The tale of Mosquito Fleet Winery is one of friendship, wine country inspiration, and a love of history.
Our story begins in the year 2000 when two couples, Dr. Brian and Jacquie Petersen and Scott and Jacy Griffin, met at a birthing class. The Petersens and Griffins soon developed close friendships. With a mutual interest in wine, the couples began taking trips together to Napa, Sonoma, Walla Walla and the like. One such trip proved fateful.
Kevin White's path to becoming a winemaker had a most unusual starting point - a koosh ball. White was majoring in computer science at the University of Connecticut when he stopped by the Microsoft booth at a campus career fair.
“They were giving away koosh balls and I wanted one,” White says simply of that first, fateful interaction with the company. What started as a koosh ball soon led to a summer internship in Redmond - and we all know how summer in the Pacific Northwest goes.
A round-up of stories on Washington wine from May 15th to 21st 2012. Read previous round-ups here.
From around the country…
The LA Times says the secret about Lake Chelan is out.
The Napa Valley Register writes about Walla Walla Valley vineyard owers looking for California buyers.
From the blogosphere…
Paul Gregutt writes about springtime rieslings. He also writes about the two most common winemaking mistakes.
Northwest Wine Anthem writes about Wind Rose Cellars’ Dolcetto.
Table Talk interviews Gramercy Cellars winemaker Greg Harrington.
In tough times, we continue the search for good, inexpensive wines.
May's Virtual Tasting is tonight! The wine is the 2011 Barnard Griffin Rosé of Sangiovese. This wine retails for $12 and is widely available, though if for some reason you can't find it, feel free to grab another bottle of pink wine! The tasting will take place will take place from 7-8pm Pacific.
What you need to do to participate is:
1. Buy this month’s wine from a local retailer or from the winery.
2. Tweet your comments about the wine on Twitter between 7 and 8pm Pacific using the hashtag #bgriffin. For those on Twitter, follow me @wawinereport.
Reminder: This month's Virtual Tasting takes place Thursday 7pm Pacific. Read about how to participate here.
A round-up of stories on Washington wine from May 8th to 14th 2012. Read previous round-ups here.
From around the country…
The Lousiana Daily Comet writes about House Wine.
Shanken Daily News writes that Gallo is eyeing Ascentia.
From the blogosphere…
Paul Gregutt asks whether viognier is the 12th man of grapes. He also writes about Seven Hills Winery and asks whether bigger is always better.
A round-up of stories on Washington wine from May 1st to 7th 2012. Read previous round-ups here.
From around the country…
The LA Times writes about the search for the perfect oyster wine with a callout to Cedergreen and several other Washington wineries.
WineBusiness.com writes about Precept opening two Walla Walla tasting rooms.
From the blogosphere…
Table Talk writes about Gordy Venneri of Walla Walla Vintners. They also write about the search for the perfect oyster wine.
Jameson Fink says drink local Puget Sound Wines.
Today’s Fresh Sheet – new and recent releases – includes wines from Maison Bleue, Tulpen Cellars, Two Mountain, Smasne Cellars, Seufert Winery, Dowsett Family Winery, and Patton Valley Vineyard.
Since the birth of the Washington wine industry, no winery has received more accolades and acclaim than Snohomish’s Quilceda Creek - the standard bearer for Washington wine. In fact, the winery’s four 100-point ratings from The Wine Advocate in the last seven vintages – along with three 99-point ratings - are unparalleled by any winery in the world.
Quilceda Creek was bonded in 1978 as the state’s 12th winery. In its first vintage, 1979, the winery produced a mere 150 cases of its Cabernet Sauvignon, with the fruit coming from Otis Vineyard.
Baer Winery founder Lance Baer first became interested in making wine after tasting a bottle of DeLille Cellars D2. “The light went on,” his sister Lisa Baer remembers. Lance soon began volunteering at DeLille and worked his way up to assistant winemaker.
Baer started his eponymous winery in 2000 in partnership with his sister. The winery started out producing the Ursa Red Wine, a Cabernet Franc-dominant Bordeaux-style blend. Arctos, a Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant blend, was subsequently added. Since 2003 Baer Winery has sourced all of its fruit from Stillwater Creek Vineyard.
In celebration of Spring, this month's Virtual Tasting wine will be the 2011 Barnard Griffin Rosé of Sangiovese. This wine retails for $12 and is widely available, though if for some reason you can't find it, feel free to grab another bottle of pink wine! The tasting will take place will take place on Thursday May 17th from 7-8pm Pacific.
What you need to do to participate is:
1. Buy this month’s wine from a local retailer or from the winery.
2. Tweet your comments about the wine on Twitter between 7 and 8pm Pacific using the hashtag #bgriffin. For those on Twitter, follow me @wawinereport.
