Blog Archives
What Is The Result of A Crush? A Noteworthy Washington Syrah
If your looking for Washington Reds (as in wine) to watch, go to your local newsstand and buy all the January/Feburary 2014 issues of 425 Magazine. Yours truly has a pick for you. In a world of Chateau Fancypants type wines with a dour labels, you’ve got to hand it to the folks behind Result [More]
Washington State Wine: Col Solare Vertical, Raw Elk, and Grappa
When visiting Col Solare, producer of a most notable Washington State wine, you don’t have to look far to see what’s going to end up in your glass. On an intensely sunny August day in the Red Mountain wine region in Eastern Washington, I visited the winery thanks to Saint Michelle Wine Estates (SMWE). Winemaker [More]
How Does a Winemaker Decide When to Pick Grapes?
When to pick grapes? It’s one of the biggest decisions a winemaker will undertake each year. So what tools and tricks of the trade are deployed? Is it a process assisted by: Science? Art? Taste? Voodoo? Clairvoyance? Luck? Fortunately, I know Ross Andrew Mickel, winemaker at Washington State’s Ross Andrew Winery. And I was able [More]
Practice WMO: Washington Merlot Optimization
As a blogger, the concept of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) lords over my world. Write a post title and a few keyword mentions that will get the attention of the Google. And, hey, it makes sense. Don’t you want to write about things that people are actually searching for? (If you want to get geeky [More]
What’s That 3% Syrah Doing in Your Wine?
Every time you buy a wine that’s a blend of grapes and see something along the lines of: 67% Cabernet Sauvignon/20% Merlot/10% Cabernet Franc/3% Syrah, do you wonder, “What does that 3% Syrah really do?” I mean, 10%, I can see that being a factor, but 3%? Why bother? Why not just make the blend [More]
Rare Grapes in a Unique Place: Whidbey Island Winery
The Wine Without Worry podcast rolls on, and this episode has a local flair. Not far from my HQ in Seattle, I take a trip to Whidbey Island Winery, talking with Assistant Winemaker Leah Waaramaki. Ok, Leah actually just showed up at my place and we taped the episode. Though I have visited the winery [More]
2010 Waters Tremolo: Sweet Notes of a Washington Red Wine
What does it take to produce a truly unique Washington red wine? In the case of the the 2010 Waters Tremolo it’s the combination of a challenging vintage and a winemaker who has been waiting to accept the challenge. Though my preconceived notion of Eastern Washington is that it is a never-ending kiln of searing [More]
Oregon Wine Country: To the Columbia Gorge!
I recently returned from the Wine Bloggers Conference in Portland and knew part of my experience there would entail a bus trip to Oregon Wine Country. But where in Oregon? One of the highlights of the conference is when almost 400 wine bloggers pour out of the hotel, boarding buses to a destination unknown. You [More]
