Category Archives: Olympic Peninsula Wines

It’s Red Wine and Chocolate Season!

Many wineries and even a few craft breweries up and down the coast are putting on the Red Wine (or brew) and Decadent Chocolate Show.

Like a good red wine, dark chocolate is a source of antioxidants and minerals, and it generally contains very little sugar. So, to guide you through the myriad of how and perhaps when to pair chocolate with your favorite flavor of beverage, remember the cardinal rule: The drink must be sweeter than the chocolate. This is especially applicable when enjoying a rich, dry red wine.

However, there are exceptions to this rule. A mug of dark roasted coffee and a molten chocolate lava cake is a great example. The acidity in the coffee is another factor to consider. It cuts through the chocolate sweetness and makes a beautiful match.

Unless you happen to think that chocolate is overrated like my wine buddy, Brynn Grimley. Long-time readers may remember that she was my counterpart when this column first started. Brynn is rejoining us!

More than a decade ago, Brynn and I had the desire to share our love for wine with the Kitsap Sun community. But in 2013, Brynn’s career took her away, so I continued the column – alone.  After nearly three years of talk about resurrecting our wine writing “dream team”, we elected 2020 as our year to officially reconnect. Expect to hear from her from time-to-time in future columns as we share our wine adventures with you.

But back to chocolate and red wine. Since the Olympic Peninsula Red Wine and Chocolate Tour began this past weekend and continues the hoiday weekend of February 15 – 17th throughout Washington, we thought a reconnaissance mission would be our next wine adventure.

We started at one of Washington’s western most wineries outside of Port Angeles. Harbinger Winery dished up a buttery pan au chocolate with the award-winning Dynamo Red, a sinfully delicious combination. This red is mostly Syrah has a dollop of Cab Franc and Malbec.

Our eyes went wide tasting the Raspberry Bliss packed with 2 ½ tons of freshly picked fruit from Graysmarsh Farm in the Dungeness Valley.  Although dry, it was bright with lots of sweet fruit. This is the one for that triple chocolate brownie.

Savory chocolate dishes are not unheard of. Mexico’s iconic mole, a sauce of chilies, spices, and Mexican chocolate is a savory chicken dish calling for a Zinfandel – red or white. Other savory chocolate dishes could be an arugula, ham, and pear salad tossed with a fruity vinaigrette and garnished with cocoa nibs. Or try my show-stopping recipe for seafood ravioli with a white chocolate-cayenne sauce. Pass the rose’ bubbly, please.

Another Olympic Peninsula Wine, Cider and Chocolate Tour stop was Camaraderie Cellars, tucked into the hills of Port Angeles. Such a welcoming place! The outdoor firepit, sculptures and gardens were warming.

Their 2012 Reserve Cab, from an exceptional vintage, was superb. They also dished up a savory cocoa, spice-rubbed pulled pork. Unsweetened chocolate, such as 95 – 100% cacao, adds smoky and earthy quality to a savory dish.

Brynn writes: if you’re looking for a new wine adventure this year, or maybe you’re like me and aren’t a huge chocolate fan (gasp!), consider venturing to the Monbazillac region of Southwest France. Here you’ll find three white grapes: Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and Muscadelle take center stage in this tropical dessert wine.

This is a sweet wine but it has the balancing acidity to make it a particularly delicious dessert wine. With flavors similar to Bordeaux’s esteemed Sauternes made with the same grapes (but with an affordable price tag) this wine offers a beautiful bouquet of fruit — touches of melon, ripe pineapple, and even notes of citrus linger.

We enjoyed a Chateau Belingard from Monbazillac after a delightful epicurean feast. The wine presented beautifully with notes of ripe pineapple and hints of botrytis (noble rot) on the finish. But what made this wine even better was the dessert we paired with it. A scoop of bourbon ice cream and a peach half dusted with cinnamon that was easy to whip up in the blink of the eye.

The Monbazillac region is France’s largest late-harvest sweet wine district by acreage and production. Situated just 45 miles east of Sauternes, in the small, relatively unknown wine region of Bergerac (where the unrequited romantic, Cyrano de was staged).

Monbazillac is an Appellation d’Origine Controlee (AOC) situated on the banks of the Dordogne River. The chance for noble rot to develop in this maritime climate is very good. Noble rot or botrytis cinerea is a fungus that attaches itself to the skins of the grapes and sucks the moisture out, concentrating the sugars and flavors.

Back to wine and chocolate and another style of wine tasted on the Olympic Peninsula Tour. At Wind Rose Cellars in downtown Sequim, they make an Orange Muscat cold soaked for 6 hours before pressing and then fermented in stainless steel. It has the heady aromas of honeysuckle and candied orange peel. This is another sweet, white dessert wine that is a wonderful partner with chocolate especially a creamy, chocolate heart-shaped mousse.