A round-up of stories on Washington wine from April 22nd to 30th 2012. Read previous round-ups here.
Buckle your seatbelts boys and girls. This roundup is a long one.
From around the country…
Wines & Vines writes about the economic impact study on Washington wine.
The San Francisco Chronicle writes about Governor Gregoire’s take on California wine.
KSBY writes about Governor Gregoire referring to California as jug wine.
Indiana’s The Republic writes about the Wine Commission’s economic impact study.
The May/June 2012 issue of Edible Seattle contains an article I wrote on Chardonnay. Check it out on newsstands now. See a directory of locations to find a copy here.
The opening paragraph teaser: "Chardonnay is a grape of many contradictions. On the one hand, it creates some of the world's most sought after and expensive wines; on the other, it creates some of the cheapest and most abominable plonk."
Enjoy!
Even with the economy contracting, the Washington wine industry continues to expand. One indication of this is the economic impact study released by the Washington Wine Commission last week. Another is that new wineries continue to spring up each month all over the state. One of the more exciting wineries to debut in recent years is Woodinville’s Avennia.
In tough times, we continue the search for good, inexpensive wines.
Earlier this week the Washington Wine Commission released the findings of an economic impact study on the Washington wine industry. The numbers are impressive, a clear sign of the industry’s rapid growth and its subsequent effect on the regional and national economy.
The overall economic impact of the Washington wine industry is $8.6B annually in state, $14.9B nationally. The industry creates 27,000 jobs in Washington, $1.2B in wages, and $238M in taxes. There are 2.4M tourist visits annually with $1.1B in associated spending. All of these numbers were up significantly from 2007, the last time such a study was undertaken.
Seattleites, tune in to 1150AM KKNW today 8-9am when I'll be on Table Talk Radio talking about rosé.
Now that spring is not only officially here but there is warm weather to prove it, it’s time to turn our attention to rosé.
Rosé comes in just about every shade and color. It is also made from just about every red grape being produced in Washington – Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese, Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre. You name it.
Some are a blend of grapes and some are varietally labeled wines. Most are fermented and aged in stainless steel, but I have had a few that were fermented and aged in non-neutral barrels (!). They can be dry, off dry, or even semi-sweet and, as is usually the case, there is no way to tell unless the bottle is labeled as such unfortunately.
Seattleites, tune in to 1150AM KKNW this Wednesday 8-9am when I'll be on Table Talk Radio.
This month's Virtual Tasting is tonight! The wine will be the 2009 Charles Smith Wines Chateau Smith Cabernet Sauvignon (Note that some readers have told me they have seen the 2010 on the shelves, so feel free to pick that up instead). This wine retails for $20 and is widely available. The tasting will take place from 7-8pm Pacific.
What you need to do to participate is:
1. Buy this month’s wine from a local retailer or from the winery.
2. Tweet your comments about the wine on Twitter between 7 and 8pm Pacific using the hashtag #charlessmith. For those on Twitter, follow me @wawinereport.
Join us!
This month's Virtual Tasting will take place Tuesday at 7pm Pacific. Read about how to participate here.
A round-up of stories on Washington wine from April 15thto 21st. Read previous round-ups here.
From around the country…
No love this week.
From the blogosphere…
Table Talk profiles Brian Carter of Brian Carter Cellars.
Nectar Tasting Room and Wine Blog writes about four Nectar wineries joining the Spokane Wine Association.
Wine and Beer of Washington State reviews the Sexy Syrah event. They also write about Passport to Woodinville and a day at Vin du Lac.
Today, just a few pictures from the Walla Walla Valley. Several areas are reporting bud break and more expect to see it soon, with the timing closer to average compared to the last two years. No reports of any winter damage this year, and all fingers are crossed for a more 'normal' growing season. Click on the pictures for larger images.
A round-up of stories on Washington wine from April 8th to 14th 2012. Read previous round-ups here.
From around the country…
Las Vegas Review-Journal writes about Covey Run Riesling.
Fox Business says forget pairing wine and chocolate; drink chocolate wine.
From the blogosphere…
Jameson Fink writes about tasting 58 Washington Syrahs.
Today’s Fresh Sheet – new and recent releases – includes wines from Fielding Hills, Seven Hills, Sweet Valley, Vin du Lac, and Walla Walla Vintners.
Washington and Oregon share hundreds of miles of border. They are the second and fourth leading wine producing states in the nation and together have well over 1,000 wineries between them. Yet the two areas could not seem more different, almost as if there were an invisible divide between them.
Let’s start with a simple lay of the land and physical appearance. It can be summed up quite simply. Oregon wine country is green; Washington wine country is not.
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