St. Nick's Open House Woodinville Wine Country

This weekend (Dec 6-7) over 30 wineries in Woodinville will participate in the St. Nick's Open House! For a $50 ticket (or $35 for Sunday only, tickets available only online at the Woodinville Wine homepage), patrons will be invited to taste and of course purchase wine at any of the open wineries. Many of the wineries involved are not generally open to the public, so this is a special opportunity indeed. List of the participating wineries can be found here. Several new wines will be introduced at this event, including Sommelier David LeClaire's (founder of Seattle Uncorked) "Big Smooth," a blend of Syrah and cabernet Sauvignon. I was also at Matthews Cellars yesterday and heard they are releasing a new wine; I haven't been able to come up with additional details but Matthews consistently produces quality wine, so I'm sure it will be well worth checking out. UPDATE: apparently Sunday only tickets are sold out! Looks like everyone else will have to commit to two days of wine tasting, I'm sure no one is disapointed! And for all of you who attend, please send back any reviews/comments/complaints/gossip etc. Here is one blogger's review of last year's event to get you all started. Happy tasting!

O Wines Horse Heaven Hills Chardonnay

I've only recently moved to Washington after years of living in California—and drinking California wines. One of the things I've enjoyed the most about living in Washington is discovering Washington wines (and Washington microbrews, but that's another story). Right now I'm looking for a particular wine;—O Wines Horse Hills Heavens' 2006 Chardonnay. I'm particularly interested in this specific wine for a number of reasons. First, Chardonnay is one of those wines that are intimately associated with California, even in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. I'd really like to see what this climate produces. Secondly, Horse Hill Heavens is a new vintage from a very young winery in Woodinville. O Wines was founded by Stacy Lill and Kathy Johanson, and the 2006 Chardonnay is their first release. They've just recently released the 2007 Chardonnay, and yes, I'm hoping to find a bottle of that to try as well. I note that both vintages are retailing for about $15.00. That's pretty unusual, by California standards. I'm also interested in the fact that while the grapes come from several Pacific Northwest sources, they're a 100% Chardonnay, not a blend of several types of grape. I'm intrigued not only because O Wines (the O stands for Opportunity) is a woman-owned and operated winery, but by their business plan— "expressly in the business to make reasonably priced wines, with an amazing taste far exceeding the price." What's not to love there? And then, I'm delighted by their commitment to the community: they donate a portion of all proceeds from O Wines to scholarship funds for underprivileged/at risk young girls in Washington State. These are scholarships for pre-college aged girls, right at the age when girls start thinking about whether or not they have a chance at college, and with a scholarship, those who might not have academic opportunity, have a chance. Apparently O Wines have already awarded their first scholarship in April of 2008, administered by the Washington state College Success Foundation. I note that the 2006 Chardonnay has been positively reviewed by several sources; Wine Spectator gave it 91 points and described the wine as "Smooth, polished and silky in texture, with pretty pineapple, pear and spice flavors settling gently against refreshing wisps of acidity that make themselves felt as the finish persists." There's a similarly positive review from Paul Gregutt in the April 23, 2008 Seattle Times:
I discovered this wine at Taste Washington and was delighted to find a quality chardonnay from the Horse Heaven Hills at an affordable price. . . . Full-flavored, fleshy and dolloped with buttery oak, this classy wine is available at many area grocery stores, wine shops and restaurants.
I note that it looks like I ought to be able to find the wine fairly easily. The O Wines site describes the wine as "Our wine is the perfect compliment for girl talk (no food) but it is also wonderful with veal, shellfish, crab, salmon, salads, fowl, fish, and chicken." I'll let you know what I think, but I expect I'll skip the girl talk and go for the salmon.

