I Have A Hypothetical Child

Hello followers, friends and family members I've bribed to read my blog:

This is the dawning of the age of Aqurius.

I mean, this is the dawning of a new age. I have officially moved blog sites. If you are reading this message, it is because I posted it a week and a half late and my editor/publisher power team is yet to figure out how to route the old blog to the new. Like I could do it. Pff. Technology, uuuhhh!!!

Yes, I am blogging my same ol' ish on WinoMagazine.com. I tossed and turned over what to do with this possible big move for me, which seems silly for some but was damn near life altering for me. abottle/aweek is my baby, as I explained to my editor, and I don't want anyone to call my baby by a different name, raise her differently or give her a wardrobe change/haircut/ear piercing without my 100% approval. You know how mothers can be a little overprotective.

Anywhosers, check my hypothetical baby and I out at our new address at WINO Mag's Web site here.

And go with wine, my children.

Cheers,
Erin

Cote Bonneville 2005 Carriage House Red Wine

*Bottle #60: Cote Bonneville 2005 Carriage House DuBrul Vineyard Red Wine

*Price Tag: $54
*Running Tab: $772 (The boy bought...)

Considering Cote Bonneville is one of the highest-rated (94 points from Wine Spectator), estate-grown (DuBrul Vineyard is one of the most prestigious and older vineyards in the state) and premium Merlot producers around, one would think they'd have a better/functioning Web site.

Side note - I seem to really like using parentheses in this blog (obviously).

To compensate for the bad Web-marketing, this is what I picture happening... Cote Bonneville decided: "Hey! We don't make enough money from our $120 critically acclaimed and more often than not sold out Cab/Merlot, let's make a second label!"

Basically, give or take a few words.

After much annoying Googling, I couldn't find squat on these guys. Thank goodness Seattle Magazine just did a blurb on them - yes, they received "Most Outstanding Wine of the Year" for the previously mentioned blend. That and the previously mentioned crazy good estate vineyard of theirs in Yakima Valley, resting right above the Yakima River, just received "Vineyard of the Year" as well.

Woodward Canyon and Own Roe are a few to name that battle it out for the right to purchase fruit from this vineyard. They probably produce pretty good grapes there, even for the likes of this $54 second label "table wine." Yowza.

73% Cabernet Sauvignon, 26% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc for good measure, the Carriage House Red Wine produces a nose full of dark, lush fruit, rich with plum and dark raspberry protruding after some time with cloves and pepper sticking out all the way through.

Thick and juicy on the palate, with that chewy dark raspberry and almost a leathery, complex touch on the tongue. Beautifully structured, with multi-faceted levels and details that open up over time, this will be an amazing bottle of wine with another two years or so in the bottle. Rounded yet assertive tannins allow for a lengthy finish.

Those tannins are the kind that I love. The kind that you first think are wussy and then after you've taken a couple sips, they come back and kick you in the back of the head. It's like I'm the fourth grade bully and the tannins are some skinny kid I've been picking on who, low and behold, is stealthily aggressive and kicks my ass when my back is turned.

That never happened to me. But this wine did. And I liked it. All $56 worth of it.

Score: 9.

3 thoughts in my head. That's it.

Slackity slack slack.

No review this week, however, I have drank a substantial amount of wine. Like that's new...

Have been SLAMMED this week with work (boo) but got some news to share with you all.

1) I was approached by a remotely scary flaming-redhaired "French" woman (quotes because she had no accent, very disappointing) to join the Brotherhood of the Knights of the Vine. Yup. It's an ancient brotherhood dating back to the Round Table - like King Arthur, not the nasty pizza joint. She said she could "knight" me and I would be a "gentlelady." Made me giggle.

2) My women's wine group that was supposed to have its 4th event last night at a South Seattle winery has somewhat flopped. For some reason, people don't like to get together and drink on weeknights, it seems. I'm going to give it one more shot and then give up. Hah.

3) A Seattle publication, who will go nameless for the sake of discussion, has asked to pick up my blog for their Web site (Hi, Doug). I believe I will be the lone blogger featured (other than their own), I'm the only one writing for me (like I'd allow anything other), all the content is mine (dur) and I will eventually get paid for (who knows how long that is). This is one of my goals with abottle/aweek, along with becoming rich and famous and winning lots of awards (obviously).

However... This is somewhat a loss of individuality for me. Serious identity crisis because it's a big move, something that I've wanted, but now I'll be associated with something, representing something other than myself (which I usually screw up anyway). I have the success of something other than myself in my hands! Kind of... It's scary!

Big steps, for abottle/aweek. Leaps and bounds, even. I still haven't decided yet. Thoughts, concerns, questions, heartbreak, single tear?

Will I be selling out or will I be achieving one of my goals?

To be continued...

Spindrift Pinot Gris

*Bottle #59: Spindrift Cellars 2007 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris
*Price Tag: $15
*Running Tab: $772

My girlfriends are my rock. True and true, through thick and thin, always down for a good laugh and a cheap drink(s). More often than not, unless one of us is on some bizarre diet (sorry, Katie), we will get plentiful amounts of cheap drinks, usually enough to quench the thirst of many deprived small children in a starving third world country.

My girlfriends are rocks with bad wine taste. I take that bad, not bad, they just don't know, therefore they don't care. And I was the same way, two years ago. Now that I am the (obviously) more evolved wine drinker (and person, essentially), I try to press wines that might be $15 a bottle instead of $9 1.5L bottles aka magnums. Beringer, Gallo and Yellowtail, oh my!

