Category Archives: Recommendations from the Archive
Glacial Lake Missoula Wine Company Takes Root in Blaine
The latest hotbed for premium wines in Washington State? Would you believe Blaine? OK, so there are only two wineries currently in the Blaine area, but they’re both first class operations. I recently visited one of these wineries – Glacial Lake Missoula Wine Company (a mouthful, yes, so call it GLM for short) – and […]
Pinot Noir
Montinore Estate 2006 (about $17): Lots of nice, bright cherry and strawberry flavors and perhaps a touch of chocolate on the finish highlight this lovely wine from Oregon’s Willamette Valley. With a fairly high alcohol content for this varietal (13.8%), and a bit more body and flavor intensity than most, this is a Pinot that […]
More Northwest Wineries Producing Wines Labeled Simply “Red”
It seems as if it was only a few years ago that Northwest wineries wouldn’t be caught dead producing something with the generic, non-descript, “red wine” label. The reason? Too many consumers equated it with red table wine, which is sometimes perceived as a blend of leftover reds that might be slightly lower in quality. […]
Riesling Makes A Comeback
Like clothing and hairstyles, wines seem to fall in and out of fashion. Pinot noir has been a popular choice as of late. A decade ago, merlot was the “in” wine to be drinking, and in the 80’s chardonnay was the undisputed favorite of any wine fashionista. Now it’s rieslings turn. Back in the 70’s, […]
Washington Malbec: A Fine Example of the Stellar 2005 Vintage
A few weeks ago I attended a blind tasting with friends where malbec was the featured varietal. Eight wines were poured into identical decanters, numbered, and then ranked in order of preference after each was sampled two to three times. The tasting included six malbecs from Argentina and two from Washington. The overwhelming favorites – […]