Well folks, 2011 is more than half over and it’s time to take a look back at how the Corked Counter fared over the first six months of the year.

To recap, at the beginning of the year I began counting the number of corked wines I came across relative to the number of wines I sampled. In terms of counting bottles, I only counted those that I had personally checked, excluding those that had been checked by someone else first or that used some type of alternative closure (screwcap, glass stopper, plastic cork).

REMINDER: July's Virtual Tasting is TONIGHT from 7-8pm Pacific. Read about how to participate here.







In tough times, we continue the search for good, inexpensive wines.

REMINDER: July's Virtual Tasting is this Thursday from 7-8pm Pacific. Read about how to participate here.

Today just a few pictures from eastern Washington where it was sunny and 80 degrees yesterday - hot by western Washington standards but somewhat cool for the eastern part of the state this time of year. Click on the pictures for higher resolution images.

July's Virtual Tasting is this Thursday from 7-8pm Pacific. Read about how to participate here.

A round-up of stories on Washington wine from July 15^th to 21^st. See previous round-ups here.


From around the world…

The Montreal Gazette writes about wine pairing with barbequed steak with a callout to Chateau Ste. Michelle.


From around the country…

St. Louis Today writes about Pinot Gris with a callout to Chateau Ste. Michelle.

The Sun Herald writes about flashy labels with a callout to to the 14 Hands Hot to Trot.

There has been a lot of talk in the last couple years about the importance of Social Media, and it is important. However, for wineries, having a website that is attractive and provides useful information to consumers is equally important if not more critical than Social Media. Unfortunately, 90 to 95% of winery websites stink.

Below is Part I of a report from the Walla Walla Valley including wines from Rasa Vineyards, Mackey Vineyards, Fjellene Cellars, Sleight of Hand Cellars, and àMaurice Cellars. Read a .pdf version of this report here.

Rasa Vineyards

Rasa Vineyards continues to cut a path as one of the most impressive new wineries to emerge in Washington in the last several years. There is no let up with the wineries latest wines. In fact, the current releases are as good or better than any that the winery has produced.

Brothers Billo and Pinto Naravane have made several additions to the lineup in the last year. The first is adding a label called PB (for their first initials). These are not declassified Rasa wines but rather high quality juice that didn’t fit into the Rasa program. These wines offer extraordinary value for their price point.

July's Virtual Tasting will be Thursday July 28th from 7-8pm Pacific. The wine is the 2009 Fidelitas M100 Red Wine. This wine retails for $20 and is widely available.

What you need to do to participate is:

1. Join us this month at Wine World Warehouse in Seattle! This month we'll be doing a special live tasting at Wine World with Jess Zander from Fidelitas on the 28th from 7-8pm

2. Buy this month’s wine from a local retailer or from the winery

3. Post your comments/tweets on the wine between 7 and 8pm. For those on Twitter, follow me @wawinereport. I will be using the hashtag #Fidelitas during the event.

Hope you will join us!

A round-up of stories on Washington wine from July 8th to 14th. Read previous round-ups here.

From around the world…

The Manila Standard writes about some of Washington’s best wines.


From around the country…

Food & Wine writes about K Vintners and Gramercy Cellars.

Chateau Ste. Michelle winemaker Joshua Maloney has been named the Director of Winemaking for Milbrandt Vineyards. Maloney, who has been red winemaker at Ste. Michelle for six years, will begin his new position next month in time for the 2011 crush.

Today’s Fresh Sheet – new and recent Washington wine releases – includes wines from Vinyl Wines, Mannina Cellars, Long Shadows, and Woodhouse Wine Estates.

Hogue Cellars has long been an advocate for screwcap closures. The winery now takes the big plunge, moving its entire production to screwcaps after a comprehensive five-year study.

Hogue’s decision to move its production entirely to screwcaps was firmly rooted in science. The company first began seriously looking at alternative closures in 2001. At the time, the winery began a three year study comparing cork, synthetic closures, and screwcaps. Based on this study the winery moved 70% of its production to Saranex-lined screwcaps, starting in 2004. Hogue left its remaining wines in cork pending further study.

A round-up of stories on Washington wine from July 1st to 7th. Read previous round-ups here.


From around the world…

The Manila Standard writes about Washington wine.


From around the country…

The Chicago Tribune writes about rose with a shout out to Charles & Charles and Barnard Griffin.

The San Francisco Chronicle writes about wine in a box with a shoutout to Powers.

The July/August edition of edibleSeattle contains an article I wrote titled 'Liquid assets: Why Chenin Blanc is a grape worth saving.' The article, which contains a list of recommendations, can be found at the following locations.

Also, the July edition of Seattle Metropolitan contains a short piece I penned on Chardonnay. As discussed in the article, many consumers have a love/hate relationship with Chardonnay. Part of the reason for this is that there is a lot of mediocre Chardonnay out there - and bad Chardonnay can be positively dreadful.

Time once again to focus our attention on rosé with another look at wines from the 2010 vintage (read part I here).

The next two months mark the brief period when people in the Pacific Northwest are able to drink rosé as one should - sitting outdoors with the sun shining down rather than sitting under the sun lamp, taking vitamin D, and visualizing warmer days with a glass of pink wine in hand.

Today’s Fresh Sheet – new and recent Washington wine releases – includes wines from J Bookwalter Winery, Cadaretta, Dowsett Family, and Idilico.

A round-up of stories on Washington wine from June 22nd to 30th.


From around the country…

The Washington Post writes about rose with a recommentation for Charles & Charles.

The Wichita Falls Times Record News writes about Chateau Ste. Michelle’s Pinot Gris.

The Wall Street Journal writes about celebrity wineries.

CNN writes about box wine with a shout out to Powers.

Well folks the 4^th of July weekend is upon us, and summer days are finally here. Below are 25 recommendations for BBQs and boating that will impress your friends without breaking the bank. Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments section.

Enjoy the weekend - and be safe.

Below is a summary of posts from the first half of 2011.

JANUARY

Summary of posts for 2010

Best of Washington Wine Report 2010

Washington Wine Round-up December 22nd to 31st

Washington State Liquor Control Board clamps down on ‘corkage free zone’

More on the end of Yakima's 'corkage free zone'