This week: Montinore Gewurztraminer, gift of Wine Press Northwest, best of the best, want to learn more about wine? Building on Red Mountain, Wine Knows blog.
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Dec. 12, 2006
Vol. 7, No. 50
Wine Press Northwest's Wine of the Week is an independent opinion based on double- and single-blind tastings.
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Advertisement
Many Are Tasted ... Few Are Chosen
The Columbia Tower Club invites you to attend its second annual Platinum Wine Tasting and Dinner, featuring top wines from the Pacific Northwest paired with distinctive regional cuisine. The event is Jan. 26 at the Columbia Tower Club in Seattle and will be led by Wine Press Northwest Editor Andy Perdue. Cost: $130. Call 206-622-2010.
http://www.columbia-tower.com
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Pacific Northwest Wine Of The Week
Montinore Estate 2005 Gewurztraminer
Appellation: Willamette Valley
John Lundy takes over the winemaking at one of Oregon's largest wineries, and his ability to work so well with this variety is a good sign. The telltale pink grapefruit notes — with peach, apricot and lychee — form the aromatics. The intake focuses on the grapefruit along with honey and apple butter, joined quickly by nice acidity. You could make a lot of friends with this wine, especially with some phad thai or a plate of brie. Rated "Outstanding" by Wine Press Northwest magazine.
Price: $14.
Cases produced: 1,300. Montinore has good Northwest distribution.
Food matches: Pair with chicken, turkey or lightly seasoned Asian dishes.
Montinore Estate, 3663 S.W. Dilley Road, Forest Grove, OR 97116, 503-359-5012, http://www.montinore.com
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Recent wines of the week
-- Forgeron Cellars 2002 Merlot, Columbia Valley
-- Sockeye Winery 2005 Sauvignon Blanc, Columbia Valley, $12
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Best Buys
-- Hogue Cellars 2005 Late Harvest Riesling, Columbia Valley, $10
-- C.R. Sandidge Wines 2003 Minick Vineyard Syrah, Yakima Valley, $14
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Advertisement
SHEA VINEYARDS 2005 PINOT NOIRS
Now Available to Preorder: Estate 2005
Wine Spectator scores of 95 points for the 2004 Estate and Homer, and number 15 on the Wine Spec Top 100 Wines of the Year have brought Shea to national attention.
It's time to order, with shipping starting in January for the 2005 Estate. Limited, but supply is good for now. Check out tasting notes and updates.
Order by phone or online at Avalon Wine:
541-752-7418
http://www.avalonwine.com
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Montinore steps up
Montinore started in 1987 and has had a reputation for modestly good wines at fair prices. In the past four years, our tasting panel has noted in double-blind judgings that the wines have gone up several notches up in quality. Part of this likely has been the Oregon weather during harvest since 1998, but there also appears to be a new dedication to quality at Montinore.
Thus, if you haven't tasted Montinore wines in a few years, it might be time for you to take another look.
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Gift of Wine Press NW
Looking for a quick and easy gift idea? We have put together a fun package that includes a one-year gift subscription and your choice of a Northwest wine book, a documentary about Washington wine on DVD or a set of 12 greeting cards.
The gift wrapping is free, and so is the shipping to anywhere in the U.S. It comes ready to pull out of the box and put under the tree for just $32.
Go to:
http://www.winepressnw.com/gift/
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Best of the best
The Winter issue of Wine Press Northwest is on the way to subscribers right now. It has the results of our annual Platinum Judging, in which we rate and review 247 Northwest wines that won gold medals throughout North America this year.
Next week, we'll have the list available in PDF format for you to download.
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Want to learn more about wine?
That was the question posed to Ken Robertson, Wine Press Northwest columnist. His answer: Don't be afraid to ask questions because wine lovers enjoy sharing their knowledge.
Read the entire column at:
http://www.winepressnw.com/robertson/
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Building on Red Mountain
Winemaker Charlie Hoppes has nearly 20 Washington vintages under his belt, and he's close to having his first winemaking home. The owner of Fidelitas Wines is building a facility on five acres of land along Sunset Road on Red Mountain.
We visit Charlie, see his new facility and talk about the 2006 vintage in this week's Winecast.
The Wine Press Northwest Winecast (or video podcast) can be viewed online at:
http://www.winepressnw.com/video/vodcast/
Additionally, the Winecast is available via Apple's iTunes Music Store. Via this free software, you can subscribe (for free) to the Winecast, and it will automatically look for and download new episodes each week. Just go to the iTunes Music Store and search for "Wine Press Northwest."
TECHNICAL NOTE: If you have trouble viewing any videos on our site, you may need to download the latest version of the free QuickTime plug-in. It takes just a couple of minutes and you shouldn't need to restart your computer. Go to: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download
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The Wine Knows
The Wine Knows, Wine Press Northwest's blog, is getting updated almost daily (and sometimes more than daily). Recent highlights include:
-- Happy Prohibition Day
-- Leonetti's Figgins healing after hit-run
-- Deadly vine disease discovered in B.C.
-- NW wines make Enthusiast year-end list
-- Finding value wines in the Great Northwest
-- Books, books and more books
-- Book review: Marilyn Merlot and the Naked Grape
-- Free the Petite Sirah! Free the Pinot Grigio!
-- And more.
Be sure to check out the blog daily to read updates on the Northwest wine scene. If you are into RSS feeds, you can easily get blog updates throughout the week.
http://community.winepressnw.com
If you are into RSS feeds, you can easily get blog updates.
The URL for the RSS feed is:
http://community.winepressnw.com/node/feed
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Pacific Northwest Wine Shop Directory
JACKSONVILLE INN WINE & GIFT SHOP
Extensive list of hard-to-find wines. Dinner guests can select from over 2,000 wines.
(541) 899-1900 or (800) 321-9344
http://www.jacksonvilleinn.com
GRAPEFIELDS
4 East Main St., Walla Walla, Restaurant, premier wine bar & wine shop.
Open Tuesday-Sunday.
509-522-3993.
THE WINE SELLER
940 Water St., Port Townsend.
(360) 385-7673 or 888-MAX-WINE (629-9463).
Est. 1982. Surprising values as well as rare and older vintages. We ship. Open 7 days a week, year around.
http://www.PTwineseller.com