Northwest wine selections for Holiday Meals

Uncertain what wines to serve with your Holiday meals? Christopher Sagadin, a wine steward at Yoke's Fresh Market in West Richland, suggests in this video (from The Wine Knows) various Northwest wines to pair with both turkey and red meat dinners. Here are a few of Christopher's top picks: With Turkey: Upland Estates Gewurztraminer, 2006 Yakima Valley (we had a Gewurztraminer with our Thanksgiving dinner; it's delicious with turkey!) Thurston Wolfe PGV, Horse Heaven Hills/Yakima Valley 2007 52% Viognier, 43% Pinot Gris, 5% Muscat Blanc Waterbrook Sangiovese Rose 2007, Walla Walla Valley 2007 Sharecropper's Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley 2005 Yellow Hawk Cellar Sangiovese, Walla Walla Valley 89% Sangiovese, 10% Syrah, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon   With Red Meat: 2005 Fidelitas Semillon Columbia Valley 2007 Saint Laurent Syrah Rose Columbia Valley 80% Syrah, 15% Riesling, 5% Chardonnay 2006 Terrapin Cellars Pinot Noir Willamette Valley 2006 Desert Wind Ruah Columbia Valley 44% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Cabernet Franc 2006 Olsen Estates Rouge des Couteaux Yakima Valley   Most of these wines are under $20 and would make thoughtful and affordable hostess or holiday gifts!

columbia winery to keep woodinville location

Fantastic news for northwest wine enthusiasts! The Columbia Winery will be maintaining their tasting room in Woodinville for the forseeable future.  As the first premier winery in Washington, the loss of the Columbia Winery tasting room from its location in the popular wine tasting destination of Woodinville would have been tragic.

Most of the winemaking operations moved to Sunnyside earlier this year, resulting in the loss of 20 jobs in Woodinville; according to The Seattle Times, these workers will not be re-hired by the new ownership. Columbia and Covey Run Winery were sold by Constellation Brands to California Ascentia Wine Estate earlier this year, and Ascentia has expressed its commitment to keeping the Woodinville location open. This development has recieved praise from both the mayor of Woodinville and the Director of Woodinville Wine country.

Also earlier this year the venue had ceased to host weddings and other events, but according to Holly Matson, Director of Retail for Ascentia Wine Estate’s Northwest operations, these events will recommence shortly.

Speaking of the Columbia Winery, did anyone make it to the Taste of Red event on November 8th and 9th? This event featured the best of Columbia's red wines, including some only available at the winery. The list of vendors certainly looked impressive!  

Washington has selection of organic wines

If you are looking for an alternative to the wines in your grocery aisle, consider going online and exploring the flavors of Washington wines that didn't make it to the store. One of the options is organic wines. China Bend Vineyard is a winery in the Yakima Valley that uses organically-grown grapes and doesn't contain sulphites.  The bottles themselves are beautifully designed, and moderately priced starting at about $20 a bottle.  You can order from them online. Another option to consider is joining a wine club, where periodically you receive a different wine from a particular winery.  One of my favorites is Stemilt Creek Wines, from Wenatchee.  They offer a variety of award-winning wines. If you are going to go this route, remember that you or an adult over the age of 21 must be present at the time of the delivery.  So, enjoy exploring the local wine options this state has to offer from the convenience of your home.

So many wineries, so little time

In case you hadn't noticed, Washington has a lot of wineries. If you're like me, you want to support your local economy, and what better way to do it than by buying locally-made wine? So how do you chose from the 400+ wineries in the region? Who has the best wines in Washington? If you want to read a comprehensive guide to Washington's best check out the September issue of Seattle Magazine. You'll find reviews and recommendations of what wine pass the test.

Woman-owned wine company helps underprivileged girls

The O Wine company in Woodinville, WA is not only known for their tasty chardonnay but also for their altruistic ventures. The woman-owned company is helping young, underprivileged women achieve their dreams of attending college. A portion of the proceeds from sales of the wine goes toward a scholarship fund. O Wines Chardonnay is a zesty, fruity wine that pairs well with shellfish, crab, salmon and salads. It's full-flavored and refreshing, a good summertime wine. O Wines is available at most grocery stores, and it's inexpensive, retails for about $12.99.

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