My girlfriends LOVE the Pinot Gris and Grigio. Often times, I get phone calls from QFC or Safeway, from my perplexed friends asking the difference between the two.

Difference, I say? Nay. Example given to friends: They're like hot twin guys that were separated at birth, one just grew up in France and the other is from Italy.

"OOoooohh! I love hot twins!"

This week, I chose to put the hot French guy in my mouth. Heh heh heh.

For American Pinot Gris, the best way to go is Willamette Valley fruit. Oregon Pinot Gris' are typically light but not thin, full of good acid but not overwhelming loads and bursting with citrusy and summery fruit.

With the promise of that description plus some minerality and "unique notes," I went with the 2007 Spindrift Cellars Pinot Gris.

The nose was fabulous. The unmistakable lychee fruit on the nose gives off a lush and lavish fruit tone with something nutty lying in the background. Definite minerality seeping through and a caramel scent comes out after the wine warms up a little bit.

The palate was a little lackluster after such explosive aromatics but not disappointing. Lots of citrus and tart astringency up front forming a very well structured and far from thin midpalate. Grapefruit comes out in the finish and ends up tart and acidic just like the actual fruit does.

This is a French guy that when I usually drink it, he's cheap and skinny. This French guy was what I've come to expect from Euro descendants in Northwest soils: Distinct, beautiful and not as expensive as its origins.

I would take this Oregon-reinvents-Eurotrash any day. And my girlfriends will drink anything.

Score: 7.

Where to be on Friday, April 17th in Seattle...

You.

Yeah, you.

This is what you want to be doing, Friday, April 17th (as in 3 days from now):

EIGHT WINERIES OF THE HOLLYWOOD WINE DISTRICT Present:
A Preview to Passport to Woodinville Production

April 17th - 4 - 8:00pm

Welcome to HOLLYWOOD! Starring... Adams Bench Winery, Brian Carter Cellars, Chandler Reach Winery, Hollywood Hill Vineyards, J. Bookwalter Winery, Matthews Estate, Northwest Totem Cellars, Woodhouse Family Cellars.

No tasting fees for ONE NIGHT ONLY! No passport? No Problem. Or use your Passport early!

Come enjoy special wines not offered on other days of PASSPORT. All participating wineries are open Friday, April 17 from 4 to 8 pm. Tasting fees will are being waived for these hours and this evening only. Wineries are open to Passport holders only on Sat/Sun April 18-19

More information on Passport to Woodinville Weekend, click here.

See you then...

Tune in this week...

I've decided that I'm going to pitch a show to the Travel Channel.

I'm sure no one else has had this idea, other than my counterpart who plans on co-hosting our brilliant concept. Actually, in all honesty, it probably was his plan. I just have a crappy enough memory to give him the credit... Dang it.

WHO: Myself and ol' what's his name.
WHAT/WHERE: Traveling the globe, embarking on each national and cultural beverage and food tradition and any associated beliefs, folklore and history.
HOW: Travel checks, obviously.
WHY: To emphasis the importance of food and drink, how they are connected and how they help each other, help me, help you.

Title ideas? I'm not that creative.

The bond between booze and grub is relevant to all!

Note to my nonalcohol consuming friends: Remember that cream sauce you loved or what you're dipping your uncooked foods into at the Melting Pot? There's alcohol in that. There's booze in food and food in booze. It's the circle of life. It's what makes the world go 'round.

Booze n'grub make the world go 'round. Think about it.

Mark Ryan Winery 2006 Water Witch

*Bottle #57: Mark Ryan Winery 2006 Klipsun Vineyard Water Witch
*Price Tag: $32 (discounted), normally $45
*Running Tab: $742

From the viewpoint of an employee for a competing winery in the Woodinville area, you can't help but be a little jealous of Mark McNeilly, owner/winemaker of Mark Ryan Winery. In the Puget Sound region, no one has a bigger cult following than this guy. Wine enthusiasts, critics and fans alike flock to his releases and random weekend appearances in the booming Woodinville warehouse wine district, named "Hoodinville" for its no-frills atmosphere.

Mark, the man, is a huge, cuddly teddy bear, standing high in stature and wide in a huggable, less scary bear sort of way. A newly wed to an about-to-pop bride and seemingly best friends with everyone in the industry and the area, Mark Ryan McNeilly's popularity is equivalent to the local high school's homecoming queen's status. "Rock star," "wine celebrity" and "urban chic" are all descriptors used in his resume. There are "I (Heart) Mark Ryan" t-shirts, for God's sake.

Probably one of the worst Web sites I've seen for some of the best wines I've had. But I'm nitpicky.

Mark Ryan, the wines, are mouthwatering and robust moneymakers; notoriously consumed for their rock-em, sock-em Red Mountain fruit profile. People line up outside his door, just waiting to taste and purchase as much as they can for his limited releases.

Stylisitcally and with his background, it makes sense that I would like a Mark Ryan wine. He trained and got experience at Matthews Cellars, another Woodinville winery whose red wines fit my big wine criteria.

As frequent of a visitor to the Woodinville Wine Country that I am (okay, daily) and as much as his red wines are everything that I have been looking for in these recent reviews, Water Witch was my first Mark Ryan red wine.

Wine pop culture shame!

At 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot and all from the beautiful Klipsun Vineyard in Red Mountain, the 2006 Water Witch was dark, rich cherry backed with subtle spice instantly dumped out of the nose of this wine, a little tarry and more fig and boysenberry over time for aromas. Serious oak comes out with vanilla and toastiness.

This monster mouthful of "rotten grape juice" (as McNeilly once called it) has official soothed my big needs. I'm a woman.

