I know. Lots of people buy lots of California wines. As a Washington Wine Ambassador, though, I generally prefer to support our local wineries & Washington wine producers and tend to avoid wines from a couple of states due south.
But when a Washington Winery buys some California juice, and makes it into wine in Washington, maybe that’s different?
Anyway… the winery in question is Northwest Cellars, which opened their tasting room in Kirkland (11909 124th Ave NE) today, right across the parking lot from Dance Time, the studio where my daughter takes dance, which is how I found them.
Their grand opening celebration continues tomorrow starting at noon. I recommending checking them out. They were offering four wines today:
2008 Adagio (Columbia Valley) – 61% Sauvignon Blanc, 39% Chardonnay) A lovely crisp white blend with tropical fruit notes on the nose. Looking forward to drinking the two bottles I picked up on a hot day this summer.
2007 Chardonnay (Yakima Valley) – this barrel-fermented Chard had prominent kiwi & pineapple notes – something that would have to sit in my glass & mellow out for awhile in order for me to enjoy it – but that’s just me.
2005 Merlot (Yakima Valley) – at 75% Merlot, 13% Syrah & 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, this Gold medal winner (Seattle Wine Awards), was quite pleasing – smoky nose, with nice peppery notes on the palate. I was surprised – this one had none of the acid feeling that merlots typically have (and which are why I largely don’t like merlots).
2005 Intrigue (Columbia Valley) – a “Washington Bordeaux” blend of 50% Merlot, 28% Syrah, 16% Cabernet, 4% Cab Franc, and 2% Petit Verdot. Nice, but not memorable, although it is also a multiple award-winner. Maybe I’ve had too many merlot-forward blends.
In addition to these four, I tasted their other two current vintages:
2006 Pinot Noir (Williamette Valley, Oregon) – I wish I had known about this one when I started, since it’s too light bodied to follow the others. It seemed like a typical Oregon Pinot – exactly what you’d expect a Washington winery to shoot for when using Oregon juice :).
The last one was the aforementioned California wine: 2005 Petite Sirah, (Enver Salman Vineyard, Northern California). The best way to describe this was “chewy”. I just loved it.
I chatted with founder (his business card says “Wine Geek”!) Bob Delf about their wines and about the other side of their business – private label wines for restaurants, corporations, individuals and non-profits. The private-label idea is one that I’m going to look into further, as I’m on the Board of a charity (RiteCare of Washington) and this might be a great fundraising idea.
If you’re in the Kirkland area on a weekend, I recommend checking Northwest Cellars new tasting room out!
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