additionally, the Winecast is available via Apple's iTunes Music Store. Via this free software, you can subscribe (for free) to the Winecast, and it will automatically look for and download new episodes each week. Just go to the iTunes Music Store and search for "Wine Press Northwest."

TECHNICAL NOTE: If you have trouble viewing any videos on our site, you may need to download the latest version of the free QuickTime plug-in. It takes just a couple of minutes and you shouldn't need to restart your computer. Go to: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download

---------------------------------------------------------

The Wine Knows

The Wine Knows, Wine Press Northwest's blog, is getting updated almost daily (and sometimes more than daily). Recent highlights include:

-- A rare opportunity to savor greatness.

-- Three Rivers Meritage vertical.

-- Another great rose.

-- Grape sizes.

-- Happy Canada Day.

-- Patriotic wine.

-- And more.

Be sure to check out the blog daily to read updates on the Northwest wine scene. If you are into RSS feeds, you can easily get blog updates throughout the week.

http://community.winepressnw.com

If you are into RSS feeds, you can easily get blog updates.

The URL for the RSS feed is:

http://community.winepressnw.com/node/feed

---------------------------------------------------------

Pacific Northwest Wine Shop Directory

FINE WINE & CIGARS

Redmond Town Center. 16535 NE 76th, D-105.

Open Mon-Sat: 10-9; Join our new wine club: 15% discount all single bottles; 20% off same wine cases + twice-yearly winemaker event invitations! Only $40/year. Sun. 11-7 Sun.

425-869-0869

http://www.finewinesltd.com

VINE TALES WINE CLUB

Distinctive wines from smaller cellars with growing reputations -- offering superior values! NW, international & exclusive offerings. Join the Club! Get bi-monthly selections delivered!

1-888-883-VINE (8463)

http://www.vinetales.com