Big Fat Wine

As we step forward into 2011, it seems months and months away before we can attend the annual outdoor wine events. Weather is often a deterrent from enjoying our outdoor activities and we tend to hide out in our warm home, drinking hot coffee and waiting for our Netflix deliveries. In a few weeks we will drive up to Chateau Ste. Michelle to pick up our wine selections from our VRC membership. It has been a while since we have visited and the bottles multiply rather quickly. It is always exciting taking advantage of the wine tasting and then traveling home with our bottles clanging together in the back seat. The holidays are now winding down and as I thought of the many events we will be attending in the new year, it occurred to me how much we are missing as we wait for the season to change.

 Winter

December and January in wine country are unique in that there are simply no crowds to contend with. If you’re looking to visit particularly popular wineries, and you want to avoid groups of tourists and crowded restaurants (not to mention crowded wine tours), these two winter months are ideal for you. There is a certain beauty to the vineyards during these months, as the trellises normally supporting live vines will be all but completely bare. It isn’t that the vines are “dead” — they are simply dormant. For proof that even the dormant winter months can be beautiful, schedule your trip to wine country in December or January — as an added bonus, you may often be the only visitor to certain wineries. This provides a unique opportunity to ask questions and broaden your knowledge of wine. It is also a great time to bring friends and family and share a more intimate setting.

In February, you may begin to see a few more wine enthusiasts popping up here and there. Vines will still be dormant, although the trellises will not appear as bare because of wildflowers just starting to pop up among the vines.

 Spring

In March and April, the tourist season will have truly begun. For one thing, the temperatures will have evened out, allowing for more time outdoors. Also, the wildflowers that can be found everywhere in the wine country are blooming while the vines in the vineyards are awakening and budding. Expect decent crowds when you visit the more touristy spots, though small wineries and out of the way locations will still be pretty bare.

Late Spring through Summer

From May to the end of August is the serious tourist season for the wineries. Weekends will bring heavy crowds — not necessarily a bad thing. If you want to meet likeminded people and don’t mind waiting a bit for a table at your favorite winery restaurant, this warm (even hot) season can be quite the vacation spot. During this time, the vines are budding and showing grapes, and people’s minds turn to the coming harvest, talking about the recent weather, the amount of rain, and how they feel the new crop will turn out. This is the most “exciting” time to visit the wine country, and certainly the most crowded.

Fall

September through October is harvest time — a unique time to visit wine country if you’re a fan of viticulture. Depending on what part of the wine country you’re in, you could pull into a winery at its busiest, or maybe you’ve just missed the harvest but can still see the process finishing up. Grape harvest season begins about mid-August and ends about mid-October. The actual harvest time depends on the grape variety and location of the vineyard. Most vineyards offer tours and tastings year-round, but late summer to mid-fall is the best time to visit most wineries and experience a “taste” of the wine making process.

November in wine country is similar to December and January, except that wildflowers and vines are just starting to lose their vegetation. The beautiful golden colors of falling leaves make for a romantic getaway, and another great photo opportunity for wine country tourists. Crowds will have fallen off considerably, but so will wine production, so if that is what you want to see, you must arrive in wine country earlier in the year.

No matter when you decide to visit, wine country is a unique destination for wine lovers;  and for those of us who call ourselves wine enthusiasts, it is a kind of Mecca. Here’s hoping you visit wine country, no matter what month you decide to take your vacation. Just don’t forget to bring a camera (and designated driver).

Thanks for a fantastic 2010!

Jona and Joel
Big Fat Wine
http://bigfatwine.com/

Hurray,  It’s August.  Warm weather and discounts on wine… Heaven.

It’s time to stock up. Throughout August Washington liquor stores, specialty shops and grocery stores are promoting Washington wines by offering some really nice discounts.  They are also offering some wines, this month only, that they don’t normally carry so the selection is really impressive.

Bob Woehler, the dean of Northwest wine writers, takes us on a tour of what to buy during Washington Wine Month at Washington State Liquor Stores.

We are planning to take Mr. Woehler’s advice and fill up a shopping cart.

Here is the information from the Washington State Liquor Control Board website:

July 28, 2010

(OLYMPIA) – Washington State wines are showcased in state liquor stores during Washington Wine Month. Each August, state liquor stores broaden and diversify the selection of Washington wines and feature displays surrounding the annual theme.

This year’s theme “Washington Wines… Our Passion, Your Pleasure” celebrates the unique Washington climates producing some of the very best in grapes and wines known around the world. This is the 26th Washington Wine Month celebrated by state liquor stores.