Smooth but with tannins that scrape the roof of your mouth, this full-bodied red showed detailed plum and leathery dark fruit aided by well-blended acidity. The wine enters almost bittersweet and finishes similar.

This is a nasty witch though, she comes back to get you once you think it's over with young and barbaric tannins in the lingering finish. I think they'll most certainly be there with age, maybe more refined and elegant but just as core-shaking as now.

I appreciate the recommendations for big wines for my lovely readers (YOU DO EXIST!), but I can finally rest. I will probably see Mark, the man, sometime this week and shake his hand. This homecoming queen has my vote.

I (heart) Mark Ryan.

Score: 9.

Slacker.

I am a slacker. I missed last week's review and now you just have to listen to me talk about myself to cover it up. I was really busy, stressed, broke, blah blah blah. I know all of you devout, fanatical readers of mine depend on this review so you know what to drink each week, amiriiigh?

Uh huh.

Anywhosers, still in great pursuit of locating the big f'ing red wine that's going to change my life and I will continue to drink myself silly until I do.

Stay tuned for more action in the progression of my alcoholism as I have an outside source seriously recommending this week's review to be my end all to be all in this search.

We'll see.

In the mean time, I've been drinking a lot of Syrahs, Shiraz nonsense, looking for that full-bodied lady killer and it's been nothing. A wine broker from Melbourne told me to look in the Coonawarra if I want to go the Shiraz route for big, jammy, tarry, darkness of the varietal.

Any recs? Please send away!

Efeste 2005 Big Papa Cabernet Sauvignon

*Bottle #56: Efeste 2005 Columbia Valley Big Papa Cabernet Sauvignon
*Price Tag: $40
*Running Tab: $710

One of my favorite winos in Woodinville, WA wine country is Efeste's Brennon Leighton. Winemaker for the label, Brennon looks to be more likely on a Harley than in a cellar. Painted in tats, massive in size compared to, say, Lou Facelli in his 5'6" frame and usually caught guzzling some sort of alcoholic beverage (I've witnessed a chocolate martini to Limoncello to stout transition), Brennon and his equally large business partner, Patrick Smith are the faces of this equally large Northwest winery.

Speaking of large, the reason why I went with this wine this week was because I am in pursuit of a big, f'ing Cab. I'm talking huge, abrasive, tarry, bad-for-your-lungs tobacco, the darkest fruit around, vuluptous, suck-your-mouth-dry while punching-you-in-the-face kinda Cab Sauv.

Now, most would go looking for such specific Cab in a warmer climate based off of these characteristics than Eastern Washington, but nay! Must support Washington!

Brennon gets a little assistance on the Big Guy from DeLille Cellar's Chris Upchurch. The man is known for making big, robust reds so for my Cab requirements, we're in the clear. Formerly a winemaker for Chateau Ste. Michelle (but who wasn't...), Brennon knows his mass production wine and went the other direction with his Efeste juice, producing much smaller lots.

The Big Papa is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, which is actually a little rare because it's such a tannic mouthful of a varietal. In my case, I thought: bring it on. Then they throw in 90% new French oak, allowing the already hugely tannic varietal to suck in fresh, hugely tannic oak. Brennon used 100% malolactic fermentation to smooth it out, so you are able to keep your jaw attached after drinking this wine in all its tannic glory.

And finally, these are old vines. Old vines in Washington means 30 years and up (35 years with Kiona Vineyards in Red Mountain and Sagemoor Farms). So older, smaller clusters of grapes creating more concentrated fruit for an already sturdy and concentrated varietal.

All signs point to huge.

Dark fig and plum aromas with a touch of earth on the nose of Big Papa. Dark stoned-fruits, with the actual pit smell coming out, backed by clove and herbal notes. It was questionably stewy smelling (not usually a good characteristic) with pepper and licorice used to cover it up.

All smells point to huge...

All flavors were not as big as I had hoped. A dry attack led to a soft and mildly fruity midpalate at medium+ bodied and velvety smooth. Finishing dry and not overly tannic at all. I was surprised, for mostly new French oak and 100% Cab, this (hypothetically) should have been bigger.

Deep and complex but not big and abrasive. One would call this a beautiful fine. I would call it that but it did not soothe my craving.

I think Alanis Morissette put it melodically as "it's like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife." Which isn't exactly irony, it's just more so not what you're looking for. And thus is life.

Score: 7.

How to Stalk Erin

I will be at the inaugural Sip of Snoqualmie, Saturday, March 14th, 6:30pm. I will be pouring for my anonymous winery while trying to play swapsies/score some free wine from other Washington labels that I don't necessarily get to try.


Ones I'm looking forward to, in no particular order...
1) Hightower Cellars
2) Saint Laurent
3) Terra Blanca
4) Sleight of Hand

Sip of Snoqualmie, a benefit for Encompass, a 40-year-old not-for-profit organization that provides preschool services for children with special needs.

The Sip allows guests to try wines from all over the Northwest, speak with the local wineries and enjoy food from the Snoqualmie Casino. A silent auction and raffle will take place with many unique, exciting and high-value items. All proceeds will benefit Encompass.

More! - Da Sip

PS. Erin Loves You

Oh, and it's freaking Washington wine month! Everything that I stand for and more!

Keep reading for updates and whatever else I can stir up for the month. I'm pretty good at getting people to tell me things they aren't supposed to and somehow inviting myself to who's who events (usually working them...) so stay tuned!

GOOOoooo Evergreens!

Cheers,
Erin

I take pictures.

I've been working on getting these pictures off my phone and into a post. Victory!

