This week: Tualatin Estate Semi-Sparkling Muscat Frizzante. Is semi-sparkling wine an opportunity in the Northwest? Washington winemaker passes away. WSU seeks $26 million for wine science center. Lake, Powers to be inducted into Legends of Washington Wine. Chef Frank Magana stars in this week's Bobcast. Great Northwest Wine Country breakfast places. Northwest wine events. What we're reading. Where in Northwest Wine Country. Inside peek at Swiftwater Cellars.
Aug. 10, 2010
Vol. 11, No. 32
Wine Press Northwest's Wine of the Week is an independent opinion based on double- and single-blind tastings.
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Auction of Washington Wine
The 23rd annual Auction of Washington Wines is Aug. 19 through 21. This must-attend weekend will be filled with award-winning wines, gourmet food, entertainment and incredible auction lots - all to benefit Seattle Children's Hospital and the Washingington Wine Education Foundation.
Order your tickets today.
Tualatin Estate 2009 Semi-Sparkling Muscat Frizzante
Appellation: Willamette Valley
Evaluating this release each year comes with perhaps the biggest challenge a wine judge faces - how do you avoid swallowing? The folks at Willamette Valley Vineyards craft this in such a fun style, it's nearly impossible not to come back for a satisfying sip. Huge tropical notes include lychee and honeysuckle, joined by tangerine, apricot and pear juice. That itsy bit of fizz keeps it interesting time and again. Rated "Outstanding" by Wine Press Northwest magazine.
Price: $15.
Cases produced: 1,964 cases.
Food matches: This off-dry wine is great with fresh fruit, cheeses and picnic fare.
Tualatin Estate, 10850 N.W. Seavey Road, Forest Grove, OR, 503-357-5005, www.tualatinestate.com.
Recent wines of the week
-- Angel Vine 2008 Stonetree Vineyard Zinfandel, Columbia Valley
-- Smasne Cellars 2008 Upland Vineyard Muscat Ice Wine, Snipes Mountain
Best Buys
-- Lone Canary Winery NV Bird House Red, Columbia Valley, $15
-- Mount Baker Vineyards 2008 Barrel Select Chardonnay, Yakima Valley, $13
More about Tualatin Estate
Tualatin is one of Oregon's oldest vineyards, planted in 1973 near the northern Willamette Valley town of Forest Grove. The 200-acre site is owned by Willamette Valley Vineyards, and the wine is produced at the main facility in Turner, south of Salem. The vineyard in Forest Grove does have a tasting room that is open on weekends.
An opportunity?
This week's featured wine is a gem that is not taken advantage of in Oregon - or elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest. Semi-sparkling wines are made by just a few producers, including Willamette Valley Vineyards, Tualatin Estate, Silvan Ridge, Bridgeview Vineyards and Noble Estate. They are typically gorgeous wines with low alcohol and a bit (or even a fair bit) of sweetness.
This style of wine is popular with newer wine drinkers (and non-wine drinkers), but it also should be appreciated by "serious" wine drinkers who want to enjoy a more fun kind of wine. In Italy, Frizzante wines often are made with the Moscato grape, which is the same as the Muscat. In fact, there are many Muscat varieties grown in the Northwest, including Early Muscat, Muscat Canelli, Muscat Ottonel, Black Muscat, Orange Muscat and Muscat of Alexandria.
I would love to see more semi-sparkling Muscats (and other varieties, such as Riesling and Gewurztraminer) produced in the Northwest. I think they would enjoy success with consumers.
Washington winemaker passes away
John Powers, co-owner and founder of acclaimed Chuckanut Ridge Wine Co., passed away July 30. He died from head injuries sustained in a July 18 fall.
Powers and co-owner/winemaker Michael Burnett launched Chuckanut Ridge in 2002 near the town of Bow, Wash., at the southern end of famed Chuckanut Drive. By 2007, they'd moved the winemaking facility north and opened a tasting room in Bellingham. In the past three years, the tasting room has developed into a hot spot for live music.