And a reminder that there are many Red Wine and Chocolate events this sweet weekend. I hope you find yourself at one of them. Bainbridge Island Wine Alliance, Yakima Valley, Lake Chelan, Rattlesnake Hills and even Whidbey-Camano Islands wineries!

We wish you many wonderful wine adventures.

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Many Ways to Taste Washington Wines

This has to be my favorite time of year. Perhaps for winemakers too. The rush of harvest is over, the wines are resting in tank, barrel or bottle and the vines are dormant. It’s time for a road trip or two.

On Monday, February 10th, head on over to McCaw Hall at the Seattle Center and connect with over 50 Walla Walla Valley wineries and winemakers. Each winery has two or three wines including new releases they would like you to sample.

Many of these craft wineries have vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley AVA and its sub AVA, The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater. This sub AVA is nestled within the Walla Walla Valley AVA, but its entire footprint resides in Oregon.

The Rocks AVA stands out among all American AVAs. Approved in 2015, this AVA gets its name from the extremely rocky basalt. It is the only AVA in the U.S. whose boundaries have been fixed by virtue of a single soil series – the Freewater Series.

According to the USDA, the “Freewater series consists of deep, somewhat excessively drained soils formed in gravelly alluvium mixed with loess in the upper part. Freewater soils are on high stream terraces and have slopes of 0 to 3 percent. The mean annual precipitation is about 14 inches and the mean annual temperature is about 52 degrees F.”

By contrast, the Walla Walla Valley AVA has four distinct soil series. On valley floor, Ellisforde silt loam; in the foothills, Walla Walla silt loam; in the floodplains, Freewater covered with basalt rocks; and on the steep slopes of the foothills and canyons, Lickskillet, a very stony loam.

The Rocks District Winegrowers organization has 30 members, both producers and winegrowers. This 3,767 acre AVA is planted to almost 350 acres of grapes with over 200 acres in development. To learn more, get your tickets here.

During the long Valentine/President Day weekend, Red Wine and Chocolate occurs from the Olympics to eastern Washington and beyond.

At the annual Olympic Peninsula Red Wine, Cider and Chocolate Tour, eight Olympic Peninsula wineries welcome you with wine, cider and sensational chocolate bites. And you don’t have to do all eight in one day or even one weekend. This event encompasses two weekends, February 8th and 9th and the long holiday weekend February 15th through 17th. Tickets can be purchased at OlympicPeninsulaWineries.com

Some highlights that may tantalize your taste buds: Camaraderie Cellars 2014 Sangiovese, 2012 Reserve Cab and newly released 2016 Cabernet Franc are featured with the ever-popular Cocoa-Spiced Pulled Pork.

At Eaglemount Winery & Cidery, Chocolate Serenade caramels are paired with new releases of ciders and wines. Fairwinds Winery has a chocolate fountain to pair with their outstanding Port of Call.

Harbinger Winery features a carnival of culinary delights beginning with a white chocolate apple bread pudding paired with the crisp La Petite Fleur; pan au chocolate with the award-winning Dynamo Red; devil’s food mini-cupcakes crowned with a spiced chocolate butter cream is sinfully delicious when paired with the newly released 2014 Bolero.

If this isn’t enough, Harbinger will have one more behind the velvet curtain of the VIP room, the reserve wine with Theo’s Chocolates.

Wind Rose Cellars is hosting chocolatier Yvonne Yokota from Yvonne’s Chocolates. Each weekend will feature a different lineup of their wines. I tasted the 2014 Bravo Rosso at the Kitsap Wine Festival this past August. It’s a 3 out of 3-star wine for me.

You could also spend your Valentine’s Day weekend on Bainbridge Island during their annual Wine on the Rock: Wine & Chocolate event. It highlights the wines of the Winery Alliance of Bainbridge Island’s award-winning producers paired with local chocolates. Each of the five participating wineries (Amelia Wynn, Eagle Harbor, Eleven, Fletcher Bay, Rolling Bay) will be pouring four specially selected wines into very cool wine glasses that you get to keep.

After purchasing tickets online, you pick up your wine glass and other goodies at any winery you choose and start tasting. With the exception of Amelia Wynn Winery, the event will take place at the wineries. Amelia Wynn will pour at their downtown Winslow Way tasting room.

