This week: Abacela Albarino. Great Northwest Wine Destinations. Wine Bloggers Conference. Revelry on Red Mountain. Wine list competition. Upcoming wine events. What we're reading. Where in Northwest Wine Country. Wine funnies. Tom Wark of Fermentation.
June 29, 2010
Vol. 11, No. 26
Wine Press Northwest's Wine of the Week is an independent opinion based on double- and single-blind tastings.
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Pacific Northwest Wine Of The Week
Abacela 2009 Estate Albarino
Appellation: Umpqua Valley
Earl Jones continues to commit more acreage to this Iberian variety, and his team delivers a big victory. By eschewing oak, winemaker Andrew Wenzl allows for a cross-current of fruit to gush, and the amazingly complex aroma profile includes quince, dusty apple, Circus Peanut candy, orange and pineapple. Of course the annual hallmark of this wine is its bracing acidity and flaky minerality on the entry. And yet there's peach, pineapple, apple and French vanilla flavors and a remarkable lemon cream in the farewell. Rated "Outstanding" by Wine Press Northwest magazine.
Price: $18.
Cases produced: 1,148 cases.
Food matches: Pair with crab dip, chicken pico de gallo or seared scallops.
Abacela, 12500 Lookingglass Road, Roseburg, OR 97471, 541-679-6642, www.abacela.com
Recent wines of the week
-- Barnard Griffin 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley
-- Domaine Ste. Michelle NV Blanc de Noirs, Columbia Valley
Best Buys
-- Avery Lane Winery 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington, $10
-- Hyatt Vineyards 2008 Riesling, Rattlesnake Hills, $10
More about Abacela
We've written a fair bit about Abacela and its owners, Earl and Hilda Jones. They have been pioneers of unusual varieties (for the Pacific Northwest) since they arrived in Southern Oregon's Umpqua Valley in the 1990s. Not only have they been primarily responsible for turning Tempranillo into a somewhat mainstream grape in the Northwest, but they also are doing wonders for the future of Albarino, a white variety whose acidity is nothing short of "steely" and the palate flavorful.
One of my favorite recollections is sitting atop the steep face of Abacela's estate vineyard drinking the first release of Abacela and eating fresh crab dip with Earl. That memory is as seared into my mind as the lip-smacking acidity of the inaugural Albarino.
Great Northwest Wine Destinations
The cover of our Summer issue of Wine Press Northwest features "100 Great Northwest Wine Destinations." We created 10 categories of destinations (wineries, restaurants, etc.) and featured 10 businesses to spotlight. For the next 10 weeks, I will highlight one category to provide you with ideas to consider as your travel through the Pacific Northwest.
Destination wineries: We enjoy visiting wineries of all sizes, but to be a "destination winery," you have to do things on a grand scale. This week, we look at 10 wineries worth planning a weekend around.
Read more.
More than 300 wine bloggers descend on Walla Walla
The third annual Wine Bloggers Conference started Friday at the Marcus Whitman Hotel in Walla Walla and concluded Sunday. More than 300 bloggers came to Walla Walla, almost all from out of town. From my vantage point, it was a highly successful gathering.
For me, the most fascinating and revealing part of the conference was the "live blogging" sessions, in which each table (with six to eight bloggers) would be paired for five minutes with a winemaker. The winemaker pours wine and talks to the bloggers, who write blog items or post on Twitter or Facebook. Then the winemaker moves to the next table, and the process repeats itself.
Check out our photos from the Wine Bloggers Conference.
Revelry on Red Mountain
On Saturday, the folks at Col Solare brought the flavor of Italy to Washington's Red Mountain during the second annual Revelry on Red Mountain, which is part of the Auction of Washington Wines. In addition to 20 wineries pouring two to three wines each and some great food from Picazo 717, opera singers performed. The 200 or so folks who attended appeared to be having a superb time.
Here are our photos from the event.
Wine list competition
We are seeking entries for our 12th annual Great Northwest Wine Lists Competition.
If you are a restaurant dedicated to wines from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, Idaho and even western Montana, we encourage you to enter the judging. There is no cost to enter.
If you are a winery or consumer who has a favorite restaurant that you think deserves to be honored, we want to hear from you, too.
Email Managing Editor Eric Degerman at edegerman@winepressnw.com.
Upcoming wine events
Each week, we highlight an upcoming wine event in the Pacific Northwest.
On Saturday, Barnard Griffin in Richland, Wash., will stage "Red, White & You," a "cellarbration" that includes fun, snacks and artisan wine on the veranda. Cost is $5.
To see more events (or submit yours at no cost), go to our calendar. We currently have 84 upcoming 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:
Longtime winemaker Mark Wendenburg leaving Sumac Ridge Estate Winery.
The latest missive from the savage heart of the HoseMaster of Wine.
Single-serve wines in plastic glasses. Oh my.
See what else we're reading.
Where in NW Wine Country
I love sunset photos, but they can be taken just about anywhere, which made last week's mystery photo that much more difficult to identify.
However, 47% of you still correctly identified the photo as being taken at Abeja Winery in Walla Walla, Wash., while 20% each guessed the photo showed either The Pines Vineyard near The Dalles, Ore., or Parma Ridge Vineyards in Idaho's Snake River Valley. Meanwhile, just 13% wondered if it was taken at Sumac Ridge Estate Winery in Summerland, B.C.
This week's photo, taken by "GenBug," was found on Flickr.com.
Click to vote
Wine cartoon of the week
We have added a new cartoon to our "wine funnies" gallery.
Check it out.
Tom Wark of Fermentation
During last weekend's Wine Bloggers Conference, I tracked down Tom Wark, who launched one of the Internet's first wine blogs back in 2004. His blog, Fermentation, is highly influential in the world of wine and hospitality. Tom and I had a rousing interview that ranged from the growing influence of wine bloggers to Robert Parker to poodles to the photo on his blog.
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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