Friday, Dec. 04, 2009

Nom de Vine: 'Three Legged Red' a tribute to special dog

By Jon Bauer, Wine Press Northwest

It's a compliment when a wine is said to have good legs; this wine has three of them.

Three Legged Red is Dunham Cellars' red table wine, typically a blend of Dunham's Cabernet and Merlot grapes aged in old oak.

While you can find a pack of dogs on wine labels, Three Legged Red's three-legged dog Port may be among the first. Joanne Dunham, retail manager for the Walla Walla, Wash., winery explained that her stepson Eric had rescued the dog from a fight with a pit bull while he was an intern at Hogue Cellars in Prosser, Wash.

The dog lost a leg in the fight, but Eric Dunham nursed the mixed breed back to health and named him Port for the two good legs on his portside.

Dunham's "$1,000 dog," became a member of the Dunham winery family and soon earned his keep as the face of its table blend since 2000, Joanne Dunham said.

Port was a favorite with winery visitors, and up until his death in May 2008 at the age of 14, Port would put his paw print on posters of the label and for a book that featured the photos of winery dogs, she said.

Dogs still greet visitors at the winery, including Maysy, herself a rescued dog from Yakima who graces the label for the winery's Four Legged White blend.

Still, Port is missed.

"People, I think, came to see the dog more than anything else," Dunham said.

Editor's note: Nom De Vine explores the story of how some of the Northwest's more oddly labeled wines and wineries got their names. Wondering about a name? Send your suggestions to Jon Bauer at jbauer64@gmail.com