Charles Smith Wines and K vintners Tasting Room (Walla Walla, Washington)
We have never met Charles Smith but it is easy to decide that we would not like him. His persona is huge and he has become somewhat famous and with fame comes judgment and stories and they are not always flattering and not always accurate either. The Sideshow Bob haircut and the massive billboard announcing his wine as you enter Walla Walla somehow play into that image. So if we wouldn’t like him, would we like his wine? That correlation was about to be put to the test.
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An American in Spain
Dave Phinney is one of the rapidly rising stars in the American wine-making scene. From relatively humble beginnings as a harvest worker at Robert Mondavi in 1997 he started making wine for himself and others in 1998. He has also worked at Opus One and Whitehall Lane. He has since created his own highly successful label in Napa Valley called Orin Swift. The name is an homage to his parents; Orin being his father’s second name and Swift his mother’s maiden name. Orin Swift produces several wines, most notably a Zinfandel-based blend called The Prisoner. The Prisoner and its baby brother, Saldo (also a Zinfandel-based blend, sourced from vineyards across California, not just Napa) were sold in 2010 to Augustin Huneeus, owner of Napa’s Quintessa and Chile’s Veramonte.
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