This week: Pend d'Oreille Winery Bistro Rouge, your favorite wine shop, wine bar, wine club, Oregon Winery of the Year, the last supper at The Shoalwater, barrel tasting weekends looming, winery solutions, The Wine Knows blog.
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April 15, 2008
Vol. 9, No. 16
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
Pend d'Oreille Winery 2005 Bistro Rouge
Appellation: Washington
Utterly unbelievable. Owner/winemaker Stephen Meyer extends his consecutive streak of "Outstanding" ratings to at least four, which is as far back as this database goes. The blend changes a bit, this time its percentage breakdown is 46-23-17-8-6 (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Cab Franc, Malbec), yet it remains chock full of cherry and crushed leaf. Call this big, jammy, balanced and with a wealth of acidity. And it's still a bargain. Rated "Outstanding" by Wine Press Northwest magazine.
Price: $11.
Cases produced: 1,907 cases. Look for this in wine shops or order directly from the winery.
Food matches: Luscious and sophisticated enough for prime rib, yet perfect for lasagna, pizza or meatloaf.
Pend d'Oreille Winery, 220 Cedar St., Sandpoint, Idaho, 83864, 208-265-8545, http://www.powine.com
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Recent wines of the week
-- Waterbrook Winery 2006 Riesling, Columbia Valley
-- King Estate 2006 Domaine Pinot Gris, Oregon
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Best Buys
-- Rainier Ridge 2005 Merlot, $6
-- Washington Hills Winery 2006 Late Harvest Riesling, Washington, $8
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More about Pend d'Oreille Winery
Pend d'Oreille Winery in Sandpoint was our 2003 Idaho Winery of the Year. Owner/winemaker Steve Meyer opened the winery in 1995 and uses grapes primarily from Washington for his wines. Because of federal rules, he is unable to name the American Viticultural Area below the state level, which is why all of his wines are listed as "Washington." (Interestingly, he makes a Berghan Vineyard-designated wine but cannot take advantage of listing the highly desirable Walla Walla Valley appellation on the front label.)
On occasion, Meyer also uses grapes from the Snake River Valley in the southwestern part of the Gem State, but his best wines are his Washington reds.
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Your favorite wine shop, wine bar, wine club
We are in the midst of revamping our Web site. One of the features will be easier-to-use search functions for wine reviews, wineries and wine shops.
Here's where we need your help. We want to make certain our database of wine shops, wine bars and wine clubs is as complete as possible.
Thus, I have put our list of 161 Northwest wine shops, wine clubs and wine bars online. You are welcome to look it over and add your favorites via a simple form. I'm especially lacking in wine bars on this list so far.
The links for the list and submission form are posted on The Wine Knows at:
http://community.winepressnw.com/node/809
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Oregon Winery of the Year
Bethel Heights was honored as our 2008 Oregon Winery of the Year in the Spring issue of Wine Press Northwest.
Bethel Heights was planted beginning in 1978, and the winery opened in 1984, with Ted Casteel as viticulturalist and twin brother Terry as winemaker. It continues to be a family affair to this day, with Terry's son Ben as co-winemaker.
Bethel Heights is in the Eola -Amity Hills just northwest of Salem, a region greatly affected by the Van Duzer Corridor, a gap in the Coast Range that allows breezes directly from the Pacific Ocean to cool the vines during the heat of summer.
Bethel Heights is well known for its Pinot Noirs, Chardonnays and Pinot Gris. It also makes tiny amounts of other varieties.
For more information, go to:
http://www.bethelheights.com/
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The last supper
With too little fanfare, the amazing Shoalwater Restaurant in tiny Seaview, Wash., served its final meal April 5. For 28 years, Ann and Tony Kischner have run one of the finest restaurants in the Pacific Northwest inside the historic Shelburne Inn. Tony oversaw the wine program, which was second only to The Herbfarm in breadth and quality.
Of all the great restaurants I've dined in throughout our region, The Shoalwater was on top of my list. The wine, the cuisine, the atmosphere, the decor. It all came together at The Shoalwater.
Alas, the Kischners have decided to focus their efforts on their new restaurant, the Bridgewater Bistro in nearby Astoria, Ore. I haven't eaten there yet, but you count on that happening sometime this spring or summer.
For more on the Bridgewater Bistro, go to:
http://www.bridgewaterbistro.com/
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Barrel tasting weekends looming
The annual Yakima Valley Spring Barrel Tasting weekend unofficially marks the beginning of the wine-touring season in the Pacific Northwest. Here's a quick rundown so you can begin mapping out your strategy:
April 25-27: Yakima Valley Spring Barrel Tasting
May 1-10: Okanagan Valley Spring Wine Festival
May 3-4: Walla Walla Valley Spring Release
May 9-11: Spokane Spring Barrel Tasting
May 16-18: North Central Washington Barrel Tasting
May 24-26: Willamette Valley Memorial Weekend in Wine Country
May 24-26: Olympic Peninsula Spring Barrel Tasting
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Winery solutions
A few weeks ago, I wrote about a Seattle-area company called Vineyard2Door that has created a simple way for wineries to sell their products online, while not having to deal with state-to-state compliance issues and being able to manage their ever-important wine clubs.
In this week's Northwest Winecast, we chat with Gary Robertson, owner of Vineyard2Door, about his operation.
On our Web site:
http://www.winepressnw.com/video/vodcast/
On YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/WinePressNW
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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:
-- Wild salmon with dried cherries
-- Prosser Vintner Village seeks big expansion
-- 2nd anniversary of The Wine Knows
-- Sinclair Philip, the force behind Sooke Harbour House
-- End of an era: The Shoalwater's last supper
-- Rolling Stones get sticky fingers in B.C.
-- Maryhill Winery sets summer concerts
-- Do we have your favorite wine shop, wine bar in our database?
-- 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
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2700 Fourth Ave. S., Seattle.
More than 4,000 wines. Discount prices and free local delivery. Open 7 days a week. 206-682-7374.
http://www.esquin.com
HUCKLEBERRY'S NATURAL MARKET
The Inland Northwest's largest selection of the world's wines.
http://www.huckleberrysnaturalmarket.com