And right around the corner on March 19 through the 22nd, is the granddaddy of all delicious Washington wine and food tastings – the 23rd annual Taste Washington. This year, there are exciting changes with the addition of evening events on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Pacific Standard is a nautically inclined, wine-imbued, mountain-framed, pier-stacked, stuff-your-face with delicious food kind of Friday night commemorating Washington’s most inspiring places. The Saturday night marquee event, The New Vintage, showcases culinary legends: past, present and future with outstanding Washington wines.

The Grand Tasting is the main event, a two-day wine and food celebration with more than 200 of Washington’s award-winning wineries, 60 Seattle restaurants and so much more.

Whether you’re a full-fledged wine geek or burgeoning aficionado, Taste Washington has great seminars. These taste-while-you-learn sessions are hosted by leading experts, including top winemakers, Master Sommeliers and academics. Learn about what makes the terroir of Washington’s vineyards stand apart, the future appellations coming to Washington state, dive headlong into the latest wine science and, of course, taste a lot of fantastic wine.

Tickets are on sale now (a wonderful Valentine gift) both individually and package deals. Go to TasteWashington.com.  Cheers!

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Harvest is Over, Time for Celebrations

Harvest is over. Crush is complete. Punch-downs and pressings are nearly finished. The wines from the 2018 vintage are fermenting awaiting the next stage. The year’s busiest shift for a winemaker and his crew is winding down. With the intense harvest season in the rear view mirror, now’s the perfect time to celebrate!

Harvest wine tours abound this month. Each region has their own special way of celebrating. Here’s a list of regions to visit and wines to taste. Most events take place in the next few weeks, just in time for you to try something special and snag it for Thanksgiving dinner.

The Harvest Wine and Cider Tour on the Olympic Peninsula is self-guided with small batch and award winning wineries and cideries from Chimacum to Port Angeles. These small craft wineries and cideries will throw open their doors and welcome you and your friends on November 10th and 11th.

At Harbinger Winery on the far side of Port Angeles, they are serving up a palatial tour of northwest bounty with award winning wines paired with slow cooked pot roast with root vegetables, apple and chevre bites, and a wild mushroom and sausage quiche. I envision lounging on the couch sipping great wines and enjoying the repast. One of my favorites is their Barbera, a wonderful wine that is crisp and perfect with a bowl of hearty stew. Their Bolero is a blend of two prolific Spanish grapes, Tempranillo and Garnacha aged in Hungarian and American oak.

Finnriver Farm and Cidery makes all kinds of great ciders from traditional cider apples from their 50 acre Chimacum Valley farm. Last spring, I was invited to Finnriver for lunch (catered by the Port Hadlock Inn) and a property tour as part of the Taste Washington on the Farm event. I was greatly impressed with this sustainable operation with many partners. This is so worth the visit, if you’re interested in traditional cider apple varieties, lambs, geese, herb farming, restoring a salmon creek or incredibly delicious ciders. At the event and most weekends, you can taste a slice of wood fired pizza hot off the Dented Buoy oven made with local seasonal ingredients.

Nestled in the woods by Port Angeles, Camaraderie Cellars will be serving up the newly released 2015 Sangiovese and 2014 Merlot paired with the Turkey Pumpkin Chili and pheasant sausage. This Award winning winery is all about big reds made for the dinner table.

Tickets for this Tour are available at Brown Paper Tickets and will get you a free tasting at each of the wineries, a commemorative wine glass and perhaps a bottle or two to grace the Thanksgiving table?

Bainbridge Island’s annual Wine on the Rock presents a Wine & Charcuterie Weekend on November 10 and 11th, just in time for your Thanksgiving Dinner menu planning.  Bainbridge Island winemakers will be on hand babysitting fermentations, pouring or just greeting their visitors.

This is a marvelous opportunity to meet with the winemakers, from 12-5pm on both Saturday & Sunday. Tickets are valid for both days (one visit at each winery) and includes the usual event wine glass, wine tasting at each winery, charcuterie to complement the wine tasting, and a four bottle wine tote.

The transportation options are numerous, buses and ferries, Uber and Lyft and the downright cool

Note: Amelia Wynn Winery will not be open for this event. Instead, their downtown Winslow Way tasting room will be open to taste and buy their fabulous wines.

From Friday, November 9 through Sunday, November 11th, a fabulous wine tasting takes place in and around Prosser in the Yakima Valley. The Drink Prosser Wine Club Experience is a wonderful opportunity for wine club members of participating wineries to be a guest member of other participating Prosser wineries. Grab your pass from your “home winery” and enjoy member benefits throughout town. And if you’re not a participating Prosser winery club member, you can still purchase a pass and be a Prosser Winery member for a day!

