“The richness of life…the textural thread that weaves through every heart, past present and future, fine and illusive, but when the light and my inner calm is just so, I can see and taste droplets of love travelling along the tapestry of human spirit. Imagine drinking from the cup of life!” – Greg Brown, Winemaker, Dreamer, Grape Guardian, Yoga Dude. So says the back of the bottle of the 2007 T-Vine Zinfandel that we shared recently. The T-Vine wines are excellent, but the story is extraordinary. It is a story of a life well lived, of deep and profound love, and of aching sadness.
The school bell at L’Ecole No 41 winery.
We have long been fans of Washington wine and right up there on our go-to list is L’Ecole N° 41. Founded in 1983 it was the third winery in the Walla Walla Valley and the 20th winery to be bonded in Washington State. Both L’Ecole and the Washington wine industry have come a long way: L’Ecole has won numerous prestigious awards and Washington now has over 850 wineries!
Read More
The cork from the 2007 QED
“Rasa” is a Sanskrit word meaning the essence of something that conjures up a feeling or emotion. For Rasa Vineyards, the name certainly fits their wines which aim to capture the essence of the soil from where they are from, and at a quality level that is absolutely capable of evoking pure joy to a wine enthusiast.
Read More
The tasting room at Leonetti Cellar
Leonetti Cellar, located in Washington’s Walla Walla Valley AVA, makes some of the most collected, sought-after, recherché, and praised wines in America. The term “cult winery” seems to be a uniquely American term (we don’t know of any Bordeaux or Burgundy cult wineries) that refers to wineries whose wines are available only via mailing list and have received huge scores and praise from the wine press at large. By those measures, certainly Leonetti would be considered as one of America’s cult wineries.
Read More
Tempranillo grapes almost ready for harvest.
Spain’s Rioja region is almost exclusively Tempranillo country and is also the area most generally associated with quality Spanish wine. The Tempranillo grape is indigenous to the area and has been harvested there for thousands of years. The wines produced in Rioja are structured but elegant, generally more finessed than those from Ribera del Duero, and will easily stand the test of time in a cellar. Our first stop in Rioja on our trip to Northern Spain with Fine Vintage was Remelluri Winery and we couldn’t have enjoyed a more auspicious introduction to this storied region.
Read More
The first vintage of Woodward Canyon Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon
When one talks about Washington wine, the name Woodward Canyon is bound to come up. The winery, along with Leonetti Cellar is credited as one of the founding wineries in a region finally getting its due on the world wine stage. When you’re one of the very first wineries to establish yourself in a relatively new wine region, maintaining a level of quality amongst many up and coming formidable peers can be a challenge. Woodward Canyon has not only produced outstanding wine for more than 35 years, they’ve built a lasting legacy that shows no signs of slowing down. Not content to rest on their laurels of simply being one of the “originals”, they continue to look ahead and set the bar in terms of quality and sustainability.
Read More
Recent Comments