Two Plugs (but only one is shameless)

Let’s dispense with the shameless plug first. Today at Full Pull Wines, we opened our mailing list for the first time. People who sign up now will be able to participate in our month-long beta-test at launch, which should happen later in the summer. The plan is to work out some of the kinks of the business model during the beta, so I need to keep the list relatively small during that period, which means I will close the list if it starts to reach critical mass. If you’re interested in being part of the beta, probably best to sign up sooner rather than later.

Now for the non-shameless (and yet also non-shameful; how does that work?) plug. Tonight is the virtual tasting over at Washington Wine Report. I just picked up my bottle of 2007 Charles Smith Boom Boom Syrah, and you should too!

Walla Walla Targets

I’m about to head to eastern Washington for a Kelli-birthday road-trip. It will mostly be a hiking trip, but we will be spending a few precious hours in Walla Walla. My order of priority right now is 1) JLC (what the hell is going on with this winery? have they released the 2005 Syrah Spofford Station yet?); 2) Trust/Rollat tasting room; 3) Waters; 4) Gramercy. Time permitting, I have K, Buty, and Sleight of Hand on the radar as well.

Anyone want to advocate for additions/replacements to this list?

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Dude News: Drink Wine, Live Longer

Wine Spectator reports on a Dutch study that followed men for 40 years and concluded that wine drinkers outlived their abstaining counterparts by five years.

I am pursuing my own similar study related to bacon. Results forthcoming…

Lake Chelan AVA is Approved

Washington’s newest AVA was approved today. Wines made from vineyards along Lake Chelan will now be able to label themselves as such, instead of using the more generic Columbia Valley tag.

This is a part of the state that has mostly flown under the radar to date, but there are interesting things going on up by the lake. The climate and soil are different from other parts of Washington, and judging by the varietals planted there, it seems that viticulturalists have decided that Chelan can best support Burgundian (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir) and Alsatian (Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurtztraminer) grapes.

Nefarious Cellars and Vin du Lac are two Chelan-oriented wineries that I have tried who are producing interesting wines. Keep an eye out for these.

Taste Washington: How I Won a Nice Bottle of Wine

Okay, we’re several weeks out from Taste Washington now, so maybe this will be my last story from that excellent event.

At about 4:12 PM on Seminar Day, I was standing in the lounge area of the Bell Harbor Center, watching people “drink their money’s worth” (a painful phrase that I heard a number of times) at the pouring stations, when I caught the eye of one Shayn Bjornholm, Master Sommelier, Education Director of the Washington Wine Commission, proponent of Boston pizza, and most importantly, MC of the “Which One’s Washington” seminar scheduled to start at 4:30 PM.

“Paul. Good. You’re a contestant.”

Those were the words hastily uttered before Shayn departed, leaving only the image of a powder blue tuxedo burned onto my retina.

And with that, I became a contestant in a wine game show. I was called up, shook the hand of my worthy opponent, and sniffed the two wines in front of me. Dark fruit, earth, and loads of tobacco on #1. More dark fruit, menthol, and lighter earth notes on #2. A quick taste and a push on my buzzer.

“I think these are Cabernet Sauvignon.” [appreciative murmuring from the audience; feeling confident]

“I think #2 is Washington and #1 is Bordeaux.” [murmur]

Then a snarky comment from Shayn, followed by a giant X appearing on the big screen, along with the corresponding buzz. [confidence shattered]

At this point, I and my opponent each retreated to our panels of wine experts, consulted with them, and returned to the podium.

My opponent: “These are Rhone blends. #2 is from Washington and #1 is from the, er, Rhone.”

X. BUZZ. I’m still alive!

Me: “Our panel has decided that this is Sangiovese.” [quietly derisive jeering; some laughter; uh-oh]

“#2 is from Washington, and #1 is from Chianti.” [did someone just boo?!? i grew up in philly, and i know a boo when i hear one]

Wrong again, and at this point, the contestant who made the closest guess takes the prize. Time for the big reveal… and it is indeed Cabernet Sauvignon, but #1, the earthy, lovely, tobacco bomb is the Washington wine, the Edouard from Chateau Rollat. Damn Rollat and their European stylings! #2, as it turns out, was a Ramey cab from Napa.