Washington’s liquor stores sell more wine in August than in any other month except December. A listing of featured Washington Wine Month wines is available here.

The Washington State wine industry continues to enjoy dramatic growth, approaching 700 wineries statewide.

Washington Wine Commission executive director Robin Pollard adds, “Our industry continues to draw critical acclaim the world over, and Washington Wine Month is a fantastic opportunity for people to experience the quality and diversity of Washington State wines right here in our own backyard.”

As good citizens, we are going to do our part to support our Washington government and BUY WINE!  Is this a great state, or what?

As Always,
Love, Laugh, Learn… LIVE!

The members concerts at Chateau Ste. Michelle are one of the highlights of our year.  Because we have duel memberships we get 4 tickets every year and usually attend both events.  This year they set the members events to fall over one weekend.  Woodinville is only about an hour away from home but since we had events both Saturday and Sunday we  booked a room so that we didn’t have to drive home in between (also so we can write about the Willows Lodge in Woodinville, but that’s another blog).

Our two oldest daughters meet us at the winery every year(they are both members too).  After Joel’s surgery Friday I wasn’t sure that we were going to make it, but Joel refused to be kept away.  Spending time with the family is our top priority so we packed up the car and and headed out.  Our timing was perfect.  We arrived, parked and made our way to the line just as the girls walked by.  It couldn’t have been better choreographed if we had planned it ahead of time.

We were also meeting friends and they had gotten in just ahead of us and were setting up our spot just to the left of the stage.   Over the next five minutes we had blankets down, cooler and picnic basket set, plates out and headed up to get our glasses.  The lines for tasting weren’t too bad this year so we had our first tastes quickly.  Over the next two hours we tasted, we talked, we laughed and we enjoyed the perfect day.

Joel bought a couple of bottles of the 2006 Columbia Valley Tempestade – Limited Release  for the concert.

2006 Columbia Valley Tempestade – Limited Release WINEMAKER NOTES
“This is the second Tempestade Red Wine from Chateau Ste. Michelle. Sourced from Portuguese varietals in our Cold  Creek vineyard, this earthy wine delivers pronounced aromas of chocolate, coffee and spice. On the palate, the Tempestade is dense and full, with a rich, layered finish. It is a very bold wine not for the timid.”

And what a bold wine it was.  There were six wines to taste but this was our favorite.  Me, flavors of chocolate and coffee?  You can’t go wrong with that.

The Girls liked the 2009 Columbia Valley Gewürztraminer.

2009 Columbia Valley Gewürztraminer TASTING NOTES
“A fan favorite, this Gewürztraminer is such an enjoyable wine with exuberant fruit and clove spice. This is a lush style of Gewürztraminer with a lot of floral character, yet it still maintains the grape’s natural crisp character. A touch of Muscat offers citrus notes and a deeper spice character. Try this wine with Thai food or any cuisine with a little “bite” to it.” -Bob Bertheau, Winemaker

Natalie MacMaster came on stage and the place lit up.  Ms. MacMaster is entertaining, and plays the hell out of that fiddle. The crowd wanted good music to go with the wonderful day and they weren’t disappointed.  There is something so right about a summer evening, great wine and fiddle music, it just feels natural.

I didn’t know much about Ms. MacMaster before the concert (it never matters who is playing, we always have fun) but I will certainly pick up a couple of CD’s for in-car enjoyment.

We had a wonderful time at this event and this is only the beginning of one fabulous weekend.

As Always,
Love, Laugh, Learn… LIVE!

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Friday morning at 3:00 AM Joel wakes me to tell me that he is in pain and going to drive himself to the hospital.  I was sound asleep so my first reaction was, “okay honey, call me when you know what’s up.”  Thirty seconds later, when I came to my senses, I said, “oh, hell no.”  I threw some clothes on and my cell phone in my purse and we headed for the local ER.

Luckily it wasn’t crowded so we got in fairly quickly.  The doctor came in and ordered x-rays and a series of tests with promises of pain relief once he knew what was going on.  About 30 minutes later he came in with a syringe of something magical to go into the IV and the news that Joel had a gallstone about an inch in diameter and that he had called a surgeon and they were getting a room ready to admit him.   The Gallbladder had to go.

