Monday, June 27, 2016

v.3 of WA winery rankings

First Growths (2 wineries): Cayuse, and K Vintners. And I can't think of any other winery that is making wines at this level, unless perhaps it's Buty. 
Super-Second Growths (4 wineries): Buty (the best of the Super-Seconds), Quilceda Creek (tempted to drop them to a 2nd, as it seems only Parker raves about their wines, whose flavors are just too black, too over-extracted, for me, and I've heard they perform poorly on the resale market so they can't be a cult winery, but they are skilled winemakers; if they only changed their flavor profile they could be great), Barnard Griffin (for whites and roses only, and this is NOT a mistaken ranking), Pepper Bridge, 
Second Growths (12 wineries):  L'Ecole No. 41, Cougar Crest, Seven Hills, Tamarack, Five Star (might deserve Super Second), Zerba, Saviah, Abeja, Charles Smith Wines. Owen Roe, Tyrus Evan, Fidelitas
Third Growths (14 wineries): Leonetti (used to be a cult winery, but it belongs here now),  Woodward Canyon, Kiona, Terra Blanca, Maryhill (Proprietor Reserve wines), Walla Walla Vintners, Gramercy, Ch. St Michelle, Columbia Crest, Gouger, Novelty Hill, Syzygy, Reininger, Dunham
Fourth Growth (13 wineries): Maryhill (regular label wines), Adamant, Beresan, Canoe Ridge, Northstar, Col Solare, Hogue, Syncline,  Barnard Griffin (for reds only), Jacob Williams, Three Rivers, Cascade Cliffs, Spring Valley, Olequah.
Fifth Growths (4 wineries): Basel (they have fallen in wine quality-I suspect they are focusing on making money by renting out their many gorgeous rooms for weddings, and then selling wines primarily to their guests who probably don't know much about wine--and they have become unfriendly to the wine trade, but they are in one of the coolest winery buildings in the state), Sleight of Hand, 14 Hands, Cor, 

Table wines (some of their wines would be fine with dinner, even though not remarkable, but some of the wines from some of these wineries were bad when I tasted them: Isenhower, Forgeron, Glen Fiona, Blackwood Canyon. Tefft, Waving Tree, 

Notes:
1. Notice that the distribution is funky; there should be more wineries in each lower ranking, and yet most are in the top three. This may be because the average quality around Walla Walla is so high. 
2. This list is based on my perception of winery quality; others' lists would of course be different. 
3. As in Bordeaux, even a Fifth Growth winery can make a fantastic wine, if fruit and winery decisions come together happily. 
4. It is very difficult to make a great wine. It is no disgrace not to make them.
5. My ranking is based on my perception of a winery's average quality across its entire lineup--so if they make two great wines and twenty below-par wines, they don't rank very high. (This describes a number of wineries, like Three Rivers.)
6. No one I know has visited every winery, and thus if a winery is not named here, it might well deserve to be ranked, However, it seems likely to me that many of the wineries not ranked above would probably be listed as table wines. And there is nothing wrong with table wines. The rest could be ranked, probably, in the 3rd-5th ranks.
7. Even if you think this ranking is ridiculous, I nevertheless think it is helpful to give consumers, who want to choose a wine from Washington, or to pick some wineries to visit, an idea about general winery quality, because if they rely only upon advertising, or a pretty building, or a charismatic pourer, or favorable yelp reviews, they are unlikely to find most of the best places. My purpose in attempting a ranking is to help people see past the million-dollar buildings, past the artful guile of the marketing campaigns, and straight through to the wines themselves.

Friday, June 24, 2016

Ranking the wineries of Washington state, as if they were Bordeaux

Just returned from tasting in Columbia Valley AVA, Red Mountain AVA, and Walla Walla. First, I want to lay out some thoughts, and second, I'll attempt a first rough draft of a ranking of wineries, ala the "Growth" system in Bordeaux:

1. General thoughts:
a. Walla Walla is moving away from a big, jammy wine style, towards a leaner, more-acidic "European" style. Speaking personally, this saddens me, as the fruit character of W.W. wines was, and can be, truly marvelous.
b. Walla Walla is still RELATIVELY undiscovered by the rest of US WineWorld. But that anonymity is fast disappearing. As a result, prices continue to climb in Walla Walla, to obscene levels in some cases. But overall, Walla Walla wine quality is still superior to Napa's wines, and is far less expensive.
c. I am reluctantly retracting my earlier deep and enthusiastic love for Red Mountain wines. Red Mtn is still probably the hottest AVA in the country, but almost all the wines I tasted there are not as good as what the older, established good wineries are making in Walla Walla. Perhaps with more time, Red Mtn wines will become world-class, but they are not yet.
d. One example in Red Mtn is Frichette, a new winery where Shae (co-owner, who poured for us) is maybe the most-charismatic wine pourer in the country. Their operation is good despite their being so new to it. I think her charisma has something to do with the fact that she can sell her wines (some of which are quite good) at such high prices. There are always too many people who are too willing to overpay for wines, and this causes wineries to overprice their wines, in a vicious cycle.
e. This may be a rather cool summer, despite a rare early super-hot stretch a month ago.