In Walla Walla, you can wander in the footsteps of winemakers, eating lunch at their favorite places, taste their wines and visit their favorite watering holes. Each weekend through December 16th has amazing itineraries to follow: Holly Turner at Three Rivers Winery, Jean-Francois Pellet at Pepper Bridge and Amavi Cellars, Cody Janett at Forgeron Cellars, or Ashly Trout, philanthropist, founder and winemaker at Brook & Bull Cellars and Vital Wine. There’s more to check out, winemakers, itineraries and other fun activities at Wander Walla Walla

These itineraries are free, self-guided and pay-as-you-go experiences. When you register for free, you do get perks at the winery of the weekend. Such as waived tasting fees and 10% off a purchase of two bottles or more.

There are also many regions that traditionally host Thanksgiving in the Wine Country. More on that and what wines work best with that traditional turkey dinner next time. Cheers!

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Red Wine and Chocolate Events

There are many opportunities in the next couple of months to taste and learn. February has a plethora of Red Wine and Chocolate events around the state. These tastings lead into March designated as Washington Wine Month and culminating in the grandest grand tasting of Washington wines in the nation.

But first, one of my favorite listen, taste and learn events is the Belgian Beer Fest organized by the Washington Beer Commission. The 9th Annual Festival will take place this year at the Seattle Center’s Fisher Pavilion where there will be over 100 Belgian Beer styles crafted by Washington breweries.

Belgian beers are unique in the beer world. This amazing beer region has a myriad of styles including Saisons, Wits, Lambics, Dubbels, Tripels and Abbeys. Many are made with wild yeast, fresh fruit and aged hops. Traditional brewing methods blending new with aged and aging in neutral oak for a couple of years.

Way before bourbon barrel aged stouts, Oud Bruins (old brown) were aged and blended old with new. They tend, in my opinion to be more wine like than beer like. For years, I could convert a wine only aficionado or at least have them concede that a Belgian Lambic was almost as good as a sparkling wine.

This is truly a new adventure for IPA fans but you could still sport the standard beer fest accessory – a pretzel necklace. The event is Saturday, January 27th, at the Fisher Pavilion in the Seattle Center. There are two sessions, the first from 12-4pm and the second from 5:30-9:30 pm. Tickets are $37 in advance or $45 at the door. But you take your chances at the door where limited tickets are available. The later session always sells out.

Admission includes a tasting glass and 10 tasting tokens. Each taste is 4 oz. so a tasting companion is a good idea. As of this weekend, there are 4 food trucks and about 40 breweries for your tasting pleasure. You can check out who’s bringing what here: https://washingtonbeer.com/festivals/belgianfest.php

Next on the fun and exciting things to do calendar is Wine on the Rock. Wine on the Rock is a two-day wine and chocolate affair held at each of the seven Bainbridge wineries.

This year, Amelia Wynn, Bainbridge Vineyards, Eagle Harbor Wine, Eleven Winery, Fletcher Bay Winery, Perennial Winery and Rolling Bay Winery will pour their wines and serve up tasty tidbits of chocolate, February 10 and 11, from noon until 5p.

Tickets are good for both days for one visit per winery if you wanted to check all seven out and includes a commemorative wine glass and a wine tote to take your treasures home with you. Purchase your tickets here: https://www.bainbridgewineries.com/special-events

And if you want to venture a little further afield, there is a Red Wine, Cider & Chocolate tour on the Olympic Peninsula February 10th and 11th, and 17th and 18th from 11:00am to 5:00pm. Tickets include wine glass, wine tasting and chocolate samples at all nine OPW Wineries & Cideries. Online tickets are $40 and remaining tickets will be sold for $45 at participating wineries, on a first come basis. A $10 wine tasting fee will be charged at each winery for non-ticketed visitors.

Beginning in Port Angeles, you’ll find award winning wines at Camaraderie, located at 334 Benson Road and check out one of my favorite Washington wineries, Harbinger on the west side of Port Angeles. They serve up award winning wines, local beers on tap, and handmade chocolates every day.

Founded in 1979, Olympic Cellars was Washington’s 15th bonded winery. It was founded by Gene Neuharth who planted an experimental vineyard next to his winery in Sequim. The vineyard and winery were later relocated to Port Angeles in a 100+ historic barn.

Their Dungeness Series is a nod to Neuharth and the winery’s first name. They also produce Working Girl wines, a nod to the three women who work hard at this award winning winery.

Around Port Townsend, FairWinds Winery will be pouring tastes of Lemberger and other hearty reds. They are the only winery in the state that I know of that produces a little known white grape called Aligote’, a native of Burgundy. Other rare finds are the Fireweed Mead and the Port O’Call, a wine made for chocolate.

Eaglemount Wine and Cider has moved to Port Townsend at 1893 South Jacob Miller Road. The new digs have plenty of room for dinners, dances and receptions and a guest house.

