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It has long been rumored that the few rows of vines at the entrance to Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, Wash., were required so the winery could be called a "chateau."
PROSSER -- Construction is expected to start soon on the next phase of what backers say will be the state's premier educational and promotional center for Washington's wines and food products.
This week: Kyra Wines Chenin Blanc. Taste a wine, feed a family. Thanksgiving weekend wine events. Thankgiving wine ideas. New Northwest wine calendar for 2010. Columbia Crest tops the world. Where in Northwest Wine Country. CorkWest in Kennewick. Wine funnies.
Nov. 24, 2009
Vol. 10, No. 47
Wine Press Northwest's Wine of the Week is an independent opinion based on double- and single-blind tastings.
Kyra Wines 2008 Chenin Blanc
Appellation: Columbia Valley
No surprise here as Kyra Baerlocher earned our top rating two years ago for this variety and received double gold earlier this year at the Seattle Wine Awards. There's a beautiful display of orchard fruit, honeysuckle and Sprite aromas. Next comes a sweet entry of more lemon-lime on the palate with peach and citrus flavors. It's very clean, fun to drink cold with the sugar at 1.7%, and yet it finishes dry. Rated "Outstanding" by Wine Press Northwest magazine.
Price: $13.
Cases produced: 430.
Food matches: Pair this Chenin Blanc with sushi, spicier Thai, Vietnamese or Indian dishes or lemon chicken.
Kyra Wines, 8029 Andrews St. N.E., Bldg. 2301, Moses Lake, WA 98837, 509-750-8875, http://www.kyrawines.com
-- Nicholas Cole Cellars 2006 Juliet, Walla Walla Valley
-- Noble Estate Vineyard 2008 Semi-Sparkling Muscat, Willamette Valley
-- Mount Baker Vineyards & Winery 2006 Barrel Select Cab-Merlot, Yakima Valley, $14
-- L'Ecole No. 41 2008 "Walla Voila" Chenin Blanc, Columbia Valley, $15
Kyra Wines, located in the Columbia Basin city of Moses Lake, Wash., is run by Kyra and Bruce Baerlocher. Their two estate vineyards, Purple Sage and Pheasant, are on the Wahluke Slope AVA. Purple Sage is a 100-acre vineyard, and Pheasant is 75 acres.
The pair make about 3,000 cases of wine, from a red blend called PSV to a rare Dolcetto to an almost equally rare Washington Pinot Noir. On the white side, Kyra has made its name with its Chenin Blanc and also crafts a Pinot Gris and a Chardonnay.
Check out our video interview with Kyra Baerlocher for more info on Kyra Wines.
Did you know $1 can supply six pounds of food to a hungry family?
This week is Hunger Awareness Week in Washington Wine Country, and you can help feed hungry families in the Columbia Valley by visiting tasting rooms.
During that week, participating wineries will donate tasting fees they collect to Second Harvest Tri-Cities in Kennewick.
Participating wineries include Chandler Reach, Powers/Badger Mountain, Barnard Griffin and Fidelitas. Be sure to stop by their tasting rooms during the week of Nov. 23-30 and help feed hungry families.
This is a huge weekend for two major Northwest wine regions: Oregon's Willamette Valley and Washington's Yakima Valley.
Wine Country Thanksgiving: This is the 27th annual Wine Country Thanksgiving in Oregon's Willamette Valley. It's one of two big weekends in which a majority of wineries are open to visitors. This year, wineries will support Yamhill Community Action Partnership, which provides food and other services to the needy of Yamhill County.
More info on Wine Country Thanksgiving, including a list of participating wineries, hours of operation and maps.
Thanksgiving in Wine Country is the Yakima Valley's annual post-harvest, holiday celebration, in which most wineries will open their doors.
For $30, visitors may purchase a Premier Pass, which gets them special benefits, including food/wine pairings, waived tasting fees and more.
More info on Thanksgiving in Wine Country, including participating wineries, maps and more.
Looking for last-minute ideas on what wines to pair for Thanksgiving this Thursday? Want to share what you're serving with others? Thanksgiving is our topic this week on our Facebook Fan page.
We have a couple of tickets to give away this afternoon. They are for a cooking class Saturday at Desert Wind Winery in Prosser, Wash.
We'll be asking a trivia question on Twitter at about 5 p.m. Tuesday. Go to our Twitter page to participate in it and other drawings.
Want to get some of your Christmas shopping out of the way early? Check out these new calendars by Jackie Johnston, a freelance photographer who shoots most of the photos for Wine Press Northwest.
She has three calendars available. The newest features still life photos Jackie has taken in recent years. Her two other calendars also are available (updated with 2010 dates).
On Friday, Wine Spectator revealed its top 100 wines, and Washington's Columbia Crest was honored with the top wine in the world. The Northwest's largest winery earned the No. 1 spot for its 2005 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.
In all, 11% of the wines on the list were from the Pacific Northwest.
Read more and see the entire list of Northwest winners.
Watch our video with Columbia Crest winemaker "Sugar" Ray Einberger.
I figured last week's mystery photo would be a bit more difficult for you to figure out.
However, 61% of you recognized the stunning photo as being taken at Lake Chelan, Wash., while 24% guessed it was taken on British Columbia's Naramata Bench (that's where I would have guessed, too). Meanwhile, 11% wondered if that was the Columbia River in the background and guessed it was taken in The Dalles, Ore., while just 4% thought it was taken on British Columbia's Vancouver Island.
This week's photo is an oldie but a goodie from one of our early issues of Wine Press Northwest. It was taken by Jackie Johnston (a self-portrait, you might notice) of WineCountryCreations.com.
We have added a new cartoon to our "wine funnies" gallery.
Until last year, Northwest winemakers had to go to California or oversees to get their corks. But now they can go to Kennewick, Wash., where CorkWest has set up in the heart of Washington wine country. We meet with Adam Schulz, general manager of CorkWest, who takes us through his operation and explains how he went from being an opera singer in Italy to running a cork production facility in Washington.
You can watch the Northwest Winecast two ways (both free):
On our Web site:
On YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/WinePressnorthwest
Looking for a wine-related event? Click here for our Northwest wine events calendar.
Can't get enough of Northwest wine? Join us on Facebook and Twitter.
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