I was in deep trouble by the time 8:00 AM came around and I started making phone calls to the fam.  Once the kids found out that Dad was in the hospital and I didn’t wake them up before we left they were not happy with me, not at all.   They finally took him into surgery about 2:00 PM.  Our whole motley crew took over the surgical waiting room, watching bad daytime TV, reading out-dated magazines and waiting for word.   Everything went well and he was out of recovery before we knew it.  When they finally got him settled in his room he asked if he could eat and actually asked if they had a wine list.  He was completely out of it but still had a sense of humor.  By the way, the nurse didn’t have a sense of humor at all.

Joel made it very clear that he did not want to stay the night, he was ready to go home NOW.  Actually we had members events at Chateau Ste. Michelle and a stay at the Willows in Woodinville booked for the weekend and Joel was not going to miss out just because of some dumb gallbladder.  It took a bit of convincing and promising but by 11:00 PM the nurse finally signed Joel’s walking papers and we were on our way home – less one gallbladder and one nights sleep.   I was ready to cancel the events but Joel was totally committed.  We did end up spending the weekend at the winery, but that’s another story.

Joel met with the surgeon this morning and is healing perfectly.  Looks like the crazy long weekend was actually good for him.    Go figure.

As Always,
Love, Laugh, Learn… LIVE!

Being Washington natives, we often had the same curiosity the rest of you may have….”It rains every day in Seattle, how could they grow any grapes at all?”  But the state is separated into two major regions by the Cascade Mountains. The west which includes the wet and rainy climate we are  not so happily known for, and the east which only averages 8 inches of rainfall (compare to 60 inches in the west). In 1970, there were only 10 wineries compared to more than 500 today! The growth in popularity has been phenomenal, in fact this year the annual Wine Blogger’s Conference took place in Walla Walla, Wa. This was the first time this gathering of approximately 300 wine writers was held outside of the state of California. If it had not been sold out, we would definitely have attended. Are you kidding me? Right next door and we couldn’t get tickets. That will never happen again! The feedback observed so far, has been extremely positive and we believe the attendees were pleasantly surprised at what Washington has to offer in terms of wine production, cultural experiences and outstanding focus on quality and industry practices (and FUN!).

Official Portal for Washington State

Washington has the nations second highest number of Wineries (511), which ranks them second only to California.

Wine Regions (AVA’s) of Washington: Yakima Valley / Walla Walla Valley / Columbia Valley / Puget Sound / Red Mountain / Columbia Gorge / Horse Heaven Hills / Wahluke Slope / Rattlesnake Hills / Snipes Mountain / Lake Chelan

An AVA, or American Vinticultural Area, is a specific grape – growing area within a state or a region recognized by and registered with the federal government. AVA designation began in the 1980′s and is a system styled after the European system (AOC).

*NOTE: If an AVA is listed on the label, at least 85% of the grapes must come from that region.

Major Grapes:

White – Chardonnay (6,000 acres)          Riesling (4,400 acres)          Sauvignon Blanc (990 acres)           Gewurztraminer (630 acres)

Red – Cabernet Sauvignon (6,000 acres)          Merlot (5,800 acres)          Syrah (2,800 acres)

We have two favorites which we strongly encourage you to explore on your own. One is Chandler Reach Vineyards who make a delicious Parris Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. Their “Villa” is in the Yakima Valley (AVA) and you won’t be disappointed during each and every visit. The Villa has a great story behind it and every time we visit, it just keeps getting better!

Our other favorite, not necessarily in that order, is the Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery located in Woodinville. Their full bodied reds, annual membership concerts and romantic atmosphere at the winery is something you must experience on your own!

Fact: Chateau Ste. Michelle is the world’s largest producer of Riesling.

If you want further information on specific wineries, vineyards or wine bars in Washington, this is a great place to start…

View Larger Map

Alot of the above information was acquired from the following resources; “Windows On The World” Complete Wine Course by Kevin Zraly and The Washington Wine Commission WashingtonWine.org.

Some of you have been following us on Twitter and have noticed that we have been posting quotes and words of wisdom throughout the day.  I have been researching wine quotes and have found some really inspiring thoughts.  I think we, as enthusiasts, tend to look for the gusto in life and many of us know how to voice that gusto with ease and flair.