With my confidence now fully restored, I strode purposefully to the prize table and snagged my prize, the 2006 Buty Champoux Vineyard, later signed by Caleb Foster. If my palate had a hand, I would have high-fived it.

Taste Washington: First Thoughts

I’m back home after two solid days of tasting a lot of Washington wine. My palate is bruised but undaunted!

Many more posts on the wine to come, but the biggest pleasure of the weekend for me was getting to meet other writers whose work I have admired for some time. I ate lunch on Saturday with three of the four Wine Peeps, who patiently listened to me blather on about my business plan for a good 40 minutes, and I was on the same seminar schedule as John from Wine Peeps throughout the day. He was great company and a good guide to the etiquette of the seminars.

And today, I got to meet up with Sean Sullivan from Washington Wine Report and do a little tasting together. He and his companion Lindy were great tasting buddies whose palates seemed much sharper than mine felt at the time.

I know both blogs will be posting plenty of content on Taste Washington, so do check out Wine Peeps and Washington Wine Report.

Catching Up

I recently returned from a 10-day vacation to Japan, which explains why this blog has been light on content of late. I would like to thank my friend Nick for posting a few items while I was gone.

During my travels, I did not have a single sip of wine, which was… odd. I missed it and plan to drink heavily in the coming weeks to make up for lost time. Wine is hard to come by in urban Japan and impossible to find in rural Japan, where we spent most of our time. But sake flows like water out there, as does beer, so fear not: my alcohol intake was not entirely abolished.

This is an exciting week, with Taste Washington coming up over the weekend. I have a media credential that gets me into both days, and here is a sneak preview of the content I hope to generate:

• Pouring at Taste Washington from the perspective of rookie, sophomore, and veteran wineries;
• Dick Boushey’s vision of the future of Washington wine;
• Who is responsible for wine being consumed at its peak: wineries, retailers, or consumers?

I will be at the Grand Tasting from 2-8 PM on Sunday, which is a long time. So if you have any suggestions for wineries to visit, or winemakers/winegrowers to interview, please pass them along in e-mails or comments.

It’s good to be back.

Why Wine 4: Wine as Misunderstood

“Why did you choose wine for a career?”

On five Wednesdays, I am going to attempt to answer that question. I have distilled my love of wine into five reasons why I find the topic so endlessly fascinating. The final document should be something that is partly my own personal wine manifesto and partly a raison d’etre for my future business.

1. Wine as Pleasure
2. Wine as Rebellion
3. Wine as Barbiturate Delivery Device
4. Wine as Misunderstood
5. Wine as Life

Wine as Misunderstood

I recently wrote a post about the difference in treatment I have experienced at wineries and wine shops depending on how nicely I am dressed, and a commenter to that post said: “Wine by nature is a fancy experience.” One of my biggest career goals is to render that statement patently untrue.

That comment underscores for me the idea that wine is misunderstood. No product is “by nature” fancier than any other. Fanciness or fashionability is all culturally determined, and in the United States, I will readily admit that wine has cultural baggage, including suitcases full of elitist connotations. In restaurants, movies, and other cultural flotsam, we see consistent images of the effete wine schmuck, ever-so-gently swirling his glass so as to release the barest hint of an aroma. I recently watched the movie Bottle Shock and can sum up Alan Rickman’s role thusly: Sniff. Double-take. Taste. Rapturous look. Repeat.

I submit that through exposure to many such images, a number of Americans decide that wine is not for them, right before they tap the Rockies. I have friends who simply won’t drink wine because they consider it affected, phony, and downright snobby.

But ours is not the only model for wine consumption. In large swaths of Europe, wine is as much an everyday beverage as beer is here in the United States. Why is this so? Again, I suspect that it’s cultural. The places where wine is consumed regularly, and without fanfare, are the same places where it has been grown for centuries: France, Spain, Italy. In those countries, wine is less of an opaque subject. Children grow up in families that regularly drink and talk about wine. Through their many thousands of tiny discussions observed and references overheard, culture is formed.

What, then, are we to do in the United States, where wine, for most of us, is not (yet) part of our cultural heritage? I argue that to achieve a level of wine egalitarianism (which will be the mission of my career), the only substitute for culture is education. No doubt wine is a complex topic, but (nerd alert!) I love few things more than good information design: finding simplifying techniques for complex information. And in what other school are you encouraged to drink in class?