These are plump and almost ready to pick Pinot Noir grapes from the 2008 harvest, circa October at the Elk Cove Vineyard in Gaston, Oregon.

Same vineyard, just the zoomed out view.

My most prized photgraphic possession. Yes, I got a little help in the aesthetics department, but taken with a lomographic camera, the one single shot is spliced into 4 as you move the camera along. This is from a vineyard in Santa Barbara County that I can not remember for the life of me...

You can't even see, but these are little grape buds on a very early growing vine at Roblar Winery and Vineyard in Santa Ynez, California.

Barrister Winery NV Rough Justice

*Bottle #55: Barrister Winery NV Columbia Valley Rough Justice
*Price Tag: $18
*Running Tab: $670

I'm not going to lie... My tongue might have been a little under the weather for this tasting. I had consumed some wines before and had just recently burnt my tongue on pizza. That being said, I am a completely reliable and unbiased source and you should listen to me. End of story.

I'm also not going to lie... This wine is produced in Spokane, WA. For some of you locals, names such as "Spokompton," "Spokanistan" and "Spokangeles" might come to mind. But nay, ghettolicious titles will not deter my quest for good, cheap wine!

Now there are great things to come out of Spokane, WA... Like Gonzaga U basketball's finest recruit, Adam Morrison, it's the second largest city in the state AND it hosted the 1974 World Fair! See! This wine could be #4!

The ultra-prestigious and accurate (cough) Wine Press Northwest prophesied Barrister Winery to be "one of the Northweset's emerging superstar wineries" and with just under 3,000 cases released in the 2009 vintage, the two cellar masters have definitely grown from daytime attorneys into nighttime garagistes.

Producing small quantities of Bordeaux-style red wines - a familiar tune Washington winemakers like to sing - Barrister keeps its title as a Spokomptonite artisan winemakers - a tune Washington winemakers have started to forget.

Cleverly dubbed "Rough Justice" by two city attorneys, this multi-varietal, multi-vintage blend might have sampled from many other blends' songs. Merlot-based, blended with Cab, Syrah and Cab Franc from such and such Red Mountain vineyards and such and such high-rolling, prominent grape growers' influence. Sounds like a lot of other melodies.

But look at how many Beatles' songs Oasis ripped off and they're still successful!

So how bout it, Spokane?

Sitting in my glass, this wine was nothing special. Her color was a deep burgundy with dark and jammy fruit juicing out of the glass with some hints of clove and cocoa. Swirl and spin her around to this similar tune and she still puts off the same, generic aromas and even a little bit of booze.

Sounds like a girl you'd like to dance with to that same song? Bring her up to your lips and she'll give you the same dark and jammy fruit with a marginally sweet midpalate and an toasted oak finish. Then you'll realize she laced her kiss with an ellicit drug that put your own your ass.

... Almost likewise, the Rough Justice stays true to its name where it's so sweet seeming at first, then it shocks you with moonshine and fierce, almost harsh acidity. I like it when you get a wave of tannins as a wine finishes but a hurricane of acidity is a different hypothetical environmental crisis.

My friend's response to the wine sums it up: "Why does it sting when I swallow it?"

Now flip that in as many dirty ways as you want, sickos, but keep in mind, wine drinking should be a pleasurable experience. This was not.

Score: 3.

2007 Neil Ellis Pinotage

*Bottle #54: 2007 Neil Ellis Stellenbosch Pinotage
*Price Tag: $23
*Running Tab: $652

Duh du du DUH! (That was my attempted trumpet horn simulation).

Announcing the second step to my new year blog approach: Guest bloggers! This week, for the inaugural guest blogger kick off, I persuaded another industry wino to consume something other than his boss' juice. Really twisted his arm with free wine. Please welcome N.J.

So here it is, my first guest blogging sesh and my first shot at Pinotage! Pino-wha, you might ask?

"Peeno-taj:" a successful hybridization of Pinot Noir and Cinsault. Professor A South African professor decided to play Grape God in 1925 when he cross-bred this two varieties as "Hermitage" and eventually dubbing it Pinotage. Dionysus might have been a little threatened.

No locally-bred South African varietal is more planted in their soils but the grape itself only takes up around 7% of the available vineyard area. With 60 appellations and many other varietals planted nationwide, this region of Stellenbosch takes the title for Pinotage.

Now Pinotage can sometimes be a little whiney bitch. Although it's easy to farm and rear, major criticisms have been made about the hybrid wine to be containing volatile acids, causing there to be some funky smells coming out of the glass. And that stuff doesn't blow off over time in the glass, it's what you're getting for aromas.

Why it's a pain is because it's entirely up to the winemakers - the fate of this seemingly simplistic varietal lies in the hands of often times equally whiney and bitchy vintners... It is the battle of the divas.

Likewise, here we are faced again with the battle of the wine reviewing divas. In all actuality, N.J. and I agreed on this wine for the most part so there was no hair pulled or nails sharpened...

Both of us being South African virgins, please don't take advantage of us.

Color

NJ: I was struck by the color, an inky purple reminiscent of Syrah that I hadn’t expected.
E: Although we were drinking it together, I saw a ruby, almost brick red color. I also have a stigmatism in both eyes...

Nose

NJ: Coming out of the bottle the wine smelled grapey, one-note and not terribly good. After decanting, notes of lavender and violet were surprisingly forward, while subtle earthiness rounded out the nose.
E: I witnessed the wine post-decant, so I found it to have dark, ripened fruit with a tarry, inky, leather-like aroma. That soil/dirty fruit smell that I thought a region known for minerality might add to the wine was definitely present and dark fruits like black currants and some steady plum notes were mixed in.

