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« August 2008 | Main | October 2008 »

September 29, 2008

Adelsheim 2006 Pinot Noir

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) Third time is a charm, as they say, for it took bottle number three for me to finally blog about the Adelsheim 2006 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley. The first two bottles I enjoyed while dining out, with the most recent bottle with dinner at home which I bought at retail for $30. On each occasion, this wine paired well with the various meals we had and was enjoyed by all who drank it. On the eyes, the Adelsheim pinot (13.8%) was a light, raspberry color. On the nose, there were hints of earth...

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Posted by Thad W. at 08:25 PM |

September 28, 2008

Montinore 2006 Estate Reserve Pinot Noir

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) While shopping for wine a couple of weeks back, I discovered a bottle of Montinore Estate pinot noir, a producer I recognized but for the life of me could not recall why. It wasn't until I did some research online and remembered this was an Oregon winery that received quite a bit of press when it was for sale several years ago for $5 million. Rudy Marchesi, who was president of the winery when it was being sold, assumed ownership of Montinore Estate in 2006. The original estate had its founding in the...

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Posted by Thad W. at 08:17 AM |

September 25, 2008

Trust Cellars 2006 Riesling

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) Last night, Kari and I enjoyed a wonderful bottle of Trust Cellars 2006 Riesling Columbia Valley with a spicy Korean style barbecue dinner. What a terrific wine to pair with our meal. It even went well with the apple crisp dessert Kari and my daughters made that same day with fresh Washington state Honey Crisp apples. In fact, if it weren't for having to put our daughters to bed, we would have sat at the table and enjoyed the entire bottle. On the eyes, the Trust riesling was a clear, light golden yellow....

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Posted by Thad W. at 08:25 PM |

September 23, 2008

Washington Wine Country Getaways in Seattle Magazine

The October issue of Seattle Magazine has a cover feature on Washington wine country getaways. The spread offers commentary on wineries to visit, places to stay, and where to dine in the Walla Walla Valley, Yakima Valley, and Spokane areas. It is a magazine worth picking up if you're planning a visit to eastern Washington this Fall. In addition, I encourage you to review the Washington wineries BeyondtheBottle.com has visited over the last year: aMaurice Cellars Amavi Cellars Ash Hollow Basel Cellars Brian Carter Cellars Chatter Creek Covington Cellars Dama Wines Fort Walla Walla Cellars Isenhower Cellars L'Ecole No...

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Posted by Thad W. at 08:58 PM |

September 22, 2008

Reininger 2002 Syrah Walla Walla Valley

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) Although the weather in Seattle these last few days suggested Fall had already arrived, it wasn't until today that the season officially started. It didn't take an equinox to get me in the mood for heartier food and wines, for the cold and rainy weekend weather had already prepared us for some Fall meals. So it was fitting on this official start of Fall that Kari prepared a rich dish of Italian sausage and tomatoes on top of a bowl of soft polenta. Along with the main course, Kari made a fennel and...

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Posted by Thad W. at 08:11 PM |

Looking for an inexpensive Oregon pinot noir?

If you're looking for a bottle of Oregon pinot noir at $20 and under, then a good place to start is a list of the state's largest producers. The Oregon Wine Press offers such a list, stack ranking the top twenty wineries based on total case production. Here are the top 10 brands in Oregon, with each of these wineries producing in excess of 50,000 cases each year, with the top four exceeding 100,000 cases: 1. A to Z Wineworks/Rex Hill Vineyards 2. King Estate Winery 3. Willamette Valley Vineyards 4. Erath Winery 5. Sokol Blosser Winery 6. Firesteed Wines...

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Posted by Thad W. at 07:13 AM |

September 21, 2008

Oregon Wine Country in The Seattle Times

The north Willamette Valley received a big spread in today's Travel section of The Seattle Times. Carli Pucci documents her experience in "Oregon wine country, one sip at a time", which includes visits to the Torii Moor, Domaine Drouhin, Anne Amie, Amity, and Maysara wineries. It was interesting that Pucci expounds on all of her winery visits, with the exception of Anne Amie. I wonder why she chose not to detail that experience, while diving deep on the other visits. Regardless, the article offers some highlights of places to stay, dine at, or see using McMinnville as your base. It's...

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Posted by Thad W. at 07:39 PM |

September 18, 2008

Rulo 2007 Sauvignon Blanc

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) It is amazing how some folks can invest so much of themselves into making good wine, yet do the bare minimum to connect their customers to the people and places behind their craft. For example, there are times when little detail about a wine is offered on the bottle's label. And then there are instances when even less information is provided online at the producer's web site. Granted making wine is an incredibly time consuming process, yet it seems a shame that for all of the energy invested, the only testament to this...