2. My rough draft of a winery ranking (and no one can taste everyplace in WA, even after, say, 10 trips, so there are many wineries missing from my list, and their absence doesn't mean anything about whether they are great, or poor. As you know, 1st-5th Growth wineries are all Grand Crus--the best of all the wineries out there. Also, I am thinking only of wine quality, not of price, so the QPR for some of these may be terrible:

First Growths (2 wineries): Cayuse, and K Vintners. And I can't think of any other winery that is making wines at their level, unless perhaps it's Buty.
Super-Second Growths (4 wineries): Buty (the best of the Super-Seconds), Quilceda Creek (tempted to drop them to a 2nd, as only Parker raves about their wines, which are just too black for me, and I've heard they perform poorly on the resale market, but they are skilled winemakers; if they only changed their flavor profile they could be like Screaming Eagle), Barnard Griffin (for whites and roses only, and this is NOT a mistaken ranking), Pepper Bridge,
Second Growths (11 wineries):  L'Ecole No. 41, Cougar Crest, Seven Hills, Tamarack, Five Star, Zerba, Saviah, Abeja, Charles Smith Wines. Owen Roe, Tyrus Evan
Third Growths (13 wineries): Leonetti (no way they deserve to be higher; they coast on fame; you spend a lot on their wines and years later when you open them they are a bit disappointing), Three Rivers, Woodward Canyon, Jacob Williams, Kiona, Terra Blanca, Maryhill (Proprietor Reserve wines), Walla Walla Vintners, Gramercy, Ch. St Michelle, Columbia Crest, Gouger, Novelty Hill,
Fourth Growth (10 wineries): Maryhill (primary wines), Adamant, Beresan, Dunham, Canoe Ridge, Northstar, Col Solare, Hogue, Syncline,  Barnard Griffin (for reds only),
Fifth Growths (4 wineries): Basel (they have fallen very far in wine quality-I suspect they are focusing on making money by renting out their many gorgeous rooms in the mansion, and then selling wines primarily to their guests who probably don't know much about wine--and they have become unfriendly to the wine trade, but they are in one of the coolest winery buildings in the state), Sleight of Hand, 14 Hands, Cor,

Do not deserve to be ranked as Grand Crus; let's call them table wines (some of their wines would be fine with dinner, even though not remarkable, but some of their wines were undrinkable when I visited, though of course their wine quality may be much higher now): Isenhower, Forgeron, Glen Fiona, Blackwood Canyon. Tefft, Waving Tree,

Notes:
1. Notice that the distribution is funky; there should be more wineries in each lower ranking. This may be because the average quality around Walla Walla is so high.
2. This list is based on my perception of winery quality; others' lists would of course be different.
3. As in Bordeaux, even a Fifth Growth winery can make a fantastic wine, if fruit and winery decisions come together happily.
4. It is very, very difficult to make a great wine. It is no disgrace not to make them.
5. My ranking is based on my perception of a winery's average quality across its entire lineup--so if they make two great wines and twenty below-par wines, they don't rank very high. (This describes a number of wineries.)
6. No one has visited every winery, and thus if a winery is not named here, it might deserve to be ranked, However, it seems likely to me that about 80% of the wineries not ranked above would probably be listed as table wines. And there is nothing wrong with table wines.
7. Even if you think this ranking is ridiculous, I nevertheless think it is helpful to give consumers, who want to choose a wine from Washington, an idea about general winery quality, because if they rely only upon advertising, or a pretty building, or a charismatic pourer, or favorable yelp reviews, they are unlikely to find most of the best places.


Saturday, June 18, 2016

One thing you can do with red currants

I saved a red currant bush, by moving it, when we burned down the derelict cabin at our farm (that was a training exercise for the local fire department; pretty cool). The bush rewards us by giving a small crop of very tart red currants every year. So, what to do with them? This year, this was my solution:

What you see there, sauteeing in olive oil, is the currants with minced onion, garlic and yellow mild peppers, with fresh oregano from our garden, and some vinegar and sugar. It cooked down into a wonderful topping for tilapia over brown rice. Enjoyed with one of the great rose wines I've sold this Spring.

Monday, June 13, 2016

Justin Vineyards assailed for clearcutting oak grove in Paso Robles

If you look at the before and after photos in this article, you can see a dramatic loss of forest, clear-cut so that the winery can build a huge retention/irrigation pond and build more vineyards. Angry neighbors say the use of so much water is pretentious and wasteful in a time of drought, and the loss of the oaks is ecologically devastating.

I have mixed feelings here. Almonds are the extreme water users in California, and their prodigious thirst for water (and the state's refusal to further reduce water use for almonds) is a prime cause of the current water shortage. Arguments that there is already enough cleared land for new vineyards, are persuasive. The oaks there, as in the Sierra Foothills AVA, are gorgeous and important, so a massive loss of them is bad news; it is possible to leave little stands of trees here and there, and plant vineyards around those, so I wish it had been done here.

Wineries like Justin need to be careful, to take care of the land they own and to avoid upsetting their target customers. If there is continuing outcry, and perhaps movement away from the Justin brand(s), that could discourage others from clearcutting these wonderful oak groves.


Saturday, June 11, 2016

Favas

Fava beans, which contain protein and are thus a meat substitute, are not really beans (they're a vetch), but they are delicious! Pictured is a fava bean pod, our crop of shelled fava beans, and an ear of corn: To the favas and corn kernels, add some onion, garlic, mild peppers, and cook briefly in hot olive oil, salt and pepper. A variation of Succotash!

And a white wine to go with it.

Maybe a wine I made.


Wine and Your Health: Getting Real

 Here are two articles on wine and our health: 1. First article : Grapes are a superfood that lower bad chloresterol. Many of their healthy ...