Palate

NJ: More soft floral and herbal tones filled the mouth and were well-balanced with the little hints of fresh dark fruit rolled over my tongue. The fruit was like a polite passenger in this wine, quiet, pleasant, kicking in for gas along the way, but never driving.

E: I found this wine to be very well-structured, especially in comparison to Bottle #2 that we consumed following this guy. The dark fruit was more present for me, with a rich and borderline semi-sweet mouth entrance. Soft supple tannins drifted in the mid-palate pushed by waves of the same semi-sweet finish that finalized with those dry, young tannins.

Everybody's a Critic

NJ: My only real complaint with this wine was that it was too young. Even after the hour it spent in the decanter, the pepper tones were just a bit strong, and the tannins a bit fine. The combination made for a zesty little finish that was more rustic than the refined nose and mid-palate deserved
E: What he said.

Last Thoughts

NJ: It was my first time with Pinotage and it was all I could have hoped for: gentle, soft, classy, not vulgar or crass. It knew I was nervous, confused, not sure what to expect. This Pinotage had a slow hand, and it left me wanting more.
E: Perv.

This was a nice bottle of wine, despite it's youth - which I've done some reading and found that Pinotages aren't necessarily known for their aging capabilities so this was actually a good call.

Drink it again? Always. Drink always? Of course.

Score: 8.

Some tasting notes.

Dear Washington Winos,

Check out the following events:

*February 28th-March 1st - Hollywood Hills Winery is opening a tasting room in Woodinville, WA, a local Pinot Noir grower and producer... www.hollywoodhillvineyards.com
*March 14th - The Sip of Snoqualmie, featuring Washington wineries and food from the Snoqualmie Casino... http://www.encompassnw.org/subcontent.aspx?SecID=73
*March 15th - Bags & Bottles, swapping new and used handbags for wine tastings... http://www.gildasclubseattle.org/fundraisers/Event.php?id=116

I think there will be many a spring barrel tastings coming up in the next two months too, which is exciting and would be awesome if I could actually make any of them. I'll keep you posted!

Cheers,
Erin

2006 Novelty Hill Stillwater Creek Viognier

*Bottle #53: 2006 Novelty Hill Stillwater Creek Viognier
*Price Tag: 22
*Running Tab: $639

Being the new year - my new year of the blog, not the Chinese - I have decided to take a no-holds-barred approach. No, I will not be posting topless photos, you won't find me making out with all of those Seattle celebrities at the club and I won't be shaving my head any time soon (RIP Crazy Britney).

I'm talking a new blog me. First step: honor my virtues. In the case of this review, I have to be upfront, honest and admit that I am a former staff-member of the Novelty Hill-Januik Wineries.

That being said, I did not work the harvest or aid in any of the production processes of the 2006 vintage and I am no longer a tasting room employee. So I was worthless!

The point: I no longer harbor any bias for their wine other than my own opinion.

And in the grand scheme of this blog, that's the only thing that matters and you remember that!

I do like to tell Mike Januik's story, winemaker for Novelty Hill and Januik wineries. Because I am a fan. Me and everyone else in the greater Seattle area.

A straight descendent of Chateau Ste. Michelle, he left his 10-year position as head winemaker at Washington state's greatest beverage monopoly to embark on a solo mission. Having 15 years as a winemaker in the bag, Januik already had a cult following and took a chunk of Ste. Michelle change with him.

For having an excessive, concrete and steal-constructed winery compound reminiscent of the downtown Seattle REI complex (cough same contractor cough), Mike Januik the man is miles away from extravagant. Mustache-clad and smile-resistant, the man's public commentary is far and few between. He has one set head shot he uses instead of unique photo shoots for each of the articles written on him and quotes from him are often a few years old. Behind the safe bomb-shelter-esque walls of his winery's production facility, Januik is notorious for his quick wit, his sincere humility and horrible shockjock one-liner jokes.

Mike heads up both operations as well as helps to run NH's estate vineyard, Stillwater Creek.

Now who's been paying attention? Aw yes, Stillwater Creek - one of Washington's most highly sourced vineyards. But you remembered that.

Mike's 2006 Viognier is quintessential for the varietal and the man.

A light, straw yellow pigment shines translucently through the case with aromatically stimulating bright fruit of citrus and nectarine crossed with flowers. Barrel-fermented in 100% French oak, this classically trained winemaker brings out the butter in the 100% Rhone variety.

The most interesting aroma, which completely profiles the Stillwater Creek Vineyard and the Rhone Valley, is the minerality in the wine. The soils are high in basalt from when Mt. St. Helens blew in the early 80s. That lava rock salt really does it for me.

The palate packs a punch of refreshing acidity with a full-body of big green apple (but not sour) and that same lemon-lime citrus from the nose (but not like a 7-Up). That grainy minerality courtesy of St. Helens. comes through in the finish.

Wine Enthusiast seemed to like it too: "...it's just got that indefinable mix of flower, perfume, citrus and stone fruit that typifies the finest Washington Viogniers..." 93 points later...

Not a bad thing to say about Mike Januik's small-scale 196-cased wine.

I'm typically more of a stainless steal or concrete white wines person, but this is oaked Viognier is easily one of my favorite of this varietal from Washington. I know those people over at Enthusiast have something called "credentials" that give their stance some more status but you should probably take my word for it.

Score: 9.

Pendulum 2006 Red Wine

*Bottle #52: Pendulum 2006 Columbia Valley Red Wine
*Price Tag: $18
*Running Tab: $617

This right here is my 52nd review and I just happened to inadvertently post it on the exact one-year date. Yay, subconsciously brilliant me!