When it comes to wine, I tell people to throw away the vintage charts and invest in a corkscrew. The best way to learn about wine is the drinking.  ~ Alexis Lichine

A woman drove me to drink, and I’ll be a son-of-a-gun but I never even wrote to thank her. ~ W. C. Fields

Drink is the feast of reason and the flow of soul. ~ Alexander Pope

Wine rejoices the heart of man and joy is the mother of all virtues. ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1771

“Wine is sunlight, held together by water! ~ Galileo Gallilei

From wine what sudden friendship springs! ~ John Gay 1685 – 1732

Wine gives strength to weary men.  ~ Homer

One not only drinks the wine, one smells it, observes it, tastes it, sips it and–one talks about it. ~ King Edward VII

Where there is no wine there is no love. ~ Euripides

These are just a few.  There are thousands upon thousands of quotes out there.

I am truly thankful for the wonderful people that I have met through this lifestyle both  in person and online.  The words of the masters and the word of my friends are interchangeable and for the most part impossible to distinguish between.  If given a list of quotes I couldn’t tell by the wisdom alone whether it came from one of the great thinkers of all times, the bartender at the local wine bar, one of the many #wine lovers on twitter or the guy I run into every year at the members concert at Chateau Ste. Michelle.

I know that some of you have quotes or words of wisdom either your own or your favorites to share and I would love  to hear them.  Feel free to leave them here as a comment and I will add it to my encyclopedia of cool stuff with credit given to you of course.

As Always,

Love, Laugh, Learn… LIVE!

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Yet another cool evening here in the Pacific Northwest. I almost reached for the thermostat to turn the heat up. I think a wine review is a better choice…

2007 ”CSM” Red 

I have to come right out and give this a ”VOLUPTUOUS” Score from Big Fat Wine. An outstanding wine of exceptional complexity and character. Terrific! From the label (yes I said label) to the deep jam colors and aromatic red fruits mixed with brown sugar, this bottle presents itself romantically well! Where it’s from: (winemaker notes) “100% of the fruit was sourced from the Wahluke Slope, a warm region known for ripe, jammy reds. The most northern Ste. Michelle growing area, the Wahluke Slope is bordered on both the west and the south by the Columbia River. The region’s warm days cause the grapes to assert sweet citrus and tropical characteristics, while the cool nights promote good structure, balance and flavor intensity”. Our wine reviews began with a white wine! I have been reminding myself that for about 2 weeks. So now I leap forward to one of our favorite places, Chateau Ste. Michelle. This wine was part of our membership wines and we couldn’t wait any longer to pour some at home.  Blend: 51% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Syrah, 7% Malbec. It has some of my favorite qualities; It is a “heavy” red blend, balanced but pronounced tannins, and the ”sparky” berries stay with you long afterwards. It is late at night so firing up the grill is probably not going to happen. This is one for the beef slab. The huge chunk of london broil that Jona tosses onto the rack and sears on both sides, slices up and tosses it on your plate before it even knows it was out of the package. This wine is however, beautiful by itself. Color depth is deep and a purple garnet hue. The nose is definitely tobacco / leather /blackberry /  fig.  It is grapey, thick and lasting. Perfect for these cool Washington “summers”. C’mon summer. Get with it! Red’s will dominate our tasting reviews because that is what we prefer. I guess what that also means is that when a white is spoken highly of, it is worth the leap.
 

[JBC]5July2010 / BFW

What a wonderful day.  I slept in, the sun was shining, coffee was ready when I woke up and we had 2 tastings scheduled, heaven.

We picked up 4 bottles from Chateau Ste. Michelle and hung out to taste but we didn’t go over to the retail side because there was a concert today, which I would have known if I had checked our events page, and it was crowded.  I would have loved to go to the concert but we didn’t buy tickets in time and the show sold out.  If anyone went to Crosby Stills and Nash tonight let me know how the show was.

When we left the winery we needed a bite to eat so we hit Barbecue Pete’s in Kent on our way home.  The special today was baby back ribs.  I love food you can eat with your hands.  They were cooked to perfection, the meat fell off the bone,  great flavor, great sauce.  Look for them every year at the Puyallup Fair, in Puyallup Washington  or at their Kent Washington location.

Of course, I got barbecue sauce on my shirt so we had to stop by home to change.  Then it was off to WineStyles in Federal Way for the members pick up and tasting.   The event started at 5:00, we arrived about 5:25 and the back area was already full.  As with most wine events the people were wonderful and we were able to squeeze in.  We tasted several selections and were treated to a glass of 2006 Goose Ridge Vineyards Vireo (Thanks Scott, our treat next time).  I loved the earthy nose and flavor, we bought a bottle to enjoy later.

The day lived up to its promise,  it makes me excited about what tomorrow will bring.

As always,

Love, Laugh, Learn… LIVE!