Jenny Schwartz, John's girlfriend, plans to keep Chuckanut Ridge open and continue his legacy of top-quality wines.
Read more.
Auction tickets
We'll be giving away some tickets this week to the annual Auction of Washington Wine. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for more details.
WSU steps up efforts to build wine science center
Washington State University's viticulture and enology program and state wine industry leaders are working on funding for a $26.2 million wine science center on WSU's Richland campus, in the heart of Washington wine country. The center would combine a state-of-the-art working winery with classrooms. It would be a 45,000-square-foot, gravity-flow facility near the Columbia River. The campus already has planted a vineyard at its entrance for demonstration and teaching purposes.
Ted Baseler, CEO of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, is heading the fund-raising effort.
Read more.
Lake, Powers to be inducted as Legends of Washington Wine
David Lake and Bill Powers will be honored as the newest inductees into the Legends of Washington Wine Hall of Fame, which is part of the Walter Clore Wine & Culinary Center in Prosser.
Lake, who passed away last year, was the longtime winemaker for Columbia Winery in Woodinville and was best known for introducing Syrah in Washington. Powers, who owns Powers Winery and Badger Mountain Vineyards in Kennewick, has pioneered organic wine grape farming and green energy practices.
Read more.
Bob Woehler chats with Chef Frank Magana
In this week's podcast, Bob Woehler chats with Frank Magana, owner and chef of Picazo717 in Prosser, Wash. Since arriving in 2007, Magana has developed into the hottest chef in Washington wine country. He and Bob talk about food pairings at a recent dinner at Barnard Griffin in Richland.
Listen to it now on winepressnw.com.
The Bobcast is a weekly audio podcast. You can subscribe to it at no cost through the iTunes store. Simply search for "Bob Woehler" and click "Subscribe." Each week's episode will automatically be downloaded, allowing you to listen to it on your computer or your iPod.
We also post it each week on our Facebook Fan page.
Great Northwest Wine Country Hotels
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.
Wine Country Breakfasts: A full day of wine touring can go astray in a hurry if you don't begin with a hearty breakfast. Here are 10 of our favorite starting points in Northwest wine country.
Read more.
Upcoming wine events
Each week, we highlight an upcoming wine event in the Pacific Northwest.
This Saturday is the second annual Kitsap Wine Festival in downtown Bremerton, Wash. The benefit for Harrison Medical Center's Foundation is $50.
To see more events (or submit yours at no cost), go to our calendar. We currently have 92 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:
Ordering wine? There's an app for that.
The HoseMaster of Wine stomps on the environment with his giant carbon footprint.
Dan Berger says good Port is good for aging.
See what else we're reading.
Where in NW Wine Country
Last week's mystery photo was a bit of a struggle.
You were nearly split between Del Rio Vineyards in Oregon's Rogue Valley (44%) and Cristom Vineyard in the Eola-Amity Hills (34%) - the latter of which was the correct answer. Meanwhile, 20% thought it was Seven Hills Vineyard in Oregon's Walla Walla Valley, while almost nobody voted for The Pines Vineyard in The Dalles, Ore.
This week's photo was found on flickr.com (credit: "vipnyc").
Click to vote
Wine cartoon of the week
We have added a new cartoon to our "wine funnies" gallery.
Check it out.
A sneak peek inside Swiftwater Cellars
The Watts family built their vegetable empire south of the Tri-Cities near Paterson, Wash., but their holdings also include Zephyr Ridge Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills.
After selling their farm to ConAgra, the Watts family turned their focus to the wine industry and began creating Swiftwater Cellars. Last year, they made a splash by hiring Tony Rynders, who gained acclaim for his work at Hogue Cellars in the Yakima Valley and then with Domaine Serene in the Dundee Hills of Oregon.
On Sept. 10, the Watts clan will unveil their dazzling new winery and restaurant, which is within Suncadia Resort in Roslyn, Wash. Cost of the project - built over the top of the long-retired Coal Mine No. 9 - is estimated at $10 million.
Managing Editor Eric Degerman toured the Swiftwater Cellars construction site with general manager Donnie Watts.
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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