But why this wine for such an epic and cardinal affair?

Since I seem to be the only one celebrating (I am, however, awaiting my huge success that is to come after joining Twitter, according to my tech-infused PR friends), I went with a bottle to satisfy me. Just like a woman and damn proud of it.

Reasons why the 2006 Pendulum Red Wine from Columbia Valley pleases moi:

1) It was incredibly hard to figure out anything about this wine via the "Internets" but it was done. The enigma itself was tantalizing enough...

2) Great Washington wine names to back it up: Allen Shoup of Long Shadows in Walla Walla ($) and Andrew Browne of Precept Brands in Seattle (think the black and white labeled "House Wine" red blend).

3) Great story behind those names: Former arch nemeses turned business partners. Shoup used to head up Ste. Michelle labels and Browne was the leader of Corus Brands (which was owned at the time by Columbia Winery). These two giants stare at each other from across the street in the big city of Woodinville, WA. In those days, it was the constant battle of who can sell more, buy up more, exploit more, move through brilliant-over-produced winemakers faster...

4) Mystery blend exposed: 72% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot, 5% Sangiovese, 3% Cabernet Franc, 2% Syrah. Predominatly Cab, it should take on a good majority of those characteristics...

5) Mystery vineyards exposed: A little bit of Alder Ridge in my life, a little bit of Candy Mountain by my side, a little bit of Pepper Bridge is all I need, a little bit of Conner Lee in the sun and a little bit of Weinbau all night long. The "Mambo No. 5" of Horse Heaven Hills, Wahluke Slope and Walla Walla and that's not even all the vineyards used, I just got overwhelmed.

6) It's easy to drink, it's red, it uses all of the varietals Washington should be proud of and cost me $18. Done and doner.

The juice in the wine supposedly is the left-overs from Long Shadow's Feather, a beautiful and noble red wine that triple this one's price. And just like food left-overs, the original dish is so much better than what you have the next day, even after attempting to salvage it by heating it in microwave.

Nose: There's some berries in there, you just have to search for them. This wine is young and tight in aromas but they're there. Subtle mocha with milk chocolate - distinctly milk chocolate because it almost gives off the impression of creaminess. Nice, actually. Black olives come into play later.

Palate: Bright red fruit, spice and good acidity with a war on the front of the mouth with tannins. However, being medium-bodied and second-rate, it strains out a little in the end and is almost thin.

This wine's like a current war we're in: there's a lot of words, weapons and names being claimed and thrown around but none of them are really making an impact in the overall situation... Pendulum might have a hefty arsenal guarded by Shoup and Browne and filled with prominent AVA's fruit but the wine is still a disappointment.

Here's some more unnecessary sensationalism I found on the back side of this bottle. And I quote...

"A MOMENT IN TIME.
The fluidity of the seasons.
The perfect reflection
of elements in balance."

Sip on that for a while.

Score: 5.

CoughTwitterCough.

I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm finally on Twitter. "Follow" me or "tweet" me or "update" me or "add" me... I seriously have no idea what I'm doing on this site except for it's that greatest thing since Justin brought "Sexy Back" and we all know how long that lasted.

Help.

Pssst.

Next week is my one-year anniversary of this purple-soiled rubbish of a wine blog.

I'm pretty excited.

If you have any comments, concerns, compliments (please?) or recommendations you'd like me to cover in that entry or within the new year, do share!

Cheers!

Facelli Winery 2003 Private Reserve Syrah

*Bottle #51: Facelli Winery 2003 Private Reserve Bacchus Vineyard Syrah
*Price Tag: $28
*Running Tab: $599

Things you should know by now:
1) I have a weak spot for artisan winemakers.
2) I have another one for Italian wine.

Take a small-town, 3,000-case producing, Italian winemaker and now you're getting somewhere - Lou Facelli of Facelli Winery in Woodinville, WA.

The general experience of Facelli Winery is a little ordinary compared to some of its neighbors (see all that is the chateau of Ste. Michelle Estates and the REI-modeled new Novelty-Hill/Januik Wineries building). The tasting room looks like an office kitchen with a 6-foot bar shoved in it, complete with an easy-access sink, a simple dual-rack dishwasher and personalized coffee mugs.

Getting into the tasting room while you can during their 8-hour open-to-the-public weekly cycle is a must. You will be crammed in the corner, bumping up against someone who either smells or has been tasting a lot that day and your wine glass will empty rather quickly as they do not pour hefty loads of their half French, half Italian wines.

However, you will have a full-on Lou Facelli encounter.

Button-up shirt (often times flannel), fastened to his belly with faux silver-clipped suspenders, a black beret that may or may not match, all accompanied by his mustache which may or may not have a smile under it. He's constantly hustling from one glass to the next, pouring wine for you while explaining it to the guy next to you. And he signs every single bottle that is purchased from that register, even ones that are ordered and shipped over the phone.

Facelli has been in the biz since 1981, releasing his first vintage in 1988 and has kept his nose to the grindstone ever since - wife Sandy and two daughters, Lisa and Lori, are usually present in the tasting room, in the cellar and slaving during harvest. It's a family affair from grapes that are hand-picked, hand-sorted and made into wine with love, dedication and relationships.

That is an artisan winemaker.

This is an artisan wine: the 2003 Private Reserve Syrah was the first of its kind. The fruit was sourced from specific rows of grapes in the Bacchus Vineyard (think back to Cuillin Hills' Weinbau Vineyard Cab Franc - same grapegrowing company). These specific Syrah grapes are cropped at a lower tonnage per acre = smaller grapes = more concentrated fruit. 100% Syrah, 100% French oak barrels and 100% Bacchus. An equation for some good ish.

