{"id":1482,"date":"2014-04-22T15:23:03","date_gmt":"2014-04-22T22:23:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/danthewineguy.com\/?p=1482"},"modified":"2014-04-29T15:26:36","modified_gmt":"2014-04-29T22:26:36","slug":"here-are-some-favorites-from-taste-washingtons-2014-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/?p=1482","title":{"rendered":"Here Are Some Favorites From Taste Washington’s 2014 Event"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over 200 Washington wineries serving 800-plus wines and only four hours to taste them: That was my pleasant dilemma at last month\u2019s Taste Washington event in Seattle.<\/p>\n

Keeping in mind that I was only able to put a small dent in the total number of wines, let me cut to the chase and give you a brief summary of some of the standouts that I sampled.<\/p>\n

Challenger Ridge Winery<\/strong> \u2013 Both the 2010 Estate Pinot Noir (about $34) and the 2010 Thornwood Reserve Red Bordeaux Blend (about $49) were quite nice. The pinot displays delicious black cherry and cola flavors and the Thornwood was produced by winemaking guru Robert Smasne. Enough said.<\/p>\n

Cloudlift Cellars<\/strong> \u2013 Winemaker Tom Stangeland always seem to make me smile, this time with his 2012 Updraft (about $18), a sauvignon blanc\/semillon blend. Tropical fruits balanced with brisk, citrusy accents and grassy undertones\u2026what more could you ask for from a white Bordeaux blend at this price?<\/p>\n

\"null\"O Wines<\/strong> \u2013 This Woodinville winery helps provide scholarships to low-income, young women with a portion of each purchase. Their 2011 Chardonnay (about $14) is a lighter style, slightly oaky offering with hints of apple and pear. Great cause, great price and perfect for everyday enjoyment. <\/p>\n

Sparkman Cellars<\/strong> \u2013 Chris Sparkman has been blowing me away with everything I\u2019ve tried within recent memory. His 2012 Wonderland Grenache (about $32) shows pinpoint balance between the wine\u2019s darker berry fruits and the brighter red currant and pomegranate flavors that shine through on the finish.<\/p>\n

Tempus Cellar<\/strong>s \u2013 Keep your eye on Walla Walla winemaker Joe Forest\u2026he\u2019s producing some awesome wines. His 2012 Riesling (about $16) hits all the right notes with juicy white peach and nectarine flavors and a distinguishing stamp of Evergreen Vineyards minerality.<\/p>\n

Waitsburg Cellars<\/strong> \u2013 Personable wine columnist and author Paul Gregutt was on hand to pour a few current releases as the winery\u2019s Director of Winemaking. The two chenin blancs I tried, the Cheninieres and Chevray (about $17 each), were outstanding and at prices that should make everyone happy.<\/p>\n

Some closing notes on a couple of newcomer wineries to watch: Cinq Cellars<\/strong> located in Redmond, was formed by five friends with an interest in making wine. Their 2011 The Storm (about $24) is a Rhone-style blend that\u2019s completely over-the-top. With intense, dark layers of berry and currant and a plush, mocha-like finish, this may have been my favorite red wine of the event.<\/p>\n

And winemaker Mike Taylor of West Seattle\u2019s micro-boutique, Two Brothers Winery<\/strong> poured three well-crafted red wines: a 2010 Fiore Rosso Red Blend, 2010 Merlot and 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon (about $30 each). Taylor gave me a follow-up call to thank me for stopping by to taste. Good wines and a grateful winemaker? It was a nice epilogue to a memorable event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over 200 Washington wineries serving 800-plus wines and only four hours to taste them: That was my pleasant dilemma at last month\u2019s Taste Washington event in Seattle. Keeping in mind that I was only able to put a small dent in the total number of wines, let me cut to the chase and give you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-washington-wines","category-from-the-bellingham-herald"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1482"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1482\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1484,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1482\/revisions\/1484"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}