This week: Karma Vineyards Zen Red. Inside Long Shadows Vintners. NW wines score at California competition. Congratulations to our Washington Wine Super Fan. Willamette Valley wines coming to Washington. Upcoming wine events. Platinum winners. What we're reading. Where in Northwest Wine Country. Wine funnies. Armin Diel of Poet's Leap.
March 2, 2010
Vol. 11, No. 9
Wine Press Northwest's Wine of the Week is an independent opinion based on double- and single-blind tastings.
Pacific Northwest Wine Of The Week
Karma Vineyards 2007 Zen Red Wine
Appellation: Columbia Valley
Winemaker Ray Sandidge works primarily on the north shore of Lake Chelan, but here's a client on the south shore. This blend of Rhone varieties - Syrah (60%), Grenache (27%) and Mourvedre - shows off hints of cherry cobbler, boysenberry, smoked game meat, bacon and cedar. It follows through on the palate in a manner so jammy with blackberries and cherries that you want to slather it on toast. Rated "Outstanding" by Wine Press Northwest magazine.
Price: $40.
Cases produced: 399.
Food matches: Serve it with lamb shanks or braised ribs.
Karma Vineyards, 1681 S. Lakeshore Road, Lake Chelan, WA 98816, 509-682-5538, www.goodkarmawines.com
Recent wines of the week
-- Fidelitas Wines 2006 Champoux Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Horse Heaven Hills
-- Mercer Estates 2008 Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley
Best Buys
-- King Estate 2008 Acrobat Pinot Gris, Oregon, $12
-- Vale Wine Co. 2008 Riesling, Snake River Valley, $14
More about Karma Vineyards
The name for this winery on the south shore of Lake Chelan is derived from the Pittsingers children, Karle and Matthew.
Longtime Washington winemaker Ray Sandidge makes the wines - including bubbles and estate Gewurztraminer, Pinot Noir and Syrah - for this young operation. The cozy and clever tasting room is only the beginning, however. It's a stunning property with a man-made cave that's used for riddling the sparkling wine, storing barrels and using for special occasions. The winery also has an on-side restaurant that is open seasonally.
This is one of the many wineries helping to quickly turn Lake Chelan into a world-class wine tourism destination.
Inside Long Shadows Vintners
The Wine Press Northwest crew recently headed to Long Shadows Vintners, the international brain child of retired Ste. Michelle CEO Allen Shoup.
The Long Shadows project includes seven wineries, each produced by a world-renowned winemaker. They are:
-- Poet's Leap by Armin Diel of Germany.
-- Sequel by John Duval of Australia.
-- Pirouette by Philippe Melka and Agustin Huneeus of France.
-- Feather by Randy Dunn of Napa Valley.
-- Pedestal by Michel Rolland of Bordeaux.
-- Saggi by Ambrogio and Giovanni Folonari of Tuscany.
-- Chester Kidder by Allen Shoup.
Longtime Washington winemaker Gilles Nicault (Woodward Canyon and Hogue) is the resident winemaker for the project.
Check out our photo gallery from our visit inside Long Shadows and see today's video for an interview with Armin Diel.
NW wines score in California competition
Northwest wineries brought home 34 gold medals from the 20th annual Grand Harvest Awards in California's Sonoma County.
Leading the way was Chateau Ste. Michelle of Woodinville, Wash., with four gold medals - two for Riesling. Washington wineries won 16 golds, B.C. wineries won 10 golds, and Oregon wineries won eight golds.
See full results.
Congratulations to our Washington Wine Super Fan
Congratulations to Brian White of Texas, who won our Washington Wine Super Fan contest. He will be our special guest at Taste Washington in Seattle later this month. He will be able to attend seminars and lunch on Saturday of Taste Washington weekend and will get a VIP pass to the grand tasting on Sunday. Additionally, the Washington Wine Commission will put him up in a hotel for the night.
For more information on Taste Washington, go to the Web site.
Willamette Valley coming to Seattle
Here is an event I consider a "shouldn't miss" (and I don't plan to miss it): The Willamette Valley Wineries Association will be in Seattle on March 11 for a big tasting. About 50 wineries representing all the American Viticultural Area (including the six appellations in the northern Willamette Valley) will be in attendance.
The event begins at 5:30 p.m. and will take place at SoDo Park by Herban Feast (a mile south of Safeco Field), and tickets are $45 if purchased before March 1.
Find out more by going to willamettewines.com for event info and tickets.
Upcoming wine events
Each week, we highlight an upcoming wine event in the Pacific Northwest.
Thirst Wine Bar & Bistro in Portland is putting on a tasting of Walla Walla Valley wines on Thursday. It starts at 5 p.m. and is free.
To see more events (or submit yours at no cost), go to our calendar. We currently have 63 events on our calendar.
Platinum winners
The 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. Each week, I will highlight one of our Platinum winners.
Vin du Lac, one of the pioneer wineries in the new Lake Chelan AVA, has a remarkable string of Platinums. In fact, for the past five years, Larry Lehmbecker's Cabernet Franc has won a Platinum or unanimous Double Platinum. For the most part, the grapes for this wine have come from Snipes Mountain in the Yakima Valley. In last fall's 10th annual Platinum Judging, Vin du Lac's 2006 Barrel Select Cabernet Franc was a Platinum winner.
What we're reading
Here are links to stories and blog posts we think you'll find interesting. In most cases, the stories are related to Northwest wine, though on occasion we will include stories on cuisine or specialty foods.
Here are this week's stories:
Washington state considers allowing wine tastings at farmers markets.
Would you drink premium wine from a box?
Drink wine rather than sinful soda.
See what else we're reading.
Where in NW Wine Country
Last week's mystery photo didn't really fool too many of you.
Most of you - 71% - recognized the front entrance of Columbia Crest, the Northwest's largest winery, while 12% thought it was Leonetti Cellar in Walla Walla, Wash. Just 8% each guessed the photo showed either Sumac Ridge Estate Winery in Summerland, B.C., or Adelsheim Vineyard near Newberg, Ore.
This week's image should provide a solid challenge, as it shows the inside of a tasting room. The photo was found on Flickr.com and was taken by Pablo Pecora of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Click to vote
Wine cartoon of the week
We have added a new cartoon to our "wine funnies" gallery.
Check it out.
Armin Diel of Poet's Leap
This week, we visit with Armin Diel, whose family began Schlossgut Diel in Germany in 1802. Diel's children are the seven generation of winemakers in the family. We caught up with Diel while he was in Walla Walla, Wash., to check on the 2009 Poet's Leap Riesling, his contribution to the Long Shadows project.
You can watch the Northwest Winecast two ways (both free):
On our Web site:
http://www.winepressnw.com/
On YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/WinePressNW
Find Northwest wine events
Looking for a wine-related event? Click here for our Northwest wine events calendar.
Wine Press Northwest e-edition
We have loaded up the past six issues of Wine Press Northwest in a freely available e-edition format, with a goal of eventually posting a complete archive of the magazine, going back to 1998.
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