The boldness and the beauty of this wine is embodied in its rich purple dye of the glass. Small dark berries (think blackberries and blueberries), vibrant spices and an awesome game note (meaty bacon!) fill up the nose. Extremely aromatic and mouthwatering.

The same aromas transfer over to the attack of the wine, that inital sip, but seem to dampen over the midpalate. Fortuntely, the finish saves the impression of the wine, almost baking the tastebuds and leaving them plump with flavor from well-rounded tannins and dark fruit.

Drink this bottle now. If that midpalate is even slightly dwindling now, I can't imagine this Syrah lasting much longer. As for today, it's pretty appetizing. Lou should be proud.

Score: 7.5.

Fill del Temps 2004 Gran Seleccio Red Wine

*Bottle #50: Fill del Temps 2004 Gran Seleccio Terra Alta Red Wine
*Price Tag: $18
*Running Tab: $581

My wine shop owner tells me somewhere between here and Spain (via a LA importer), Spanish wines can tend to be a "little skunky," often times one bottle per case falling into that descriptor.

"Skunky" wine*: An analogous smell, which is caused by mercaptans.
"Mercaptans*:" The result of hydrogen sulfide combining with the components of wine. The result is a pungently offensive, sour odor that can smell like garlic, stale sweat, skunk, or rubber.
*Definitions courtesy Epicurious.com

This is often a sign of careless winemaking and let's you know the wine's turning into crap, for lack of better phrasing... No offense.

The first time I tried the 2004 Fill del Temps red blend of 55% Garnacha, 40% Carignan and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon, I was hopeful. I've really liked my recent Grenache experiences and Carignan is getting bigger and bigger in my local wine area, where as Cab is often times fail-proof and in this case is a backbone for the blend.

Upon tasting this wine, all hope, tastebuds and my stomach went to the wall. I could have sworn the wine was port from my first sniff of the wine. I smelled raisins, dried fig and some leaf-like aromas in the back. Beyond ripe fruits with oak came out a lot but I think the best way to describe it is that the nose was like the winemaker crushed the grapes and pressed the skins off the grapes but then bottled the skins with the juice.

Nose = Chewed up and spit out grape stems. Yeah.

And it tasted just like it smelled, but not in the good way that I get excited about. Remember, chewed up, spit out grape stems.

A sharp and acidic attack with lots of oak, grape skins, borderline fruit leather-ish on the mid palate and finishing out with, again, that acid and lingering sour on the tongue.

Yummy, right? So we figured there was something wrong with the bottle. It wasn't corked, it might have been oxidized or just a crappy bottle of wine. I took it back to the wine shop, told the owner about it and enter the "skunky" speech. He gave me a new bottle, promised with a sales smile that it was just as much of a "fruit bomb" as he had initially described and so I tried it a couple weeks later.

Low and behold, it was just as bad as the first bottle. Flat out undrinkable. Case and point, Spanish wine is known to have that occasional bad bottle in the bunch but not two bottles in a row from the same case.

This was simply bad wine. But gosh, did it look pretty!

Score: 1.

Stained Tooth Club

I started a follower's group because one person decided to be a follower of my blog (Thanks, Jeremy). The rest of you... Join. Do it now.

Cheers,
Erin

Cuillin Hills 2006 Weinbau Vineyard Cabernet Franc

*Bottle #49: Cuillin Hills 2006 Weinbau Vineyards Cabernet Franc Wahluke Slope
*Price Tag: $26
*Running Tab: $563

Darren and Derek Des Voigne are brothers. They are also winemakers and owners of two separate wineries, sourcing from different vineyards, specializing in different varietals and varying price points. Darren's wine feature "Tuscany-inspired" blends while Derek leans more toward Rhone and Bordeaux style varieties. Darren enjoys the smooth jazz of Miles Davis and Derek sometimes wears a kilt and plays the bagpipes - rumor has it that's how he caught his Scottish wife's eye.

These two separate companies are separate, seemingly, only by title and style. They share production facilities, tasting room suites and a last name.

Funny to think it all started with encouraging their fathers' drinking habit in the late 90's, Derek later left his family's basement winemaking practice to take on the grape giants at UC Davis.

Derek's Cuillin Hills (pronounced Coo-lin) limits his production to 600 cases a year and opens his tasting room doors only once a week to the public, sanctioning an impression of exclusivity to form. Keeping his case numbers relatively low, Derek also keeps his prices and reputation modest with his recent releases of a claret blend, Cabernet Franc and Syrah.

Representing some of the best vineyards in the state, Derek bought grapes from the prestigious Sagemoor Group, a group of Washington grape growers since 1972, for his 2006 Cabernet Franc. Their Weinbau Vineyard in the Wahluke Slope AVA, a site known for its Cab Franc grapes, was the source for this 97% Cab Franc and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon blend.

To gain a bit of perspective: 62 wineries, of the 500 some-odd wineries in Washington, source their fruit from one of the four Sagemoor vineyards. They do a pretty good job.

Beautiful black currants and spice fill up the nose of this wine with subtle draws of cocoa and white pepper. Derek recommends decanting her for about a half hour but letting her sit in the glass or in the opened bottle did her decent justice. A plush and rich aroma came out immediately and you can imagine how it only became a more luxurious experience.

The palate was soft and velvety with smooth cassis in the back of the finish. The Cab Franc had a real gentle acidity with easy and rounded (soft) tannins. Like last week's bottle, this one really charactertized the meaning of "dark, fleshy fruit."