In 2006, Eaglemount started making ciders from over 30 varieties of heirloom apples on their 1883 homestead orchard. Grapes for their red wines are sourced from eastern Washington and processed at the winery. Their red wines and hard ciders have won double gold, gold, silver and bronze medal at numerous competitions.

The main focus at Wind Rose Cellars is Italian varieties, primarily Dolcetto, Barbera, Nebbiolo, Primitivo, Pinot Grigio, Sangiovese and Orange Muscat. Orange Muscat is definitely a chocolate match even if it’s not red.

The oldest AVA in Washington state also has the oldest running Red Wine and Chocolate event. The weekend of February 17th and 18th over 40 wineries in the Yakima Valley AVA will be pouring tastes of fine wines and nibbling on decadent chocolates from 10:00am until 5:00pm.

Wineries from Yakima, Zillah, Prosser and Red Mountain will be offering a weekend of divine decadence with the Premier Pass, which gives you a variety of specialty food pairings, library tastings, and tours not available to the general public. Premier Passes are available for $35 at the door at select wineries during the event weekend. For more information, www.wineyakimavalley2@msn.com

And finally, Taste Washington is the most decadent of wine events. Exclusive pours from world-class vintners, gourmet bites from great restaurants and private food and farm tours are events you don’t want to miss.

It’s impossible to sample everything at the Grand Tasting, I know, I’ve made valiant efforts. Thank goodness there are two days to enjoy the very best Washington State has to offer. More info: http://tastewashington.org/wineries-2018/

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After Thanksgiving Traditions

Fresh air with a walk in the woods is a great way to spend the day after Thanksgiving. We headed west. A couple of uphill hikes and another along the Elwha Dike Trail, watching the river rush to the strait,  built up a powerful thirst. Good thing Washington State has an incredibly good winery in the neighborhood.

Just west of Port Angeles is an artisan winery making award winning wines from eastern Washington State grapes. With engaging staff and dressed for the holidays, Harbinger Winery’s tasting room is warm and welcoming.

For $5 you can stand at the bar or lounge around a table to enjoy the six wines on the tasting menu. For those of a different persuasion, Harbinger has Washington ciders and beers on tap, too. With homemade fudge on the shelf and cheese in the fridge, they have all the essentials covered.

Handcrafted, food-friendly Washington State wines are the mission at Harbinger Winery. They focus on varietals that are rarely seen on a supermarket shelf, as well as traditional favorites. As owner/vintner Sara Gagnon promises, “…we strive to keep your cellar varied, your palate delighted and your state of mind pleasantly surprised.”

From Two Coyote Vineyard in the Rattlesnake Hills AVA, their 2015 Viognier is fermented in stainless steel. It’s crisp and floral perfect for creamed fish or chicken dishes. I remember tasting this at the Kitsap Wine Festival this past summer. It was a hot day, the wine was perfectly balanced. It was heaven with the seafood bite from Anthony’s.

Another perfect shellfish or crustacean wine is Harbinger’s La Petite Fleur Washington White which is a blend of Chardonnay (43%), Pinot Gris (37%) and Riesling (20%). Again, 100% stainless steel fermentation which gives this wine wonderful white fruit flavors balanced with bright acidity. That acidity would also be a good foil to the drawn butter you’re dipping a freshly caught Dungeness crab in. This wine has won quite a few medals in previous years.

Another multiple medal winner is the 2010 El Jefé a Rhone style blend of 62% Syrah, 25% Mourvedre, 13% Grenache. Rich with a touch of licorice, this guy is polished with age with a plummy, earthy way of expressing itself. A leg of lamb or even a warm bowl of lentil soup would have the angels singing.

Barbera is an indigenous grape from the northwest – of Italy that is. This Barbera is from Columbia Valley’s renowned Sagemoor Vineyards, one of the state’s oldest. It’s a medium bodied, high acid wine with lots of concentrated red fruit flavors. It’s a natural with tomatoes, whether fresh dressed with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and Parmesan cheese or marinara. This is an award winning Washington State Barbera, a concentrated mouthful of crushed berries, and plums.  

The 2011 Sangiovese is from one of Washington’s highest vineyards in the Rattlesnake Hills AVA – Elephant Mountain.  In Italy, this is the grape of Tuscany and regions such as Chianti and Montalcino.  This wine is amazing not only because exhibits great acidity for a six year old wine but it has bright red fruit flavors and an earthy note with a long finish. It’s showing its maturity, throwing sediment.

Cranberry Bliss is their festive wine made for that turkey sandwich with cranberry sauce. With bright fruit, and the buttery flavors of barrel-fermented Chardonnay and a douse of Syrah, this wine is delightful with picnic fare – cheese, crackers, a little smoked turkey and some dried cranberries.

