The tasting room at Januik Novelty Hill in Woodinville.
We first met Andrew Januik last year when we were interviewing Mike Januik of Novelty Hill Januik Wines in Woodinville, Washington. Mike is Andrew’s father and is one of the pioneers of the Washington wine industry. From 1988 to 1999, Mike was the winemaker at Chateau Ste. Michelle where he excelled and made some terrific wines during a formative period that helped to put Washington State on the vinous map. Talking briefly with Andrew at that time, we knew we had to come back to Woodinville and interview him directly.
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A glass of Goose Ridge Rose by the fire.
Located just a 20 minute drive north of Seattle, Woodinville is a small suburb that is home to more than 140 wineries and tasting rooms featuring wines predominantly made in the Walla Walla, Columbia and Yakima Valleys in the southeastern part of the state. With that many tasting rooms to choose from it can be daunting to know which ones to make a priority especially when faced with a short amount of time. We recently visited the Goose Ridge Estate Vineyard & Winery tasting room and found it to be well worth a stop for anyone looking for a delicious glass of wine in a comfortable atmosphere.
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Champagne and truffles
With Valentine’s Day here, people are now thinking about how they will celebrate that special day and that means for many buying and or opening a bottle of Champagne. So we thought that now would be a good time to present a brief overview of Champagne and what is behind that most celebratory of wines.
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1996 Cos d’Estournel
We had big expectations for this wine and it didn’t disappoint. It took some time to open up to the point that when first opened, we were worried it might be off. After a two hour decant it started to sing! Dark red in colour, it’s a very complex wine revealing notes of plum, cherry, blackberry, earth and tobacco. A lovely textured mouth feel with a very nice long finish. Still seems to have time but we thoroughly enjoyed it.
Excellent+
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The chalkboard listing the wines at the Sparkman tasting room.
“Family. Good Livin’. Damn Fine Wine.” So reads the tagline at Sparkman Cellars in Woodinville, Washington. A bold statement by any winery let alone one that makes 29 different wines! But with a serious background in wine combined with a skillful winemaker situated in one of the up-and-coming wine regions in the world, they certainly seem to have all the ingredients to live up to that statement.
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