I believe Derek produced a very nice Cab Franc. All of that being said, I'm just not sold on the varietal. This purchase is apart of my great search to find a Cab Franc that blows me away. I've spoke with several shop owners, winemakers and sommeliers about how to find such a thing and I keep hearing exceptions, tasting them and just not fixing my palate.

What it comes down to is the cold hard facts: Cabernet Franc is a blending grape. One of the five noble Bordeaux varietals, it still just can't quite stand alone.

Score: 7.5.

Gilbert Cellars 2006 Allobroges

*Bottle #46: Gilbert Cellars 2006 Columbia Valley Allobroges *Price Tag: $24
*Running Tab: $537

Here's one of my favorite "industry perks:" Wine events, wine people, wine talk usually involves cheap or free wine. And there is nothing wrong with free, even if it's not a good free, it's still free.

This week's freebie was a bottle of "Allobroges" from Gilbert Cellars, a Rhone Valley structured blend straight from Yakima, WA.

Here's a tid bit of contrasting information: The state of Washington is known particularly for growing Bordeaux varietals that exemplify the original region of France itself.

What: Bordeaux red varietals (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec) and white varietals (Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon).

Why: Washington's latitude - 45°31' N. France's latitude - 44°1 N. Pretty similar.

French is French? Not necessarily. Considering a different grape variety can be as different as a banana is to an apple, those different varietals grow differently in different climates, soils, sun exposure, land sloping, etc.

The Rhone Valley, located in Southern France, has many varietals that grow beautifully in both Washington and California, but the latter exceptionally well because of California's similar latitude to Rhone.

However, despite the geographical contrasts, Rhone varietals have the potential to grow beautifully and distinctly in Washington State.

Gilbert's Cellars seemed to agree but it appeared as if the wine was a little afraid to show off its swimming legs before taking the big dive into impressing me.

The "Allobroges" - originally a group of Celtic people who roamed the Rhone Valley during the Roman Empire and "dark, rich red wines" - is now a mastered blend of 60% Syrah, 22% Grenache and 18% Mourvedre.

With a classic Rhone nose full of spice and bright fruit, the depth of the aroma truly opened up after a half hour of uncorked bottle time into a dark and rich red wine.

The winemaker's notes mention a "fleshy" dark fruit tone and I couldn't have said it better myself. However, that "umpf" doesn't come out until some oxygen has coaxed the wine into really going all out.

First sip of this wine, I found it light with not much flavor, a supple acidity and a mediocre palate. It wasn't bad, I just wasn't blown away. It had the potential for substance but stopped a little short. It seemed to have all the right things - a good name, good people behind the label, good fruit, a decent vintage and harvest...

And just when I had given up home, the Allobroges came through. Earthy, medium+ bodied and lovely spice tones with "fleshy" dark fruit. Job well done.

Score: 8.

J. Calvet Reserve 2005 Medoc

*Bottle #45: J. Calvert Reserve De L'Estey 2005 Medoc

*Price Tag: $7

*Running Tab: $537

One thing: Trader frickin' Joe's. Bargain after bargain, I've shopped their aisles, grabbing $2 packages of gnocchi, single portion baby bokchoy and organic goodness of multiple splendors. 

I have always been a good girl with self control and stayed away from the fully stocked shelves of wine. But this week's trip, I decided to indulge in value wine.

Perusing the wines at first seemed a chore but a very young stocker/possible wine steward was kind enough to help me narrow done some uber cheap and desirable choices. When faced with $8 Bordeauxs and $10 Burgundys, it's easy to get a little ahead of yourself considering these typically are not inexpensive purchases.

I don't know if it's the French translation and my piss-poor attempt at trying to Internet the heck out of it so I can comprehend all eight names used to identify this wine, but it seems as if the wine has the astute ability to be in two places at once... Let me explain. This particular Bordeaux blend from producer J. Calvet, a long-time mass-producing winery in the Saint-Emilion area of the Bordeaux region, happens to be made from the grapes of Medoc, another area of the Bordeaux region.

Still too much? This is how I dumbed it down for myself. A Napa located winery bought grapes from a Sonoma located vineyard, thus producing a Sonoma Valley wine. 

It just sounds so much more exhaustive and convoluted in French. 

The wine, however, is rather the contrast. J. Calvet's 2005 Medoc Reserve Red - blend unknown but presumptively Cab/Merlot/Cab Franc - lets lose some quiet aromas of black cherries, black currants, strawberry rhubarb and distinct oak. Some soft spice tones come later with vanilla. 

Let me say here and I hope I have not contradicted myself in the past but I hate strawberry rhubarb in wine. What an awkward "fruit," what a horrible pie and artificially fruit leathers tend to ruin most flavors anyway. 

That being said, I don't think the nose was half bad for a 7 Buck Chuck. Neither was the palate. The wine sweetly enters and dries out in the mid-palate and finish. Easy cherries and berries with delicate nutmeg sprinkled on top. 

And yet, the cons. If you build a cheap house, it's likely you use cheap materials to hold up the structure and foundation of this overall cheap product. The house might look and feel fine at first but chances are, those materials will refuse to hold and the house will fall down. Just like this wine: fresh and bright up front and after 20 minutes, it's crumbled to the ground with a lack of structure, tannins and acidity. 

But what you can you expect? Spend this little money on a wine and I hope you drink it fast and share it with people who don't care what they're putting down. Speaking from experience, I can thank Katie, Erin, Leann and Jason, ABC's new bachelor. No, he didn't drink it with us but we drank it for him.

Score: 6.