Sean P. Sullivan - Washington Wine Report

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In this month’s Five Wines Under $15 - with one wine stepping a toe over the line, we focus on value wines that deliver the goods.

For growers and winemakers, there’s no more beautiful nor frantic time of year than harvest, and contributing photographer Richard Duval was all over the state this year capturing this frenzied season.

"At Sagemoor Vineyard - one of the top vineyards in the state - as the pace of picking increased, the days got longer and scheduling resembled a busy airport,” Duval said. “I thought this scene of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes grabbing the last bit of sun under the sunny Sagemoor skies nicely captured the beauty of the season.”

Click on the picture for a larger image. See previous Pic of the Vine images here.

The October Virtual Tasting is tonight! The wine is the Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon 2011. This wine retails for $12 and is widely available. The tasting will take place from 7-8pm Pacific tonight, Tuesday October 29th.

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 tonight using the hashtag #columbiacrest. For those on Twitter, follow me @wawinereport.

This report from the Walla Walla Valley includes wines from Abeja, Amavi Cellars, Pepper Bridge, Buty, Tulpen Cellars, L’Ecole No 41, Tempus Cellars, and Forgeron Cellars.

Abeja

While Abeja has long been known as a Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay shop (it still is), recent vintages have shown the winery making stunning wines from estate fruit from the Walla Walla Valley. One of them is an estate Viognier coming from the Mill Creek property where the winery is located. White wines are a rarity in the Walla Walla Valley but this wine shows that, in the right hands, it can be done and done well. The other comes from the other side of the valley from the winery’s Heather Hill Vineyard. This vineyard was first planted in 2001 and is not only producing high quality Cabernet Sauvignon, it is also producing flat out stunning Syrahs.

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

From around the world...

CTV News (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) writes about the Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot 2010.

From around the country...

The Tampa Bay Times names the Badger Mountain 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon their wine of the week.

From around the blogosphere...

Jameson Fink writes about a Col Solare veritical, raw elk, and grappa.

The October Virtual Tasting wine is the Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon 2011. This wine retails for $12 and is widely available. The tasting will take place on Tuesday October 29th 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 on the specified date using the hashtag #columbiacrest. For those on Twitter, follow me @wawinereport.

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

From around the world…

The Australian gives an insider’s guide to Seattle with a shout out to Washington wine country.

From around the country...

The Wall Street Journal writes that an NYU professor uses to wine to bring economic concepts to life.

Winemaker Jason Morin of Woodinville’s Ancestry Cellars grew up in Gig Harbor, where his forbearers were among the first of the Croatian fishing families to move to the area. His experience with winemaking started younger than most – in the third grade.

“I started making wine with my grandfather in his basement,” Morin recalls. “It was an opportunity to see and learn.”

As an adult, this initial exposure blossomed into a full fledged interest and passion, with Morin’s work as a pharmaceutical representative for Sanofi affording him frequent opportunities to entertain. His interest took a fateful turn, however, in 2009 at the Auction of Washington Wines when Morin bumped into Chris Sparkman (Sparkman Cellars), who Morin knew from Sparkman’s Waterfront restaurant days.

While Red Mountain has firmly established itself as one of Washington’s premier wine growing regions, the tiny appellation - Washington’s smallest at 4,040 total acres - continues to grow and expand with additional acreage planted and more and more wineries using Red Mountain fruit. One of those wineries is Ambassador Vineyard.

Ambassador Vineyard’s Michael Towers first became interested in wine when he and his wife attended a winemaker dinner, hosted by Dan Duckhorn of Duckhorn Vineyards, at the Columbia Tower Club in Seattle in the 1980s. The Towers visited Napa Valley shortly thereafter and subsequently became one of three majority stakeholders in Duckhorn.

Today’s Fresh Sheet – new and recent releases – includes wines from Avennia, Long Shadows, Andrew Will, Guardian Cellars, Stevens Winery, Swiftwater Cellars, Michael Florentino Cellars, and more.

A round-up of stories on Washington wine from October 1^st to 7^th 2013. Read previous round-ups here.

From around the country…

Winona Daily News writes about the Thorny Rose Cabernet Sauvignon.

Coshocton Tribune writes about the Seven Falls Cabernet Sauvignon.

Harvest in Washington this past week saw wet weather along with a continuation of the cool temperatures from the end of September. For most I spoke or e-mailed with, neither seemed to present significant concerns.

Bob Betz of Betz Family Winery said of the rain, “This hasn’t been a problem for us with the mid to late season reds with thicker skins. We’ve had no rot, no wet grapes, no soggy bottoms of the picking bins so we don’t have a problem with rain that may have fallen.”

A round up of stories on Washington wine from September 22nd to September 30th. Read previous round-ups here.

From around the country...

D Magazine writes about Col Solare and Northstar.

CNBC writes that wines fly free on Alaska Airlines.

Hitched Magazine writes about Kestrel Vintners.

Below is a summary of posts for September 2013.

Now available on-line: Seattle Metropolitan’s Top 100 Washington wines

Tero Estates purchases Waters Winery

Old school! Recent print publications

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Editor

Sean P. Sullivan is the editor of Washington Wine Report and a contributing editor at Wine Enthusiast magazine, covering Washington and Idaho. He has been writing about and reviewing Washington wine since 2005.

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Editor - Sean P. Sullivan

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Washington Wine Report is an independent publication focused on bringing Washington wine to you and bringing you to Washington wine. My goal is: to help you select Pacific Northwest wines at a variety of price levels; to keep you up-to-date about the Northwest’s wineries, vineyards, and individuals; to help you plan trips to wine country; and to connect you to the larger wine community.

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