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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: Domaine Ste. Michelle Extra Dry. Guide to Northwest sparkling wine. Last-minute Christmas gift ideas. Platinum winners. Chateau Ste. Michelle unveils new Riesling. New issue of Wine Press Northwest. Where in NW Wine Country. Wine funnies. Inn at El Gaucho.
Dec. 22, 2009
Vol. 10, No. 51
Wine Press Northwest's Wine of the Week is an independent opinion based on double- and single-blind tastings.
Domaine Ste. Michelle NV Extra Dry
Appellation: Columbia Valley
Here's the most festive and widely appealing of the lineup from the Northwest's largest sparkling wine house. Big bubbles of this Chardonnay (80%), Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier blend bring out perfumy ambrosia salad, lychee, peaches and caramel. Complex flavors of pineapple, melon and white strawberries find balance, and the finish with angel food cake makes this superb at receptions or as an aperitif. An easy way to remember the sweetness level (2.3% residual sugar) is that extra dry means off-dry. Rated "Outstanding" by Wine Press Northwest magazine.
Price: $12.
Cases produced: 25,000.
Food matches: Sushi is a great pairing with this wine. Not into raw fish? Try it with spicier dishes, such as Mexican or Thai.
Domaine Ste. Michelle, Hwy 221, Columbia Crest Drive, Paterson, WA 99345, 509-875-2061, http://www.domaine-ste-michelle.com
-- L'Ecole No. 41 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla Valley
-- Flying Fish 2008 Riesling, Washington
-- Claar Cellars 2006 White Bluffs Cab-Merlot, Columbia Valley, $12
-- Shadow Mountain Vineyards 2007 Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley, $14
Domaine Ste. Michelle is one of the largest sparkling wine houses in the United States, producing more than 300,000 cases of bubbly each year. Rick Casqueiro has been DSM's head winemaker since 1994 and has developed house styles for each label that are remarkably consistent and world class.
Most stunning is DSM's ability to make such superb sparkling wine at low prices - if you look around a bit, you'll find everything except Luxe for $10 and under. How Casqueiro manages this is a closely guarded secret, especially the riddling process.
Domaine Ste. Michelle is part of the cavernous Columbia Crest facility in rural Paterson, Wash., in the Horse Heaven Hills. As such, it doesn't have a dedicated tasting room.
Three years ago, I wrote an article that serves as a guide to Northwest bubbly. I have updated and republished it. It will give you an idea of the major sparkling wine producers in Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Idaho. If I missed anyone, shoot me an email.
Christmas is Friday, and if you don't have your shopping done, you might be panicking right about now. Here are three of my last-minute ideas for wine-related gifts:
-- Give the gift of a wine club membership. These can cost as much or as little as you want. The Pacific Northwest Wine Club, for example, runs under $30 per month and you can buy a gift that lasts as many months as you'd like. The Wine By Cougars club has something similar. Also look for wineries that offer unique bottlings for their wine club members. For example, Barnard Griffin's wine club has a tier that includes wines that typically are unavailable elsewhere. And that is pretty cool for wine lovers.
-- Make your own wine club. I did this one year for my wife's aunt. I knew what kind of wine she likes, so I gave her a bottle each month that was especially catered to her tastes, along with information on that wine. It was a lot of fun to do.
-- Pair a bottle of wine with a local specialty food product. For example, several members of my family will get a nice bottle of wine with a bag of goodies from Chukar Cherries in Prosser, Wash. This combines two regional agricultural products.
Have more ideas? Email them to me.
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.
Barnard Griffin Winery in Richland, Wash., earned an astonishing two unanimous Double Platinums and three Platinums this year. The 2006 Merlot ($17) was our No. 3 wine overall, and the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon ($17) was No. 5 overall. Earning Platinum awards were: 2008 Rose of Sangiovese, 2006 Reserve Merlot and 2006 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.
Each week, I will highlight one of our Platinum winners.
Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, Wash., unveiled a new member to its lineup of Rieslings: the 2009 Harvest Select Riesling. This wine, which will replace the Indian Wells Riesling, will be sweeter than the winery's flagship Columbia Valley Riesling.
The Harvest Select Riesling weighs in at 4.74% residual sugar and a bright 2.91 pH, which should offset some of the sweetness. It will be Ste. Michelle's first release from the 2009 vintage. The vineyard sources include Cold Creek, Upland, Sagemoor, Goose Ridge and Airfield, and there are 60,000 cases produced. The wine was bottled last week, and the wine is heading into distribution this week.
By comparison, the discontinued Indian Wells Riesling, whose grapes came primarily from the Wahluke Slope, was about 3.7% residual sugar and 3.06 pH. About 23,000 cases were made annually.
The Harvest Select Riesling will be the first Ste. Michelle wine to use the "Riesling Tasting Profile" developed by the International Riesling Foundation. It will be between "medium sweet" and "sweet." Also using the Riesling Tasting Profile will be Ste. Michelle's Columbia Valley and Dry, as well as two small-production Rieslings: the Winemaker's Cabinet and Wassie. The Eroica Riesling will not use the Riesling Tasting Profile at this time.
The Winter issue of Wine Press Northwest magazine is out. It 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.
Last week's mystery photo ended up being a bit more difficult than I would have guessed.
That said, 65% of you still got it right when you guessed it was taken at Red Willow Vineyard in the western Yakima Valley. Meanwhile, 17% wondered if it was taken at Mission Hill Family Estate in West Kelowna, B.C., and 16% thought it was from Ste. Chapelle in Caldwell, Idaho. Nobody thought it was taken at Domaine Serene in Oregon's Dundee Hills.
This week's mystery photo should present a solid challenge.
We have added a new cartoon to our "wine funnies" gallery.
Eric Degerman, Wine Press Northwest managing editor, heads to the Inn at El Gaucho in Seattle's Belltown district. The inn is a European-style hotel that is above the El Gaucho restaurant.
You can watch the Northwest Winecast two ways (both free):
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