This week:
April 27, 2010
Vol. 11, No. 17
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
Duck Pond Cellars 2008 Pinot Noir
Appellation: Willamette Valley
Pleasing as punch might best describe the style of this bottling by one of Oregon's largest producers. The Fries family loaded it up with sweet berries and cherry aromas while including apricot, peach, cinnamon, Graham cracker and some vanilla notes. They show in full force on the palate in a fruit-forward, light and juicy style that includes cherry cola and racy acidity to balance the perception of sweetness. Rated "Outstanding" by Wine Press Northwest magazine.
Price: $20.
Cases produced: 17,000.
Food matches: Enjoy this red wine with lamb, veal, rabbit or wild mushrooms.
Duck Pond Cellars, 23145 N Highway 99W, Dundee, OR 97115, 503-538-3199, www. duckpondcellars.com
Recent wines of the week
-- Waterbrook Winery 2008 Melange Blanc, Columbia Valley
-- 3 Horse Ranch Vineyards 2008 Estate Viognier, Snake River Valley
Best Buys
-- Columbia Crest 2007 H3 Cabernet Sauvignon, Horse Heaven Hills, $15
-- Koenig Vineyards 2008 Williamson Vineyard Viognier, Snake River Valley, $15
More about Duck Pond Cellars
Duck Pond Cellars in Dundee, Ore., is owned by the Fries family, which also has a foot firmly placed in Washington. They also own Desert Wind Winery in Prosser, Wash., where they have created an amazing destination with a great tasting room, restaurant facility, banquet area and bed and breakfast. Additionally, the family owns Desert Wind Vineyards - a 540-acre operation - on the warm Wahluke Slope north of the Yakima Valley.
Results from the Northwest Wine Summit
The Wine Press Northwest crew has spent the past four days helping to run the annual Northwest Wine Summit, the largest judging of Northwest wines.
This year, the judging was conducted at the stunning Columbia Gorge Hotel in Hood River, Ore., and 1,129 wines were entered from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, Idaho, Montana, Alberta and Alaska.
Below are the top wines:
Best of show: Mission Hill Family Estate 2008 Reserve Riesling Icewine, Okanagan Valley, $59
Best of category
Best red wine: Jacob Williams Winery 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, $24
Best white: Chateau Ste. Michelle 2009 Dry Riesling, Columbia Valley, $9
Best ice wine: Mission Hill Family Estate 2008 Reserve Riesling Icewine, Okanagan Valley, $59
Best sparkling: Domaine Ste. Michelle NV Blanc de Noirs, Columbia Valley, $13
Best rose: Stag's Hollow Winery & Vineyard 2009 Syrah Rose, Okanagan Valley, $17
Best dessert wine: Arrowleaf 2008 Special Select Late Harvest Vidal, Okanagan Valley, $19.99
Best fortified wine: Fieldstone Fruit Wines NV Black Currant Dessert Wine, Alberta, $23
Best nongrape wine: Forbidden Fruit Winery 2008 Crushed Innocence White Peach, Similkameen Valley, $20
Best spirit: Ellensburg Distillery NV Gold Buckle Club Frontier-Style Malt Whisky, Washington, $100
Best of region
Best Washington wine: Milbrandt Vineyards 2007 The Estates Malbec, Wahluke Slope, $25
Best Oregon wine: Jacob Williams Winery 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, $24
Best Idaho wine: Cinder 2009 Viognier, Snake River Valley, $17
Best British Columbia wine: Mission Hill Family Estate 2008 Reserve Riesling Icewine, Okanagan Valley, $59
Best Montana wine: Hidden Legend Winery NV Huckleberry Mead, Montana, $19
Best Alaska wine: Alaskan Wilderness Wines NV Wild Fireweed, Alaska, $19
Best Alberta wine: Fieldstone Fruit Wines NV Black Currant Dessert Wine, Alberta, $23
Best Oregon Pinot Noir: Duck Pond Cellars 2008 Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, $20
Walla Walla's big weekend
This weekend is big for the Walla Walla Valley, as thousands of wine lovers will descend on the Eastern Washington region for Spring Release Weekend, widely known as Leonetti Weekend.
Events begin Friday and run through Sunday.
Check out the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance website for more info.
Oregon Winery of the Year
In our Spring issue of Wine Press Northwest, we honored Sineann in Newberg as our 2010 Oregon Winery of the Year. Peter Rosback, the owner and winemaker, produces amazing wines from Oregon, Washington, California and New Zealand grapes, with a focus on Oregon Pinot Noir and warm-climate Washington varieties.
Read more.
Upcoming wine events
Each week, we highlight an upcoming wine event in the Pacific Northwest.
Looking to better understand the important Yamhill-Carlton District AVA in the northern Willamette Valley? Check out an AVA tasting this weekend at Anne Amie Vineyards in Carlton.
To see more events (or submit yours at no cost), go to our calendar. We currently have 104 events on our calendar.
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:
New Okanagan Valley wine guide out.
Chukar Cherries' Pike Place Market digs get facelift.
Video explains bill that would halt wine shipping between states.
See what else we're reading.
Where in NW Wine Country
A surprisingly strong number of you knew where last week's mystery photo was taken.
In fact, 41% of you recognized the vineyard as being at Ste. Chapelle, Idaho's largest winery, while 26% thought it might be Conner Lee Vineyard in Washington's Columbia Basin. Meanwhile, 24% wondered if it was Alder Ridge Vineyard in Washington's Horse Heaven Hills, while just 9% guessed the photo showed Valley View Vineyards in Oregon's Rogue Valley.
This week's image, taken by yours truly, should provide a fair challenge.
Click to vote
Wine cartoon of the week
We have added a new cartoon to our "wine funnies" gallery.
Check it out.
Agrivino
John and Judi Stuart, owners of Abbey Road Farm in Carlton, Ore., continue to their B&B silos. However, they are transitioning their AgriVino Wine Center into a venue for catered winemaker dinners. They debuted earlier this spring with a winemaker dinner featuring Robert Brittan in McMinnville, Ore., and the Art of Catering in Portland. Brittan was the longtime winemaker at Stag's Leap Winery in the Napa Valley.
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 seven 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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