From Graysmarsh Farms in the Dungeness Valley is their source for the Blackberry Bliss. Because they use over 2½ pounds of blackberries to make one bottle, there is a mountain of blackberry goodness in that bottle. On the dryer side at 13% alcohol, it has the right amount of acidity and sweetness to be a refreshing quaff.

The tasting room is open from 11:00 until 6:00 Monday thru Saturday, Sunday from 11:00 until 5:00p. As a result of limited production, Harbinger wines are exclusive to Northwest Washington but their wines can be shipped. Call 360.452.4262 to place your order or do the virtual visit. But I would highly recommend a walk in the woods or the beach and then their warm and welcoming tasting room.

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Still Learning about Wines

The 6th Annual Washington Wine Awards was held last week. About 40 wineries were pouring with some wonderful bites presented by local restaurants. It was a heavenly event.

So what did I learn? Well, grab a glass of wine and pull up a chair as I tell you about some of my favorites that evening.

A new find was the Ashren 2016 Columbia Valley and 2014 Celilo Vineyard Chard. Winemaker Chris Gorman sources his grapes from some of the best vineyards – Conner Lee, Boushey and Celilo. While rather high at 14.4% alcohol, you couldn’t taste it, it was so well balanced. Both spent 9 months in neutral oak also contributing to the fullness and balance.

Airfield Estates on Merlot Drive in Prosser poured their 2015 Yakima Chard. This wine was so easy to sip with 70% fermented in stainless and only 30% aged in neutral oak. Crisp, medium bodied with pear and apple aromas and flavors. It’s a summertime wine.

Next I beat feet to Cadence but with several bodies blocking my way, I waited my turn at Canvasback next door, one of the newest wineries on Red Mountain. What makes this such a storied wine is its California roots.

Owned by Duckhorn of Merlot, Cab and Sauvignon Blanc fame, they’re making wine from the Obelisco and Quintana vineyard grapes while waiting for their vines to reach maturity (seven years old). Winemaker Brian Roudin apprenticed at Cadaretta in Walla Walla. You need a bottle of this.

Cadence was pouring the 2013 Red Mountain Bel Canto, a blend of 75 Cab Franc and 25 Merlot which is the inverse of some great Pomerols with their 75 Merlot and 25 Cab Franc. The breadth and depth of aromas and palate was amazing.

Sparkman Cellars Wilderness 2014 Syrah was being poured. It went very nicely with the Tulalip Casino’s Pork Belly sushi. I was also drawn to their wonderful 2015 Kindred, a Bordeaux blend. He makes great wines – really.

I thoroughly enjoyed Purple Star Winery’s 2013 Cab, a blend of 90% Cab with the remainder Merlot and Petite Verdot. And Dusted Valley’s 2013 Cab, a blend of predominantly Cab, with Petite Verdot and Cab Franc from Dionysus Vineyard is another wine that garnered 3 stars from my pen, along with Long Shadows Chester Kidder’s 2014 Red Blend.

Newsprint Winery’s 2014 Red Blend is another not-to-be-missed BBQ wines. And finally, in a garage in Woodinville is Kevin White Winery, near and dear to me. His 2015 Yakima Red and 2014 DuBrul Red well worth seeking out, if you can find them. Truly.

OK, last one, Treveri Cellars Blanc de Noir was absolutely perfect as always but with the Tulalip Casino’s Butter Poached Prawns with Dungeness Crab, Ginger Lime Vinaigrette and Wasabi Tobiko, we’re talking heavenly. Both those guys really nailed it.

The Kitsap Wine Festival at Harborside Fountain Park is next Saturday. This revelry of wine, set on Bremerton’s scenic and sunny waterfront, is one of the best on the Kitsap Peninsula.

The 9th annual festival begins at from 2 and ends at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $65 from Brown Paper Tickets which includes a Kitsap Wine Festival commemorative wine glass and 15 scripts.

Kitsap Peninsula’s Winery Alliance of Bainbridge Island will be there also. The Winery Alliance includes Amelia Wynn, Bainbridge Vineyards, Eagle Harbor, Eleven Winery, Fletcher Bay, Perennial Vintners, and Rolling Bay Winery.

What the individual wineries are pouring that day remains to be seen but here are my picks with fingers crossed that they’ll pour what I want to taste:

Harbinger Winery is an artisan Olympic Peninsula winery focused on making fabulously drinkable wines with varietals that aren’t mainstream. Sara Gagnon, owner and winemaker, has made great wines and I hope to taste her Dynamo Red Table Wine, a gold medal winning wine made from mostly Syrah, with a dollop of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Grenache.

