Drink Review: Westport Winery

Some friends of ours took a trip out to Westport, WA a few years ago, and it sounded so delightful, we decided to take a trip out there last weekend. Except that a few businesses are closed in the winter, and there was 24 foot swells that caused them to close the beaches. As a result, we spent a fair amount of time at the Westport Winery.

Westport Winery offers up ten white wines, nine red wines, two blushes, and fourteen fruit and grape blend wines or fruit wines.  Each wine has a local charity that some portion of their proceeds go to, including Grays Harbor Breast Cancer Alliance, the Driftwood Theater, West Coast Search Dogs of Washington, and many more. Each person gets to try five wines for $5, with one tasting fee waived upon purchase of a bottle of wine. Together, we tried ten wines, and later came back and tried another five wines. Here are my tasting notes:

• Skookumchuck – “A unique blend of Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Syrah sweetened with Muscat. Benefits the Chehalis Basin Fisheries Task Force.” My husband Burtle picked this one, and it ended up being our favorite. We like Cab wines, so it had that body with the sweetness of the Muscat. We ended up each buying a glass later with dessert in their restaurant. Burtle got a Frozen Peanut Butter Mud Pie, and the wine went wonderfully with the chocolate. I got a Frozen Cranberry Velvet Pie, which the wine did not fight and blended quite well with.
• Bella – “A voluptuous blend of Tempranillo, Primitivo, Refosco, Barbera, Merlot and Syrah, barrel-aged to perfection. Benefits the Mt. Rainier Chapter of the American Red Cross.” In my opinion, this was a very good dinner wine. It was very balanced with good tannin and body. However, with so many other dinner wines on the market, we thought that the $33.60 a bottle was a bit pricy.
• Smoky Nor’wester – “Intense berry collaborates with a slight cherry and apple-flavored ripeness in this unique, white Cabernet Franc. Benefits the Museum of the North Beach.” This was a nice Cab blush with some red bell pepper notes.
• Message in a Bottle – “Try this sweet exploration of blackberries with a hint of vanilla resulting in a fruit-filled treasure we call pie in a bottle. Benefits the West Coast Search Dogs of Washington.” This was a sweet wine with a little bit of vanilla.
• Rapture of the Deep – “A complete cranberry experience that is sweet, tart, sparkly, and perfect from a sunrise brunch to a midnight toast. Benefits the Driftwood Theater.” I would describe this wine as tart with a hit of raspberry even though there wasn’t any raspberry in it.
• Pineapple Express – “An adventurous blend of Gewürz and Riesling with a pineapple breeze that transports you to the islands. Benefits the Grays Harbor YMCA.” I have had two other commercial pineapple wines, and this one was the best. Pineapple is so difficult to work with due to pH, and there is also sugar issues. This wine did blend with white grapes, and the finished it not so sweet, so it is a better wine.
• Dawn Patrol – “A potent blend of Northwest raspberries and crisp, tart Riesling designed to make you swoon. Benefits General James G. Doolittle VFW Post 3057.” We noted that this was sweet, tasted like raspberries, but it seemed more pure and less syrup like, which is how some raspberry wines get.
• Peaches on the Beaches – “Luscious, decadent, and sensual, like a hot day at the beach, this wine will tantalize all your senses. Benefits Grays Harbor Breast Cancer Alliance.” Peach wine does not really want to be clear, but they managed to get theirs clear. However, we were unimpressed with the flavor and even called it a bit watery and week. We will be sticking to Shallon Winery for our peach wine.
• Going Coastal – “Our sparkling Gewürz is made in the traditional méthode Champenoise style offering you bubbly bliss in a bottle. Benefits the Ocean Shores Interpretive Center.” They claimed it was the #3 champagne in the state of Washington. It was very good, but nothing exceptional to my taste. The gal pouring added some Peaches on the Beaches to it, which was very nice as it added a little more flavor and sugar. Still, I’ve had other champagnes and even a few styles of sour beer in which you add a flavored syrup like raspberry to, so I figured if I really wanted to do this, I would probably just go buy a dry champagne somewhere else.
• Night Watch – “This wine is an exquisite blend of sweet black cherry interlaced with our delicious Cabernet Sauvignon. Benefits special needs in our community.” This was my second favorite wine of the tasting. It was fruity, but the Cab gave the cherries some tannin, so it had a really good body on it.
• Mermaid’s Merlot – “Begin with caramel on the nose and follow with spice and berries on the palate for a long, lush finish. Benefits the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life of Grays Harbor.”
• Ancient Mariner’s – “Try this delicate blend of pear and Riesling that smacks with honey and sunshine. Benefits Coastal Animal Rescue and Adoption (CARA).” Pear is a very difficult fruit to work with, and like wine doesn’t taste like grapes, it doesn’t taste like pears when it is done. In this case, I could only taste Riesling. I would have to try this one next to a pure Riesling to tell the difference.
• Duckleberry Grunt – “By combining blueberry and huckleberry with our wham-bang Gewürztraminer we created something worth hiding. Benefits Grays Harbor Ducks Unlimited.” This was my third favorite wine, which was nice and sweet, yet very balanced.
• Shelter from the Storm – “We craft this unique blend of blackberry, blueberry, and cranberry in a bold port-style with health and comfort in mind. Benefits the Grays Harbor Hospital Foundation.” This port wine was my fourth favorite wine.
• Red Sky at Night – “Raspberries blended with chocolate makes this wine not only amazingly decadent, but unique. Taste it last. Benefits the Westport Timberland Library.” This wine is made all from raspberries and no grapes. However, like so many other chocolate wines I have had, it comes across tasting like a toosie roll. Mind you, I like toosie roll, but I think this would be a big let down to people really wanting that chocolate flavor. Stick to Shallon Winery.

