Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Tesoaria wine

During a visit to Tesoaria's wine room on N. Mississippi a few years ago, we loved, and I bought a bottle of, their 2012 Coeur Noir, which if I recall correctly was a Sangiovese-Barbera blend. Pretty expensive bottle--maybe $40?

Five years on, it didn't age well at all. It was easily the worst of the three wines I opened for a dinner party featuring Italian dishes. The other wines were 2012 La Quercia Riserva Montepulciano de Abruzzo (this was the best wine) tand 2010 San Rustico Amarone (second best).

I don't know why the Tesoaria fell apart with just three years in our cellar.

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Blattner modern grape varieties do well on Vancouver Island

Here's an article about Valentin Blattner's grapes' succeeding in Canada. (Note: The link doesn't work right--you have to go the magazine's website, then enter "Blattner" in the magazine's search box, and then you can get the article.)

Exciting stuff! I imported these grapes to SW WA, at Epona Vineyard, and will have cuttings available in a couple of years. I've met Paul (that's him in the photo) and one of the winemakers mentioned in the article. And that fruit--48.05.83--is very special. It makes a good Bordeaux-blend style of wine.


Saturday, April 8, 2017

Is there not some limit to Walla Walla's wine growth?

Every time I visit Walla Walla, I find many more new wineries, many of them opened by Assistant Winemakers who learned their craft well and are making really good wines. But it makes one wonder: Is there not some limit to what the market will bear? Downtown in this tiny town there are enough wine bars for a city of half a million. And the prices! No longer the bargain it once was, but still among the very best wines on the planet.

I asked a gentleman pouring at Sinclair (See-have you heard of that one? Wines there are great) how many wineries went out of business, and he said it only happens when there is some personal crisis such as a failure of good health or a divorce. That suggests there is still room for growth. I think the economic boom in Seattle (and Portland) is allowing these wineries to print money like mad...

Photo is of K Vintners' downtown tasting room; a great space. 


Monday, April 3, 2017

Flowers flowers!

Wow! We deserve Spring this year, after a very long, cold, wet winter. What a view from the front porch at Epona Farm.


Marketing!

Feels both odd, and fun, to buy t-shirts and have them printed with your own winery's name and logo. If anybody sees this and can't live without one, let me know. I buy heavy-weight all-cotton T's. The same company that prints my labels is printing my shirts...



(sorry--Blogger is turning my photos, and everyone--I mean lots of Blogger users--are complaining about it...)
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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 ...