I spent last weekend visiting my oldest son and his wife in Seattle. I was lucky because my daughter and her boyfriend came up too, so it was very cool to spend a long weekend visiting. I enjoyed many cups of fair trade coffee from Stumptown Coffee, uncounted pints of fantastic craft beers from Red Hook, Georgetown Brewery and Elysian Brewing Company and of course all the sights, sounds and tastes of Seattle including watching an urban dodge ball match at midnight followed by the spectacle of nude geriatric cyclists riding through the streets of Seattle just for the fun of it! Two of my favorite tastes however were the Steak Frites at Elysian Brewing Company (fresh cut fries smothered in thinly sliced sirloin steak covered in a chunky bleu cheese sauce!) and a sundae from a small ice cream shop. (Super rich chocolate ice cream, citrus infused olive oil, basil and salt!). I expected to see a very cool city with many tourist attractions, and I knew it was a college town, but I did not expect Seattle to be so hip, edgy and rel event! I love the late night Happy Hours! Anyway, knowing their Dad's passion for wine, we ended up driving the quick 30 minutes to Woodinville, which is the wine tasting region for the state.
Woodinville is a great concept, a huge number of Washington State wineries have production facilities and tasting rooms in Woodinville, but what is missing is the vineyards. Puget Sound AVA is the only growing region west of the Cascades, so the majority of the fruit grown in Washington state is HOURS away from the most populated city and the throngs of tourists that flock to Seattle each year. Woodinville is the answer. I had great expectations and I was looking forward to tasting some world class Rieslings and Gewurztraminer and seeing what other varietals were thriving in the state!
One of the first stops in Woodinville was the Village Wine Shop. Why would I stop at a wine shop when about 30 tasting rooms were so close? Because I did not know a lot about the local wine scene, and frankly had only heard of a handful of the wineries and I wanted to know what was what from someone who makes their living knowing what wines to sell from the region! I was greeted by a wonderful wine enthusiast named Lisa and her two young boys building Lego creations on one of the tall wine tables in the shop. We were the only ones in the shop, until her husband took the boys out on an adventure for the day. She poured us about 8 wines from the local area, some on her tasting list for the day. But I wanted something else, I was looking for that special wine! The list included many wines that you would find on any list here in California, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Chenin Blanc and Pinot Noirs. The list was clearly aimed at the showing off some of the local wines from Washington. She also poured a few wines not on the list, and all were very good wines I would serve to anyone I know, but I was not WOWED yet! I was looking for OUTSTANDING! So I asked her two questions. If she only had time to visit two wineries in this region, which two would they be and why? The answers I got were exactly what I was looking for. She could not just give 2, instead five wineries that were producing outstanding wines from knowledgeable winemakers from Washington State fruit! With big names like Chateau St. Michelle and Columbia Winery close by, but not on her list, we decided on to go see Brian Carter Cellars.
Now, let me rewind a few moments. We had actually stopped at a couple of wineries on the way in, and my shock at the tasting fees was comical! I was asked to pay $10 to taste the wines of a winery that I knew nothing about, and if I liked the wines they would apply the price to the bottle. Fair enough, but really? With some additional questioning and some gracious patience from the tasting room guy, he explained that ALL wineries in Washington charge a fee from $5 to $15, with most falling around $10. WHAT??? Actually is was more like WTF? This is not Napa Valley for Pete's sake! So I will save this topic for my next post because I think it is important enough to write about, especially as it applies to us here in the Foothills of California! So you can imagine, if I am paying you to taste your wine, regardless of your refund of the fee as it is applied to a bottle, your wine better be worthy of my hard earned cash! That is the point of tasting right? To see if I (the customer) believes your wine is something I would want to serve my family and friends! So, knowing the fees were coming, we walked in to Brian Carter Cellars.
Looking at his wineries description in the wine guide, I could tell he "Gets It". That fact that his winery was recommended by a wine enthusiast, was an even better sign. Brian Carter was a winemaker who blends, so he had no varietals on his list. I did not have to read about how many local awards his Cabernet Sauvignon won, or how great the Merlot is compared to Napa or how the latitude in Washington State is the same as the Bordeaux region is France. Brian Carter was taking the absolute best fruit he could get, which would probably be very good on their own, but nothing compared to Napa and France or even the Foothills, and making OUTSTANDING wines, that COULD compare to Napa, and France and the Foothills by blending them. The sum of the parts were better than the individuals! His super-tuscan, Bordeaux and Rhone blends were simply some of the best wines one could taste! Yes he charged $8 to taste his 4 wines, but if Lisa had told me how good his wines were going to be and that it would cost $20 to taste, I would not even blink at the fee! Priced at between $20 and $30 for all the wines except the L'Etalon, which is the premium Bordeaux for $58, the tasting charge is graciously applied to the cost of the bottle. What was surprisingly good was the super-tuscan and the Rhone blend. Honestly, it was so well balanced and delicious, it rivaled some of the great Rhones produced here in El Dorado County! I was excited! Now, I am not slighting any of the other wineries in the region. They produce and sell some great wines, and I know they exist, but I never did get to taste that outstanding Riesling! What I am saying is that like so many other young wine growing regions in the country, including the Foothills, the wineries try to grow everything and produce everything, because of the demand of the public! Could Rhone fruit grown in the Bordeaux or visa versa? Absolutely, but that does not mean they should! Every growing region has it unique characteristics and limits. Will a world class Cabernet Sauvignon every come out of Washington State? I am sure it may someday, because someone will find the perfect micro-climate where the fruit may thrive. But I have yet to taste it! Here in the Foothills, decades of vineyard planting and management are just now starting to show those small blocks of earth that will grow truly world class fruit to produce a world class Cabernet Sauvignon. What I am saying is I would like to see more Rhone blends and German wines coming out of Washington State. People will learn to love these outstanding varietals of fruit that thrive in the region as opposed to liking the good wines that are coming out of the region. But there must be more money in producing an OK Merlot than a truly epic Riesling! I don't know.
I left the wine valley of Woodinville really wishing I had time to taste more, and TRULY wishing I had time to travel to the Columbia Valley and other eastern appellations, because I was just not satisfied with the wines I found in Woodinville, except for Brian Carter Cellars and some of the wines and company at Lisa's shop - Village Wines. Oh yeah, we really enjoyed the Red Hook Brewery and "Tour", which is located in Woodinville! Ironically, that says something, when the Brewery in the wine growing region is one of the most popular placed to taste! Yes they charge too - $1 for five 4 oz beer tastes! Wineries take note!
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