This week: Sleight of Hand Cellars Syrah. Yakima Valley teen banking on Vineopoly. New feature: Weekly wine podcast. Great Northwest tasting rooms. Summer photos. Wine list competition. Upcoming wine events. What we're reading. . Where in Northwest Wine Country. Wine funnies. Marcus Miller of Airfield Estates.
July 6, 2010
Vol. 11, No. 27
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
Sleight of Hand Cellars 2007 Levitation Syrah
Appellation: Columbia Valley
There's no hocus pocus here as owner/winemaker Trey Busch built a wine that's unmistakably Syrah, and he did it with three of the finest vineyards in the state - Les Collines (50%), Lewis (44%) and Portteus. Out come aromas of blackberry, blueberry, smoked meat, Costa Rican coffee and star anise. Tasting is believing as blackberry and blueberry notes continue with richness and complexity. There's lingering tartness from boysenberry and chocolaty tannins. Open sesame! Rated "Outstanding" by Wine Press Northwest magazine.
Price: $40.
Cases produced: 340 cases.
Food matches: Enjoy this classic Syrah with duck, lamb, beef or a hearty Italian dish.
Sleight of Hand Cellars, 16 N. 2nd Ave., Walla Walla, WA 99362, 509-525-3661, www.sofhcellars.com
Recent wines of the week
-- Abacela 2009 Albarino, Umpqua Valley
-- Barnard Griffin 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley
Best Buys
-- Chandler Reach Vineyards NV 36 Red Wine, Yakima Valley, $14
-- Covey Run Winery 2008 Reserve Late Harvest Riesling, Columbia Valley, $12
More about Sleight of Hand
Trey Busch launched Sleight of Hand Cellars in Walla Walla, Wash., with the 2006 vintage and partners Jerry and Sandy Solomon. The distinctive labels of vintage magicians match up with the wines' names, including "The Spellbinder," "The Illusionist" and "Levitation."
Busch was an assistant winemaker for Dunham Cellars in Walla Walla before being tapped to help launch nearby Basil Cellars.
Yakima Valley teen banking on Vineopoly
James Weisz, a teenager in the Yakima Valley town of Prosser, Wash., has come up with a board game called Vineopoly, which is based on Monopoly. Weisz raised money for a student trip to Europe by selling spaces on the board to local businesses, then selling the game for $35. So far, he has raised $2,000 of the $7,500 he needs for the trip.
This is not his first venture: Three years ago, he created a game called Prosseropoly.
Read more.
New feature: Wine Press Northwest Bobcast
Proving what was old can now be new, Wine Press Northwest Tasting Editor Bob Woehler has launched a weekly podcast, called the Bobcast.
Woehler, who began writing about Northwest wine in 1976, retired his weekly wine column this spring after 32 years. Now, he is going back to his roots as a radio newsman in the 1950s with the new weekly audio wine show. Each episode lasts about five minutes.
His inaugural episode focuses on Leonetti Cellar's 2007 Sangiovese.
Listen to it now on winepressnw.com.
We have submitted the weekly show to Apple for inclusion as a podcast on the iTunes Store and awaiting approval.
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. Each week, we will highlight one category to provide you with ideas to consider as your travel through the Pacific Northwest.
Tasting rooms: If you're wine touring, tasting room ambiance and amenities matter almost as much as the quality of the wine. Here are 10 wineries that take special care of their guests.
Read more.
Photos from the Summer issue of Wine Press Northwest
We have posted the photos from our current issue of Wine Press Northwest.
Check them out.
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.
Beginning Saturday and running through July 18, the wineries of the Olympic Peninsula will participate in the Lavender Wine Tour. Enjoy the lavender fields in Sequim, Wash., and tour seven nearby wineries.
To see more events (or submit yours at no cost), go to our calendar. We currently have 77 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:
At least one longtime wine lover now prefers screw caps to corks.
Wine can help prevent blindness, study says.
Fermentation's Tom Wark lists his Declaration of Wine Independence.
See what else we're reading.
Where in NW Wine Country
For the first time, we fooled nearly everybody with last week's mystery photo.
In fact, just 7% correctly identified the photo as coming from Idaho's Snake River Valley. Meanwhile, 42% guessed the Puget Sound AVA, 28% thought it was Vancouver Island and 23% went with the Columbia Gorge AVA.
This week's photo, taken by "rgordon," 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.
Marcus Miller, Airfield Estates
This week, we meet with Marcus Miller, winemaker for Airfield Estates at the Vintners Village in Prosser, Wash. The Yakima Valley winery is our 2010 Washington Winery to Watch.
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 eight 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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