February 15, 2012 News Digest

There have been some interesting news pieces that have come out the last few weeks, including:

February 2, 2012: The Gray Report Blog – ‘Obama considers huge shakeup in alcohol law, eliminating TTB.’

The writer, W. Blake Gray, analyses what could happen if the TTB was dived up between the IRS and the FDA. Though the move is reported to be unlikely by Michael Kaiser of the TTB, such a move would require ingredient listing, calorie counts, and more accurate labeling of alcohol percentages. He expands on the process impact it would have on business, as the TTB denies things before hand, and the FDA fines afterwards, so security of a product hitting the market is in limbo.

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February 2, 2012: Seattle Times, “Looks like liquor prices to go up, over fees from Initiative 1183.”

There is some speculation that distribution of liquor will become more expensive since the State of Washington can no longer provide that function since I-1183 passed.

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February 2, 2012: Beernews.org, “Positive Contact: Dogfish Head, Deltron 3030 member collaborate on beer and cider hybrid.”

I don’t think this really needs an explanation, as it is Dogfish Head.

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February 5, 2012: Los Angeles Times, “Beer Brewers revise playbooks to win back lost customers.”

Some market news regarding beer and beer advertising right before the Superbowl. It does say that hard cider sales grew 20% this last year.

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February 6, 2012: Beernews.org, “MillerCoor’s Tenth and Blake acquires Crispin Cider Company.”

The article calls cider the fastest growing beer category, which MillerCoors wants a piece of by buying out Crispin. Crispin was reported to have grown 200% from 2008-2011, and is currently the number three cider producer in the US (which includes Fox Barrel Cider Company, purchased by Crispin in 2010). The article says that Crispin will run as an independent division of MillerCoors. Here is reaction from The Cidery regarding this news

Wine and Chocolate Wheel

There is a new wine cellar in Vancouver, WA called Koi Pond Cellars. They do sell koi fish, and they also have their own wine label (wine not made on site), and they also sell other regional wines. My husband Burtle and I went there a few weekends ago, when they were doing a wine and chocolate tasting.

Now this blog isn’t going to be about the wines, because, frankly, I didn’t take any notes. It is going to be about the chocolate and the pairings.

First, there were two white wines, one of which was Rusty Grape’s Riesling, which we like. Both wines were paired up with simple little tarts with cheese and mild fruit. They had some crackers and a spicy cream dip that actually went very well with the second wine.

When we got to the red wine, we were directed to go try it with four chocolates. Each time we had the wine, we had the same four chocolates. It was interesting how a chocolate could be our favorite one for eating, and how each time with a different wine, the favorite chocolate would change. And it was so simple! They had a mild dark chocolate, a stronger dark chocolate, chocolate with sea salt, and a mild chili chocolate.

In 2010 and 2011, we participated in the Clark County Wine & Chocolate Weekend held ever Valentine’s weekend. And every year, we keep saying that The Rusty Grape Vineyards does the best job. We have tried chocolate fondue, a box of chocolates, and even specific chocolate pairings. However, this system of setting out just four chocolates and trying them with the wine was probably more fun, simple, and still very very tasty.

I had also found a Wine and Chocolate Tasting Wheel. We did try it out, though we struggled a little with the aromas. As for the tastes, we got earthy notes on both dark chocolates. For the sea salt chocolate, it was throwing us into the nutty flavors, which Burtle thought that was due to nuts having salt on them. We did not apply the wheel to the pepper chocolate.

Further Reading:

• Chocolate and Wine Tasting Wheel
• Wine Aroma Wheel
• 2011 Wine and Chocolate Weekend
• 2010 Wine and Chocolate Weekend

Review: English Estates Winery

A few weeks ago, my husband Burtle and I took a drive on a very rainy Saturday and sent to English Estates Winery in Vancouver, WA. This was the last of the Clark County wineries that we had not gone to, and yet it was the first one in the area.

English Estates Winery is next door to a rock quarry named the English plant, so English is actually more a neighborhood name than referring to the United Kingdom. The winery does grow some of their own grapes, though the city is starting to encroach.

They have a barn in which they have worked on, expanded, and set up the formation and tasting room. The tasting room impressed Burtle so much that he called it the best tasting room he had ever been in. Color wise, it was done up in mustard colors, kind of Tuscan, but it had exposed wood beams, and an area with a fireplace and winged back chairs to give it an English feel. It was very cozy. Being an older building, the concrete floor did slope a little, but when the built the bar, they built the bar level despite the floor. It does give a little bit of an optical illusion.

English Estates Winery is very different when it comes to their wine, so it isn’t like 99% of other wineries in the area. When we went, they had three white wines, a Monte Carlo, Moscato, and a Friday Night Blush. The last two were sweet. They specialize in pinot noir and pinot noir blends, and they don’t put the pinot noir in oak barrels. It kind of left for a softer red wine, though maybe a little less flavorful than I’m used to (unsure if that is pinot or the lack of oak, since both are rare for me). They also have a large selection of eight fortified nectars, where they take a wine, add back in some brandy to stabilize the wine. This higher level of alcohol allows them to add back in sugar without fear of the yeast eating the sugar. They had flavors like Moscato, pinot noir, and raspberry. Some are sweet, and some are semi-sweet.

Last of all, English Estates Winery offers their wines in the traditional 750 mL bottle, or a 3 L bag in a box (BIBB). The bag option is becoming more popular, as you can pour yourself a glass without having air enter the package. This means that you can drink from it indefinitely without spoilage, unlike normal wine bottles.

Overall, I was impressed. While they aren’t really near the other wineries in the county, they offer something different and unique, and for those reasons I recommend visiting them.