Episode 35 | Passing Time’s winning team
Damon Huard & Chris Peterson
Managing Partner | Winemaker
The Passing Time team is a winning combination. Damon Huard and Dan Marino—former Miami Dolphins quarterbacks—partnered with alluded winemaker, Chris Peterson with the goal to make some of the best Cabernet Sauvignons in Washington. Damon and Chris joined us in the studio and shared their journeys to wine, their connection with Horse Heaven Hills and why Passing Time needs to be in your cellar and on your table.
Visit and shop Passing Time
How you can support Washington State wineries
It’s tempting to think that we may be able to go back to business-as-usual in a couple of months, but the wine industry is likely going to have to continue to innovate how they sell their product, for a little longer. Wineries are offering curb-side pick ups, free or discounted shipping, hosting virtual tastings to connect to their fans, giving back to our first responders and partnering with chefs. Ordering online and shipping direct has never been easier and ensures essential vino to get us through this pandemic.
Episode 46 | Drew Voit of Harper Voit Wines and Willamette Valley AVA
Drew Voit
Winemaker, Harper Voit Wines
In this episode, we’re pleased to welcome winemaker Drew Voit, whose career in Oregon’s wine scene has made him sought after by both consumers and wineries alike for his skill in producing notable wines from the Willamette and beyond.
Visit the Brick House Vineyard website
Willamette Valley AVA: Selected favorites
In part two of our epic trip to the Willamette Valley, we get deep into the heart of this AVA and learn that Pinot Noir, and stunning white wines from this region, come in many unique forms, including the don’t-miss wineries and wines we discovered there:
Bells Up — 2020 Jupiter Pinot Noir (Chehalem Mountains AVA): Nearly equal parts heritage clone Pommard and Dijon clone 667– Jupiter showcases aromatics of caramel and red flowers, with guava and pomegranate on the palate. Bells Up Winery
Lenné Estate Winery — 2017 South Slope Select Pinot Noir (Yamhill-Carlton AVA): Pommard and Dijon 115 clones go into this excellent Pinot Noir, with a savory expression that includes notes of black cherry and vanilla mocha, wood, and a grounded earthiness. Purchase at Lenne’s website
Roots — 2012 Racine (Yamhill-Carlton): Savory, rich expression of Pinot Noir with bright fruit and mellow tannins. Buy here
Stoller Family Estate — 2017 Reserve Pinot Noir: Ripe bing cherry and cola notes with bright acidity and elegant tannins that can be enjoyed now or added to the cellar. Purchase at Stoller’s website
Domaine Roy & fils — 2019 Iron Filbert Vineyard Chardonnay: Aromatics of lemon verbena and Mellon, with bracing acidity and mineral tang that are incredibly well-balanced on the palate. Available via Domaine Roy’s website
Shea Wine Cellars — 2018 Homer Pinot Noir: A blend of the “best barrels” in their cellar. Beautiful tannins, blue and dark red fruit, floral notes, a velvety finish. Buy at Shea Wine Cellars
Domaine Serene — 2018 ‘Evenstad Reserve’ Pinot Noir (Willamette Valley): (NOTE: The Grace Vineyards Pinot was no longer available on their website, so we’ve substituted this excellent selection in its place) Aromas of dried cherry, dark chocolate, and saddle leather on the nose. On the palate, ripples of composed tannins and savory characters of cherry tobacco, ground cloves, and allspice. Domaine Serene
Bethel Heights— 2017 Justice Vineyard Pinot Noir: Tart cherry and soy sauce on the nose and Black cherry, blackberry, tobacco, with cocoa powder and fine-grained tannins on the palate. Buy at Bethel Heights
Harper Voit — 2016 Antiquum Vineyard Pinot Noir: A smokey char on the nose and Black cherry, cinnamon, cocoa, and a bit of spice on the palate. Purchase from Harper Voit
Discover Willamette Valley AVA wines
Episode 22 | Morgan Lee —A Tale of Two Vintners
Morgan Lee
Two Vintners, Owner & Winemaker
Covington Cellars, Winemaker
Morgan’s story is somewhat a tale of two vintners, as he actively oversees not only his own winery, aptly called Two Vintners, but he’s also head winemaker for the revered Covington Cellars label.
Morgan takes us back to his humble beginnings in the midwest and what sparked him to become a winemaker, his philosophy, family and what he’d like Washington State to be known for.
