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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: L'Ecole No. 41 Cabernet Sauvignon. Platinum winners. Last chance for Wine Press Northwest gift subscriptions. New issue. New wine calendar. Where in Northwest Wine Country. Small Lot Co-op. Wine funnies.
Dec. 15, 2009
Vol. 10, No. 50
Wine Press Northwest's Wine of the Week is an independent opinion based on double- and single-blind tastings.
L'Ecole No. 41 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon
Appellation: Walla Walla Valley
Marty Clubb is the man behind one of the Walla Walla Valley’s oldest and finest producers. This Cab is a blend of grapes from five vineyards, including Seven Hills, Pepper Bridge, Loess, Va Piano and Yellow Jacket. It opens with complex aromas of toffee, orange zest, cinnamon and cherries, followed by rich black fruit backed with youthfully exuberant tannins. You could open this now with a well-marbled steak, but hiding this in your cellar for at least a half-decade will reward your patience. Rated "Outstanding" by Wine Press Northwest magazine.
Price: $40.
Cases produced: 1,785.
Food matches: Pair with grilled beef, prime rib or a hearty winter stew.
L'Ecole No. 41, 41 Lowden School Road, Lowden, WA 99360, 509-525-0940, http://www.lecole.com
-- Flying Fish 2008 Riesling, Washington
-- Sineann 2007 Baby Poux Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley
-- Snoqualmie Vineyards 2007 Naked Merlot, Columbia Valley, $12
-- Eaglemount Winery 2007 Riesling, Washington, $14
L'Ecole No. 41 has a great and clever history, especially its building, which once served as a schoolhouse for the Walla Walla Valley town of Lowden. Lowden once was known as Frenchtown because French-Canadians settled in the area. Thus, when the Ferguson family launched the winery in 1983, it used the French name for "school" as its name.
Marty Clubb, son-in-law of the Fergusons, oversees the winery operations and is its winemaker. The winery is part owner (with Leonetti and Pepper Bridge) of famed Seven Hills Vineyard on the Oregon side of the Walla Walla Valley.
L'Ecole was our 2004 Pacific Northwest Winery of the Year.
The new Winter issue of Wine Press Northwest unveils the results of our 10th annual Platinum Judging, in which we invite wineries to send us their gold medal wines from the year for a "best of the best in the Great Northwest" competition.
The No. 1 wine out of 450 judged was JoieFarm's 2008 Riesling from British Columbia's Okanagan Valley. Remarkably, the No. 2 wine was JoieFarm's 2008 A Noble Blend. Over the next several weeks, we will highlight top wines from the Platinum Judging.
How about giving a gift this Christmas that lasts all year long. A one-year gift subscription to Wine Press Northwest is just $20, and we'll throw in the new Winter issue and a gift card as a bonus.
Click here to get some of your Christmas shopping done right now.
If you want the magazine to show up in time for Christmas, we suggest you get your order in this week.
The Winter issue of Wine Press Northwest magazine went out to subscribers last week.
This issue includes:
-- A Wine Lover's Guide to Portland: Editor-at-large Jon Bauer explores the best that the City of Roses has to offer in the way of wineries, wine shops, wine bars, restaurants and hotels.
-- Platinum Judging: Our 10th annual "best of the best in the Great Northwest" year-end judging took place in November, and the results are in.
-- Ports: We blind-tasted 64 Northwest Port-style wines. Just in time for winter, you'll get our take on these fortified dessert wines.
-- Plus a lot more, including our Match Makers feature on how two Northwest chefs paired recipes with sparkling wine, great things to do in Northwest wine country and even a joke you can play on your wine-loving friends.
Not a subscriber? You can take care of that right here if you so desire.
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 different 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).
The good news is nearly everybody guessed mystery photo was taken in Oregon.
However, just 43% correctly identified the scene as being from Archery Summit in Oregon's Dundee Hills, while 48% thought the photo was taken at Willamette Valley Vineyards in Turner, Ore. Meanwhile, just 4% each guessed the photo was taken either at Celilo Vineyard near Husum, Wash., or Bainbridge Island Vineyard & Winery on Bainbridge Island, Wash.
With this week's wintry weather in the Pacific Northwest, I thought this week's photo is especially poignant.
We have added a new cartoon to our "wine funnies" gallery.
In this week's Northwest Winecast, Managing Editor Eric Degerman meets up with Darin Williams, who runs Small Lot Co-op in Woodinville, Wash. This company handles marketing and sales for small Washington wineries. Williams also runs WineNik, an alternative wine package that uses Tetra Pak.
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.
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