Taste Washington

The Washington Wine Commission puts on a number of Taste Washington events around the country, each designed to showcase the breadth and depth of Washington winemaking. The granddaddy of them all is the event in Seattle, which this year takes place on the April 4-5 weekend.

The main event is the Grand Tasting on Sunday at the Qwest Field Event Center, where a full third of the state’s 600 wineries will be pouring wine. For $85, you can taste from 4-8 PM, or for $125, you can start a few hours earlier and go from 2-8 PM.

Six hours is a lot of tasting time, and I could see how it would be easy to turn into the drunk a-hole that causes several wineries to never want to do another Taste Washington. To avoid that, I recommend thinking of the event less as a visit to Old Country Buffet and more as a visit to the Seattle Art Museum. Don’t try to “drink your money’s worth.” Do a little research ahead of time and determine which wineries you really want to hit. Hydrate regularly. Spend some time at the restaurant tables. And unless you want to wake up in a hospital bed hooked up to an IV, spit!

But maybe you don’t want to spend $85 to elbow your way through a horde of ravenous vinophiles. Okay. Saturday’s seminars, which involve discussions and tasting, might be better for you. Here is the list:

10:45 AM – 12:00 PM

Common Ground I – Klipsun Vineyard ($45): Wines from this famous Red Mountain vineyard
What Does Puget Sound Like? ($40): Wines from the Puget Sound AVA
Le Value Challenge ($40): Washington vs. France in the $10-$20 segment
Best New Chefs’ Best New Washington Wines ($55): Favorite wines from badass Seattle chefs
Party Like It’s 1999! ($99): The 1999 and 2006 vintages from five different producers

2:15 PM – 3:30 PM

Common Ground II – Champoux Vineyard ($45): Wines from this famous Horse Heaven Hills vineyard
Winery-less Wines ($45): Wines from Chateau-free wineries
All In The Family:  The New Vintage ($55): Wines from multi-generational Washington winemakers
The Other Cabernet: Presented by Seattle Magazine ($45): Five Cabernet Francs

4:00 PM – 5:30 PM

Which One’s Washington?! ($60): Guess the Washington wines in a blind tasting

For overall bang-for-buck, I would recommend either Common Ground seminar, as well as The Other Cabernet and Winery-less Wines. If money is no object, Party Like It’s 1999 should be illuminating, and Which One’s Washington will be a fun way to wrap up the day. I should also mention that lunch (from 12-2 PM) is included with the purchase of any seminar.

I will be attending both days, as there is truly no better snapshot of the Washington wine industry than Taste Washington.

Why Wine 3: Wine as Barbiturate Delivery Device

“Why did you choose wine for a career?”

On five Wednesdays, I am going to attempt to answer that question. I have distilled my love of wine into five reasons why I find the topic so endlessly fascinating. The final document should be something that is partly my own personal wine manifesto and partly a raison d’etre for my future business.

1. Wine as Pleasure

2. Wine as Rebellion

3. Wine as Barbiturate Delivery Device

4. Wine as Misunderstood

5. Wine as Life

Wine as Barbiturate Delivery Device

I have a tendency to read a lot of tasting notes, to the point where the phrase “crème de cassis” is enough to make my eyes glaze over. When reading those notes, it can seem at times that wine is a non-alcoholic beverage. We read about the wine’s gorgeous bouquet, its bone-rattling acidity, its monstrous tannins, and maybe we’ll get a small hint about the alcohol being in balance. But many tasting notes never even mention alcohol. To be clear, I’m not criticizing tasting-note writers (after all, people on glass laptops shouldn’t throw those types of keystroke stones). I’m just acknowledging that for me, part of my appreciation of wine is its ability to deliver barbiturates into my system.

As a young person, I used to be socially awkward in ways numerous and painful. These days, that awkwardness has faded to manageable levels, but I still appreciate wine’s effects as a social lubricant. I have used wine to relax at the end of a grueling work day. I have used wine to obliterate grueling work days from my mind entirely. I have used wine to enhance celebrations of weddings, graduations, birthdays, and many of life’s other, quieter victories.

There is no denying it; I like a good alcohol buzz. And for my money (and my wife’s money while I toil away at grad school), there is no more beautiful, enjoyable, and complex way to achieve that buzz than through the consumption of fermented vitis vinifera.