Notes from a blind Cascadia (WA, OR,BC) tasting

Osake Granville Island Junmai Nama Genshu - brought as a curiosity and
an example of local artisanal sake production. Now I do enjoy sake on
occasion, but this had a rotting pear and acetone nose, and was hot
and sour in the mouth. Think I'll leave this for those who like it
(assuming that any such exist).

2003 Nk'mp Qwam Qwmt Chardonnay - run by local Indians, who seem to
share the annoying (to me, anyway) habit of insisting on
unpronounceable Indian spelling. Particularly annoying as in the case
of the local band, the Squamish. In a fir of native pride they erected
a new sign to herald your entry to their lands (my office is situated
there, so I get to see such things - repeatedly). The sign had a name
starting with an S and running for about 25 symbols that looked
totally irreproducible by the human throat/tongue. I asked a native
client how they pronounced it, and he said "Oh, same as always -
'Squamish'. The point was rather lost on me then and it still is in
regard to this wine. In terms of marketing, I could see a New World
wine having, say, a French sounding name as an attempt to sell more
product, since selling product is the whole driving force behind a
commercial enterprise. I guess no one has explained to the local bands
that using an unpronounceable (looking, anyway) name might be counter
productive, or else they are more interested in waving their 'Indian-
ness' about than they are in selling wine and making money?

In any case, the wine itself was showing a nondescript fruit nose, and
it was decently balanced with medium length. Forgettable.

2000 Sumac Ridge Black Sage Meritage - a 50% cab sauv, 25% merlot, 25%
cab franc blend. Medium colour, showing a little age, with a slightly
green nose (likely the franc), smooth, ready, a tad lean and little
tannin.

1990 Blackwood Canyon Red Hills Cabernet Sauvignon - this winery is
(was? I'd heard he was shut down but couldn't confirm it) run by Mike
Moore, a highly idiosyncratic chap who made wine kept in barrels for
years - oxidised chards and other curiosities that he charged a whack
of dough for. When I visited him many years ago when down in WA in an
old car event (I thankfully positioned my car in the lead on the long
dirt road to his winery) he was dancing about the barrel room with a
pipette pulling samples from hither and yon as well as handing us bits
of unpasteurised local cheese, some of it scary. My friend always said
that he had been poisoned there and endured a week of stomach ills as
a result.

This wine was picked up on that tour at a cost of $50 back in the
early 90s, a hefty price for a Washington wine at the time. It had a
hot cherry and raspberry nose, and was quite light in colour, almost
like a pinot. Hot and lean in the mouth until a blast of sweetness at
the end together with considerable terminal acidity woke the whole
thing up. Very - unusual - wine.

1995 Ch. St. Michelle Merlot Columbia Valley - nice to have a mature
merlot - cocoa and vanilla nose, good mouth feel, could almost pass as
a Bordeaux petit chateau offering.

1998 Wineglass Cellars Elerding Cab Sauv - small WA producer that
seems to always do a good job. Sweet and very smooth, with some white
pepper and mint, and a tad of heat (14.5%). Sweet at end.

2000 Black Hills Nota Bene - dill in the nose, warm and soft on
palate, the tannins resolved and ready to drink. As I taste this BC
wine in various vintages, I am coming to the conclusion that the peak
drinking plateau seems to be age 5-8 years.

2000 Pepper Bridge Walla Walla Cabernet - Bordeaux nose, nice flavour
concentration, smooth, elegant and ready, if with slightly short
finish.

1996 Leonetti Cabernet - slightly ripe nose, with excellent plumy
fruit, slight heat on palate with some spice and less fruit than you'd
have been lead to believe from the nose.

2002 Burrowing Owl Meritage - CF 45%, CS 25%, M 25% - leaner style
than the Leonetti, dark wine with good concentration, and a long sweet
finish, if a little on the simple side. Slight terminal bitter note
was nice.

2002 Burrowing Owl Cab Franc - bell pepper and coffee nose, sweet
entry, smooth and ready with a slightly high terminal acidity that
makes it better with food than without.

1988 Ch. d'Arche Sauternes - obviously the ending wine wasn't in
theme. Good colour and a very good Botrytis nose and a good balance
with enough offsetting acidity to make it all work. I can't recall a
better d'Arche!

I share your frustration with the local aboriginal names and short-lived
local wines.You didn't mention the over-the-top local pricing.
I'm still trying to find good reasons to support the local industry when
such good wines are available at half the price from Chile, Argentina, South
Africa, Australia...

--
Commander Bob
Whistler, BC

On Jun 30, 9:28 am, "Michael Barrett" > wrote:
> I share your frustration with the local aboriginal names and short-lived
> local wines.You didn't mention the over-the-top local pricing.
> I'm still trying to find good reasons to support the local industry when
> such good wines are available at half the price from Chile, Argentina, South
> Africa, Australia...


Some of the better wineries are really pushing the envelope on pricing
- to the extent I no longer buy them. $50 Can. for a cab based wine,
even if you put 'Reserve' on the label is just too much when you look
at alternatives such asyou cited.

On 2007-06-30 09:28:35 -0700, "Michael Barrett" > said:

> I share your frustration with the local aboriginal names and short-lived
> local wines.You didn't mention the over-the-top local pricing.
> I'm still trying to find good reasons to support the local industry when
> such good wines are available at half the price from Chile, Argentina, South
> Africa, Australia...

I just came back from a trip through the Okanagan Valley (to the Arctic
Circle and beyond....) and found some delightful Pinot Blancs and some
solid reds as well, but I, too was put off by the prices. I was
informed that they sell all that they can produce, so more power to
them, I guess. Just not for me. I found them for the most part to be
great people - Burrowing Owl, Wild Goose, Cedar Creek, Quail's Gate,
but Mission Hill I found the wines to be emminently mediocre and the
sales people to be cold (there were seven people behind the bar, all
with their backs to the customers, discussing what must have been very,
very important. The view was beautiful, but the grounds somewhat
pretentious - Someone was trying to make a small fortune from a large
one, or I am, once again, in the wrong business.