His work with these labels has earned Morgan numerous accolades from diverse sources like Sunset Magazine, Seattle Met, Great Wine, The Washington Wine Report, Wine Press Northwest, United Airlines Rhapsody Magazine and Seattle Magazine who named Morgan one of their Winemakers to Watch.
Visit Two Vintners
Visit Covington Cellars
It’s Wine Event Season!
To us, February and March is Wine Event Season. We celebrated the best of Washington at the Washington Wine Blog 2nd Annual Critics Choice where we met wine unicorn, Christophe Baron of Cayuse and enjoyed the Top 100 of 2018. We also attended the Walla Walla Wine Alliance event in Seattle and raided Amber LeBeau’s (Spitbucket.net) impressive wine collection.
Old World Meets New World
A first in a new series, we compare and contrast an old world Brunello Di Montalcino with Morgan’s new world Sangiovese. We use the Systematic Approach to Tasting Wine and if you haven’t heard of that, you can learn by listening to Episode 21 and check out an easy guide on the episode page.
Where noted, images copyright of Marianna Jamadi
Episode 33 | Critic’s Choice: Sean P. Sullivan and Dr. Owen Bargreen
Sean P. Sullivan & Dr. Owen Bargreen
Sean P. Sullivan & Dr. Owen Bargreen, two of Washington State’s most revered reviewers, know what makes the Washington wine scene great. Sean has been exploring and reporting on his Washington Wine Report since 2005 and is a contributing editor at Wine Enthusiast Magazine. He also writes for Seattle Metropolitan, Washington Tasting Room, Washington State Wine and Touring Guide, and other publications.
Dr. Owen Bargreen, a Level 2 Sommelier in the Court of Master Sommeliers, is the founder and executive editor of the Washington Wine Blog, one of the most in-depth and well-organized resources for Washington, Oregon and California wine scenes. He’s been writing about wine for more than ten years, has reviewed thousands of wines from around the world, and also contributes reviews to International Wine Report.
Sean and Owen share how they taste and review wines, the best ways to expand your palate, current Washington wine trends and the most prevalent threat to wine . . . “cork taint.”
Explore the best of Washington, Oregon and California wine at Washington Wine Blog
Get to know an expert’s guide to Washington wine at Washington Wine Report and learn more about how Sean tastes wine in his article, How I taste wines for review at Wine Enthusiast.
Are all wine enclosures what they’re corked up to be?
“I look at cork taint as an existential threat,” says Sean Sullivan as recounts that approximately 3-6% of all wine has 2,4,6-tricloroanisole, a.k.a, TCA or cork taint.. There is no perfect enclosure for a wine bottle but technology provides winemakers with options to help eliminate this pesky mold. It is a common misconception that TCA forms from improper storage or from holding onto a wine for too long. In fact, TCA will be present at the time of bottling if the cork is inflected.
We discuss a few TCA-free options like technical cork (DIAM), synthetic cork (Nomacorc), screw top and the glass top. There is a romance with traditional cork, but next time you’re at a winery, ask if they use cork alternatives.
Sean P. Sullivan’s photograph is copyrighted and courtesy of Wine Enthusiast Magazine.
Episode 12 | Exceptional wines start at Sagemoor Vineyards
Kent Waliser & Lacey Lybeck
Director of Vineyard Operations | Viticulturist & Vineyard Manager
Sagemoor Vineyeards has been growing wine grapes for 40 years and governs five iconic vineyards; Bacchus, Dionysus, Sagemoor, Gamache and Weinbau. They’ve been providing fruit to some of the most respected super-star wineries in Washington, including Abeja, Avennia, Barnard Griffin, Delille Cellars, Dusted Valley, Efeste, Fidelitas, Forgeron, Gramercy, L’Ecole No. 41, Matthews, Saviah, Sparkman, Walla Walla Vintners, and Woodward Canon, to name just a few.
Go with us on a journey to the heart of Washington’s vine country to one of the most revered and iconic vineyards in our region. We interview Kent Waliser, Director of Vineyard Operations and Lacey Lybeck, Viticulturist and Vineyard Manager of Sagemoor Vineyards about the history, challenges, and future of their operation including a bold, long-awaited venture: Sagemoor Wines. Listen in on an epic vineyard tailgate wine tasting at Bacchus, in the Columbia Valley.
Vist Sagemoor Vineyards
Selections by Sagemoor
“Selections by Sagemoor is our way of sharing this land’s rich history and bounty with you. Each offering tells a story, each wine a stellar example of the best our vineyards produce. The story of wine is so much more than what you see, smell, and taste in the bottle.”