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Posted by Thad W. at 09:04 PM |

September 16, 2008

A Closer Look at Seattle Metropolitan's 100 Best Wines

In the September edition of Seattle Metropolitan magazine, there is a cover story featuring the "100 Best Wines of the Northwest". Being a data junkie, I thought it might be useful to conduct an analysis of this list of 100 recommended wines to see what resulted. Before getting to the findings, it is worth sharing the approach Seattle Met took in determining this list of favorites. Here is how the magazine described the methodology: "With 943 wineries in Oregon and Washington, how did Seattle Met pick the best 100 bottles? We enlisted Jacksonville, Oregon-based wine expert Conde Cox, who...

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Posted by Thad W. at 08:50 PM | | Comments (6)

September 14, 2008

Torii Mor 2006 Pinot Noir

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) With its Japanese inspired name and label, it wouldn't surprise me if some might mistake this bottle of Torii Mor for sake. On the outside, Torii Mor might suggest rice wine, but on the inside this is pinot noir, and a good wine at that. Torii Mor, located in Dundee, was founded in 1993 by Donald Olson, MD, to focus on producing wine from fruit grown on the Olson Estate Vineyard. He acquired and renamed this site in 1985 - it was formerly known as the McDaniel Vineyard, which was planted in 1972,...

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Posted by Thad W. at 12:27 PM |

September 13, 2008

WillaKenzie Estate 2006 Pinot Noir

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) Although this WillaKenzie wine may not be my style in pinot noir, the WillaKenzie winery is my kind of producer. Why? It's all because of what they do online. WillaKenzie Estate has one of the best designed homepages of any winery I have visited to date. On that single page, I connected to the wines, vineyards, and practices of this producer in ways unlike any other winery. Here is what you can learn using the interactive Flash elements on this homepage: &bull a bird's eye view pinpointing each vineyard location and the wine...

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Posted by Thad W. at 03:18 PM | | Comments (2)

September 10, 2008

Portalis Wine Bar

I have shopped for wine at Portalis during the day, but had yet to come in on an evening when I could try out the wine bar side of this Ballard establishment. Tonight was such an opportunity, where I was joined by a friend for a very enjoyable food and wine experience. Portalis offers a great space to either shop for wine, enjoy a glass at the bar, or sit down at a table for something to eat. We arrived at around 6 pm with the place about half full, but by the time we left every seat was...

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Posted by Thad W. at 08:12 PM |

September 09, 2008

Book Review: At Home in the Vineyard by Susan Sokol Blosser

At Home in the Vineyard: Cultivating a Winery, an Industry, and a Life by Susan Sokol Blosser is one book that seems to offer an exception to the adage, "you can't judge a book by its cover". Just as the subtitle suggests, At Home in the Vineyard effectively describes the slow, steady transformation of an estate winery, a wine industry, and a human being over a period of more than 30 years. It is an intimate study of all three components delivered in a narrative style that keeps you engaged from start to finish. This book is first and...

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Posted by Thad W. at 08:36 PM | | Comments (2)

September 07, 2008

Next 2006 Pinot Noir

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) It is nice to stumble upon an inexpensive bottle of Oregon pinot noir these days, considering how most seem to be in the $25 or higher price range. And it's even better when that inexpensive bottle delivers a decent wine experience. Such is the case with the Next 2006 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley, which I picked up at Metropolitan Market for $19. The Next Pinot Noir is one of a pair of high volume wines (the other a WA riesling) produced by King Estate out of Eugene, Oregon. Some designer worked hard to...

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Posted by Thad W. at 02:37 PM | | Comments (2)

September 05, 2008

Beyond the Bottle Perspectives

Since the launch of BeyondtheBottle.com in May 2007, I have offered commentary on a variety of topics that go beyond my personal experiences tasting wine or visiting wineries. In doing so, I hope to provide a point of view that will at the very least inform, while at best become a catalyst for further dialogue. With this in mind, I wanted to elevate a few perspectives that focus on reviewing, experiencing, and reading about wine. In the weeks and months ahead, I will continue to add to this list to highlight topics that I believe merit more conversation on...

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Posted by Thad W. at 10:42 AM |

September 03, 2008

Elk Cove 2006 Pinot Noir

What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD) Lately, it seems a new wave of 2006 Oregon pinot noirs have been hitting the retail shelves, providing a nice assortment of wines to try with dinner. I suspect this may be due to the fact that the 2007 vintage is entering the channel, as many wineries need to make room for the upcoming 2008 harvest. I picked up a bottle of the Elk Cove 2006 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley at Metropolitan Market recently, where it retailed for $29.99. We paired this pinot with grilled beef kebabs that included red onions and bell...

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Posted by Thad W. at 08:20 PM | | Comments (2)

September 01, 2008

Book Review: Wine Politics by Tyler Colman

It is said that to really appreciate wine, one must understand its context. When some talk of "context", they often focus on what is in the bottle, such as a wine's varietal makeup, the vineyard from which its fruit was sourced, and/or the vintage which serves to describe the growing season. Even still, there are some who extend context further to include the historical and cultural influences shaping a wine, specifically those factors that have served to guide viticulturists and enologists in a singular fashion within a particular region. Tyler Colman has now broadened this notion of context with...

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Posted by Thad W. at 10:08 PM |


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