I first met Davenport Cellars owners Jeff and Sheila Jirka at a Kitsap Wine Festival a few years ago. Located in the warehouse district of Woodinville, they source their grapes like most from eastern Washington. Their Continuity is a Bordeaux blend of 71% Cab, with the remainder being Merlot, Cab Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Fruit sources include Walla Walla’s Pepper Bridge and Les Collines, Sheridan Vineyard in Rattlesnake Hills, and Kiona on Red Mountain.

Also new to me from Woodinville, is Long Cellars, a boutique winery whose primary mission is to produce fine Bordeaux styled wines from vineyards located in the Yakima Valley AVA, the oldest AVA in Washington.

Eleganté Cellars is another winery that’s been around since 2007. They also make wine from Les Collines which is in the foothills of the Blue Mountains, in the Walla Walla AVA. Their Gewürztraminer grapes come from 35 year old vines from Celilo Vineyards.

Stina’s Cellars in Lakewood caught my attention after having won a bottle of Ice Wine at auction last winter. They have won a number of awards for their 2013 Wahluke Slope Tempranillo and a gold medal at the Capital Wine & Food Festival for their 2012 Yakima Valley Malbec.

Finally, many Oregon wineries will be in the direct path of the total solar eclipse on August 21st. Viewing totality among the grape vines in the Willamette Valley could be just the kind of celebration you haven’t experienced on a Monday morning.

Willamette Valley Vineyards’ sold out event offers parking, eclipse viewing eye-glasses, wine tasting, educational presentations, a commemorative Solar Eclipse Pinot Noir and live music for $100. For ticket holders arriving ahead of the traffic, gates open at 0400!

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Let the Wine Touring Weekend Begin!

What to do this weekend? Tour a winery! North, south, east or west there are many wineries ready to welcome you and your friends with food, music and wonderful wines.

Go north to Bainbridge Island for a Memorial Weekend Charcuterie and Wine tasting. May 24 thru 26 the winemakers on Bainbridge Island serve up charcuterie (meat treats) to pair with their delightful wines.

All the wineries are open for tours and tasting from 12-5 pm. For more info or directions, visit Bainbridge Wineries

If you head south, stop by Mosquito Fleet Winery in Belfair.  On Saturday only, from noon until 5p.m., Winemaker Brian Petersen will have a special spring barrel tasting. Dr. Brian Petersen will pour tastes of upcoming vintages still aging in the barrel.

From the recently crushed 2013 vintage to other vintages still in barrel; this is a fantastic opportunity to compare wines as they develop. Taste the difference between American and French oak, light vs. heavy toast’s impact on a wine and the different yeasts used for a specific taste. The cost is $25 per person and includes a MFW wine glass and gourmet food bites. (They always have wonderful wines and delicious food.)

East of here is a plethora of wineries in charming Woodinville. Here’s a list of this weekend’s events. And a special shout out to Lou Facelli: Congratulations on 25 years!

And finallly, west of here are the eight Olympic Peninsula Wineries and two cideries. They will be open but there are no special events planned this weekend. Here’s a map and list of the places to visit.

Have a safe and happy weekend. Cheers!

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What we’re drinking: Finnriver Cidery

Mary writes:

Finnriver Cidery has been popping up in my glass a lot lately. So I just have to share the delights this wonderful farm is pouring out.

At the fifth annual Kitsap Wine Festival at Harborside Fountain Park, this Chimacum Cidery served up their Pear Cider, Pear Brandy, Artisan Sparkling Cider, Black Currant Wine and Spirited Apple Wine.

The Sparkling Pear Cider was incredibly refreshing on that hot summer day. It’s a semi-sweet blend of organic apples and pears which was a nice match with the ahi tuna from Anthony’s.

The other wine that got my attention was the Black Currant Wine. So concentrated it stained the glass and the aromas were pure black currant. It’s port-like in that they blend with apple brandy and is sweet, well-balanced dessert wine.

My next encounter a few weeks later, was with the Blind Wine Group who hosted a Méthode Champenoise tasting. The rules were specific: bring a bottle that was made in the traditional méthode champenoise.

This means that the wine goes through a second fermentation in the bottle. Traditionally, a bottle of Champagne would go through this process anywhere from one to three years.

Finnriver uses the riddling racks, hand turning the bottles and disgorgement methods to make a naturally carbonated sparkling cider. It’s a labor intensive process and well worth the wait.

Of the 12 bottles of sparkling wine and champagne presented at the tasting, no one guessed that it was not made from grapes like the other eleven. It was that good.