Start shopping at Selections by Sagemoor
The BIG 13—AVA’s of Washington State
Knowing your AVA’s is more than just a geography lesson, if you discover a wine that you love and you learn which AVA the grapes were grown in, you can seek out other wines from that region that may appeal to you as well. For example, Cabernet Sauvignon from a cooler AVA or from a slope where it does not get as much sun might result in fruit that has a lower sugar content, and thus lower in alcohol, whereas a Cab grown in a hot climate may produce huge, bold flavors with higher alcohol.
Many of Washington State’s more notable vineyards reside in the eastern part of the state, where warm days and cool nights help retain the balance of acid and sugar levels in the grape which gives Washington wines their characteristic balance in flavors, so looking at Columbia Valley again, the northern latitude of the valley receives two more hours of additional daylight during the summer growing season than wine regions of California.
Washington’s “Big thirteen”, currently recognized AVAs are: Ancient Lakes, Columbia Gorge, Columbia Valley, Horse Heaven Hills, Lake Chelan, Naches Heights, Puget Sound, Rattlesnake Hills, Red Mountain, Snipes Mountain, Wahluke Slope, Walla Walla, Yakima Valley.
But, there are more on the way …
Episode 21 | Richard Duval captures the heart of Northwest Wine Country
Richard Duval, Duval Images
In this episode of Decanted, we interview Richard Duval, who has become one of the most well-renowned photographers in the Washington wine scene. He recalls his adventures in some of the most awe-inspiring vineyards in our state, offers practical photography advice and lists his picks of the most scenic wine destinations.
Richard’s work is frequently found in Great Northwest Wine, Wine Press Northwest, Sean Sullivan’s Washington Wine Report, Wine Business Monthly, Good Fruit Grower, Wine Enthusiast, Wine Spectator and numerous blogs, wine sites and books. His images are used extensively in wine marketing guides for Walla Walla, Woodinville, Yakima Valley, Cascade Valley, the Columbia River Gorge and Red Mountain regions, the annual Washington Wine Guide, and he stages the “Art from the Vine” fine art exhibit in wine venues around Washington—well, you get the picture of Richard’s reach into Washington’s wine and art circles.
Learn more about Duval Images
Systematic Approach to Tasting Wine ®
We’ve mostly relied upon second-hand knowledge and gut instincts about how to react to the wines we’ve been served, which always kind of left us feeling like we were missing something. Over time, we’ve developed a palate by trial and error.
Learning the Systematic Approach helped us learn how to analyze the merits of a wine, regardless of what the winery, wine critics or other tasters think. This approach, we feel, will up your game and broaden your horizons through the understanding of BALANCE of certain criteria. Great wines have a good balance between acid and body, otherwise known as sweetness, which results in a superior wine. Too much acid and the wine becomes austere, too much sweetness or residual sugar and the wine becomes boring or “flabby.” In addition, a good structure with quality fruit and tannins (for reds) plays into creating a complex wine with different flavors activating your brain.
The Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) Level 2 Systematic Approach to Tasting Wine is broken down into four basic categories, each with characteristics to analyze:
Appearance
- Clarity: clear or hazy?
- Intensity: pale, medium or deep?
- Color: White—lemon, gold or amber? Rosé—pink, salmon or orange? Red—Purple, ruby, garnet or tawny?
Nose
- Condition: clean or unclean?
- Intensity: light, medium or pronounced?
- Aroma characteristics: e.g. fruits, floral, vegetal, spices, oak, earth, etc? Try and find 3 characteristics.
Palate
- Sweetness: dry, off-dry, medium or sweet? Tip: Tasting fruit doesn’t mean it’s sweet.
- Acidity: low, medium or high? Is your mouth watering?
- Tannin: low, medium or high? Is your mouth drying out?
- Body: light, medium or full? Is it silky?
- Flavor characteristics: e.g. fruits, floral, vegetal, spices, oak flavors, smoke, meaty, etc?
- Finish: short, medium or long? Tip:
Conclusions
- Quality: faulty, poor, acceptable, good, very good or outstanding?
We walk you through this system and their sub-categories along with two tastings.
Learn more about the Wine & Spirits Education Trust WSET Global
Real Wine Alliance
This episode is sponsored by Real Wine Alliance. With over 100 years of combined winery expertise, they supercharge wineries with distribution, direct to consumer, marketing, branding, web development, eCommerce, photography and awesome events!
Supercharge Your Winery
Images courtesy and copyright of Richard Duval Images.