Northwest Wine Blog

2007 Kung Fu Girl Reisling

2008-09-09T19:50:00.000-07:00

This evening, we tried the 2007 Kung Fu Girl Reisling from the Columbia Valley. This is a wine made by Charles Smith who is also the wine maker for K Vintners in our former home of Walla Walla. Although I believe this wine is produced on the Wahluke Slope, I am familiar with their location in the valley.

Driving up to the area where K Vintners is located was always a beautiful trip. This is especially true in late summer/early fall as well as the spring time. The drive takes you to a place right on the slope of the Blue Mountains that overlook the Walla Walla AVA. If you are in Walla Walla, I encourage a visit up to that area if you have time.

Surprisingly though, Jen bought this wine in Portland after a cooking class she took at In Good Taste. She spotted it due to its unique label and its attractive price point ($11.99).

We paired it with some smoked bratwursts and pasta for dinner and it held its own.

Since we believe in finishing the bottle we started, we have been sipping it after dinner. It is refreshing and easily drinkable on its own. The flavor is appreciated for its fruity tones. Jen is picking up on a pineapple taste.

As what typically happens, we disagree on some of the particulars. Jen thinks it is well balanced and tart while I feel like it could use a bit more acidity to hold the risidual sugars in its place. She thinks it could sit to mellow while I feel it can be sipped immediately. We both agree though: for the price, it is very hard to find a reisling this nice.

In my mind, it continues to show how well Columbia Valley wines stack up in the value category. This is a great wine to wind down the summer with.

The OLCC does it again

2008-07-28T20:59:00.000-07:00

I'm not a big fan of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission as it is, but the OLCC really got it wrong this time. John and Judi Stuart opened AgriVino, a wine tasting room and retail business, on their property near Carlton, Oregon. AgriVino was based on the idea that visitors could taste and learn more about Yamhill Wine Country before going out to individual wineries. The business plan was centered around the Enomatic wine dispensing machine (pictured above). The customer uses a card to obtain samples from the machine. These cards would be sold by an employee licensed by the OLCC at AgriVino. The OLCC has determined that this qualifies as “self service” and violates a statute that states, “Any person employed by a licensee of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission who participates in any manner in the mixing, selling or service of alcoholic liquor for consumption on the premises where served or sold shall have a valid service permit issued by the commission.”

This is where the stupidity comes in: The machine dispenses a maximum of 10 1oz. samples in two hours... this equals one and a half glasses of wine in two hours. I can purchase a bottle of wine at a restaurant and drink it all myself and that seems to be OK with the OLCC, but a glass and a half obtained from a machine is not. Seriously? There is a licensed person monitoring everything and in charge of selling the wine cards so I fail to see the issue. Unfortunately, the OLCC is too blind to see the idiocy of this and is too stubborn to change its mind. And they wonder why no one likes them...

Challenge to Massachusetts direct ship law

2008-07-24T20:56:00.000-07:00

As many wine lovers around the country have unfortunately discovered, direct-ship laws can be a nightmare and may prevent you from ordering wine directly from your favorite winery. In 2005 the Supreme Court issued a decision in Granholm v. Heald that stated states cannot be discriminatory in their wine shipping laws. If they allow in-state wineries to direct ship, then they must allow out of state wineries to directly ship to consumers as well... kind of an all or nothing agreement. Since then, many states have had to reconfigure their laws within these guidelines. This has just led to lots of confusion and many court challenges.

On Tuesday, July 29^th the Coalition for Free Trade will present oral arguments on behalf of Family Winemakers of California challenging the Massachusetts law. The current Massachusetts statute states that a winery can ship to consumers if they produce less than 30,000 gallons of wine a year and if they have not used a wholesaler in the last six months.

This is something to definitely keep an eye on this coming week and it will be interesting to see what comes of it. Free the Grapes is a great organization if you want to get involved or just want to keep up to date on the latest direct ship news.

Cleavage Creek

2008-05-09T22:50:00.000-07:00

A great way to get attention on a crowded wine shelf.

Dunham cellars

2008-05-03T13:48:00.001-07:00

It is pretty busy here at dunham. Good cab and new whites.

On the way to Walla Walla

2008-05-02T22:14:00.001-07:00

Going to Walla Walla from Portland can be boring, especially right now. I have to remember that it will be worth it tomorrow.

Moblogging Walla Walla Spring Release

2008-05-01T13:22:00.000-07:00

I am going to be moblogging (mobile blogging) Walla Walla spring release this weekend. I am lucky enough to have a Windows Smartphone that will help me post pictures and text from the weekend. We are planning on hitting quite a few wineries while we are there and have enjoyed spring release dates in the past in Walla Walla. So look for that this weekend. Hopefully I won't break the bank!

This may be the only spring release event we go to this year. We may be heading down the Willamette Valley to hit some of our better liked wineries for their Memorial Day thing but unfortunately it can be expensive to just go and taste during that weekend at places we haven't gone to before. Since we are closer though, we can just go on off times and enjoy ourselves.

Background information

2008-04-29T12:50:00.000-07:00

Here's some background information about the blog and why we started it:

Why we started blogging--

We are both Northwest natives and have really enjoyed the wine around here. In the last few years, we've broadened our horizons and really started trying new wines from the region. We've really enjoyed it and I wanted to give us more motivation to go out and try different wines. Here are our preferences when it comes to wine:

Lance: Likes big red wines with a good mix of fruit and oak, dry to semi-dry white wines and balanced dessert wines as his typical choices. He hasn't found a type of grape or blend that he doesn't like though (but plenty of wines made from these that he doesn't like).

Jen: Likes well balanced white wines, well structured reds, sparkling wines, and some dessert wines. She is particularly fond of wines that show the varietal's distinct characteristics. She also loves tasting new and unique grapes and interesting blends.

While we do focus our blogging on Northwest wines (Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia), we like wines from everywhere (Californian, Australian and South American wines as well as those we find in our domestic travels).