And just in case you think that I’m exaggerating, take a look at the medals it has garnered:

  • Double Gold Medal, 2011 Seattle Wine Awards.
  • Silver Medal, 2011 Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition.
  • Silver Medal, 2011 Northwest Wine Summit.
  • ‘American Champagne Toast,’ 2012 Good Food Awards
  • Silver Medal, 2013 Seattle Wine Awards
  • ‘Best of the Northwest, Dry Cider,’ 2013 SIP Magazine

Finnriver is such a delightful place to visit. I encourage you to drop in and savor the farm community, the cidery and the fresh air either in person or online: www.finnriver.com.

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Harbinger Winery in Port Angeles recognized for its wine

Harbinger Winery in Port Angeles was the recent recipient of a “Best of Show” award from the Portland Northwest Food & Wine Festival for its 2008 Syrah Vintner’s Pick.

This sought after award is definitely something to write home about. Winemaker Sara Gagnon is clearly doing something right — the wine was recognized earlier this year with a double gold from the Seattle Wine Awards.

Here’s some info from a press release Gagnon sent about the recent recognition:

“Syrah is my favorite grape and the first wine I made was a Syrah. I am elated that my continued persistence with this endeavor is paying off,” Gagnon said. “I am deliberate in making our wines food friendly and it feels great to receive acknowledgement for that. I also recognize that the amazing folks that work with me at Harbinger make it possible for me to put the time and effort into making our wines better every year.”

Harbinger also took silver medals for its 2009 Merlot and 2009 Bolero and recently was recognized by Sunset Magazine in its International Wine Compeition. The winery received gold medals for its 2008 Barbera and 2008 El Jefe’; a silver for its La Petite Fleur; and a bronze for its 2009 Bolero.

From the release:

“I am so happy to see Harbinger competing so well at an international level. The downside of this is the fact that we are small and our wines very limited. Both the Barbera and El Jefe’ are all but sold out! So I guess this will just have to be validation to all of the folks that already purchased these wines,” Gagnon said.

A limited tasting and release of the awarding-winning wines will be available at Harbinger’s Holiday Open House on Dec. 8 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.  In addition to the award-winners, Harbinger will also have samples of its holiday wine and “four-legged-friend-wine” — a blend where 100 percent of the profits go to the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society.

Harbinger Winery is located at 2358 Highway 101 West, just 3 miles west of Port Angeles. The tasting room is open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For questions or more information call the Harbinger Tasting Room at 360-452-4262 or visit at www.harbingerwinery.com.

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Try this low alcohol sparkler for Mother’s Day brunch

Mother’s Day is a day to celebrate and what better way to toast the mother in your life than with a glass of bubbly?

If you’re planning to do a brunch this year for your celebration we’ve got a great recommendation that isn’t your run of the mill bubbly, and it’s made locally.

Ann Vogel’s Mother’s Day recipes for yogurt parfaits and apple Dutch babies calls for a partner in wine with lots of fruit flavor to echo the fruit in the dish; the bubbles will contrast the creamy yogurt.

This is where the Olympic Peninsula’s Finnriver Farm and Cidery enters the picture.

An artisan cidery and organic farm located in the Chimacum Valley, Finnriver produces its ciders from heirloom apples and berries grown at the farm. They also glean apples from old homesteads in the valley and from a family farm in Eastern Washington.

Cider has a long history — it was the drink of choice for the colonists. Cheap and easy to make, it was consumed for any event imaginable — weddings, funerals, Mother’s Day, baptisms, barn and church raisings and even breakfast.

Ciders can and do vary in style from a drier, more traditional style from Normandy and England, to the sweeter sparkling blends made with berries in Washington.

Finnriver’s award-winning ciders are handcrafted from the orchards to the bottle. They like to experiment with small-batches fruit blends to see what Mother Nature has offered them at harvest.

The sumptuous sparkling hard ciders are made with apples, pears and berries. Perfect for this Mother’s Day menu.

A few suggestions include:

The Artisan Sparkling Cider. Fermented using the traditional, labor-intensive méthode champenoise this wine is perfectly balanced, crisp with distinct apple aromas and flavors. The bubbles are small and make a bright, champagne-style cider.

The Sparkling Pear Cider is made from heirloom apples, blended with sweet pear. A soft sprightly sparkle accompanies the definite pear aromas and semi-sweet pear flavors of this cider.

The Sparkling Black Currant Cider is lighter is body and has a pretty blush color. It’s a blend of sweet heirloom apples and tart black currant. This one is also semi-sweet.

Finnriver is located at 62 Barn Swallow Road in Chimacum. A trip to their tasting room gives you a chance to sample their wines — and decide which you might want to serve mom this Mother’s Day.

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