Best Of The Best Wine Awards

Each year, prominent Northwest wine specialists, come together for a single-blind tasting (the grape variety is known but not the price or producer) and award Gold, Silver and Bronze Grand Awards of Excellence at the Seattle Wine Awards.

Founded in 2006, the Seattle Wine Awards is the largest and most comprehensive independent Washington wine recognition program and has enjoyed tremendous growth over the years – in 2006, there were 276 wines entered, in 2008 that grew to 613, and for 2009, 771 Washington wines competed in the two-day evaluation process.

After the winners have been decided, wine connoisseurs have an opportunity to taste the award-winning wines, talk with the winemakers, winery owners and panel members at the Grand Awards Tasting. This year, Matt decided to surprise me with tickets to this splendid event. The tasting was held on June 14th at the historic Rainier Club in downtown Seattle.

Beforehand, Matt and I met up with some friends of ours, who were also attending the tasting, and enjoyed a late lunch at Matt’s in the Market – located in Pike’s Market. From there, we piled into a cab and spent the next 3 hours mingling with fellow wine lovers and networking with professionals in the wine industry…oh, and we also tasted a glass or two (or three) of some pretty remarkable vino.

As the nation’s second largest wine producing region, Washington offers wine enthusiasts plenty to smile about. However, with so many different wines to choose from, the scene can also be somewhat overwhelming. The Seattle Wine Awards and Grand Awards Tasting are a great way for people to start or continue learning about Washington wine.



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Kiss A Fish Have Some Wine

Didn't have much time the past few day's to post, but I thought I'd put this up for now and I'll bee back in the AM to do more post on the Washington Wines. In the mean time Kiss A Fish And Have A glass of wine

Also see the site

Do you know that Washington State is located on the same latitude as the famous wine growing regions in France? While the western part of the state is a bit wet for grapes, the Columbia Valley area receives less than 5 inches of rain per year. This creates an ideal atmosphere for vineyards. Washington has seen a huge surge in local wineries and vineyards in the past 30 years. Some of our local wines.SilverLake Winery was established in 1987 and is located in the Roza Spice Bowl area of the Columbia Valley. They are based out of Zillah, Washington and have tasting rooms in Leavenworth, Zillah and Woodenville. A new and upcoming winery is Swakane Winery located a few miles north of Wenatchee on Hy 97A.

take a look at the blog here on knife history

I got this from the Wenatchee world blog had to pass it on here:

WENATCHEE — While most industries have had to tighten their belts to survive the current economic slowdown, there's been one that keeps wining and dining with seemingly little concern for terms like recession.
Washington's wine industry just keeps on growing, adding another 65 wineries in the past two years. As it turns out, what's good for winemakers is also good for local economies around them.
Wine grapes are intrinsically connected to a value-added product — wine — that creates tourism and tourist dollars, said Vicky Scharlau, president of the Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers.
"Everyone appreciates standing in a vineyard and drinking a glass of wine that was made from the grapes that grew around them," she said. "They can taste what we're about."
Not all wineries are making money, Scharlau concedes, but the economic slowdown hasn't affected the wine industry in the same way it has many others. When times are tough, people like their wine.
"Flat is the new up," she said, quoting the philosophy of the Washington Wine Commission.
Strong wine sales are not only good for wine producers, they're good for the local economy. People who stop in at wineries to taste and buy wine are usually tourists. And industry statistics show wine tourists spend 2.5 times more money on their visits than other tourists, Scharlau said.
Central Washington is capitalizing on something it has always had: great growing conditions. NCW wineries have something going for them besides great grapes, however. Marketers have a simple word for it: location.
Even before the wineries emerged, tourists were flocking to the Wenatchee and Chelan valleys for the region's abundant recreation opportunities and beauty.
"We have built-in traffic. Other areas have to work to get people to come there," said Scharlau, who lives in Monitor and has her office in Cashmere. Much of NCW is already on the tourist map, and the growing number of wineries only gives them more reason to come and spend money, she said.
The number of Washington wineries has increased 30 times in the past 30 years. The number has doubled — from 300 to more than 600 — in the past five years. Wine production has increased from 2 million gallons in 1981 to more than 20 million gallons last year. Wine grape acreage has grown from 11,000 acres in 1993 to 33,000 acres in 2008.
The boom that started in the southern part of the state has spread northward. In 1984, the first North Central Washington winery was licensed. Today, there are close to 60 wineries in NCW. The region is part of the Columbia Basin American Viticulture Area (AVA), which covers the entire central part of the state and part of Oregon. Most, but not all, NCW wineries produce wines from grapes grown in the central and southern parts of the state.
The Lake Chelan area, however, recently won federal certification as its own AVA. The prestigious certification — one of 11 in the state — means Lake Chelan vintners have proven that wines produced from grapes grown in their soil and climate are unique from those using grapes from other growing areas. The Lake Chelan area has 15 wineries and about 300 acres of grapes.
The Lake Chelan AVA is a marketing tool that will be good for the entire area, said Ray Sandidge, winemaker for Lake Chelan Winery, KarMa Winery and his own C.R. Sandidge Wines. Sandidge was instrumental in applying for the AVA when he was president of the Lake Chelan Wine Growers Association in 2006.
"A new AVA is international news. People who know wine throughout the world will take note. It's a worldwide phenomenon to market wines made from grapes grown in the area," he said.
Sandidge said the wineries have already expanded the Lake Chelan tourist season from summer to now include spring and fall.
"Our hotels and motels show there's been a significant increase in tourist traffic in the shoulder seasons," he said. "It will bring people to our area."

You can also see this winery

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What exactly is wine? Is it just a nose full of aromas, some of them from grapes, some of them from fermentation, and some from aging, whether it's in an oak barrel, or in a stainless steel tank, in a concrete container, or even in the bottle itself? Is it the flavors of flowers or spice or berries, or even smoke in some cases? Is it an alcoholic beverage to relax us and soothe our frazzled nerves at the end of a long, hard day at the salt mines? Or is it something more?
I love wine from all over the world. Washington Wines are the fracking bomb, and not just because I live in Washington, they really, really, really are worthy of the title "world-class wines" now. California wines are always enjoyable. German whites are refreshing and delicious, whether they're of the sweet or dry variety. Australian wines are muscular, in-your-face, and high in alcohol. Italian wines are all wonderful, whether they're from northern Italy, southern Italy, from the central region, or from one of the islands off the mainland. Spanish wines are yummy with Spanish foods, whether they're one of the lighter reds, or one of the dry or sweet Sherries from the country.
And then there are French wines. I enjoy wines from all of the regions of France. But I've always wondered why the French are so snobby about their wines. How can they charge so much for some of their wines from say, the Loire Valley, or the Bordeaux region? What makes them so fracking special I've often wondered. I get it now.
I've been reading a fascinating book called "Wine & War" by Don and Petie Kladstrup. The back of the book says it's the remarkable untold story of France's courageous, clever vintners who protected and rescued the country's most treasured commodity from German plunder during World War II. They weren't kidding.
This book describes how the Nazis and the German army pillaged one of the assets the French hold most dear: their wine. The Germans, under Hilter's orders, systemically stole the most expensive and precious wines from Champagne, the Loire, Burgundy, and Bordeaux. The Nazi bastards banned the French people from eating in their own best restaurants, booted them out of their own Chateaus, bombed their vineyards, burned their vineyards and villages. The rotten Nazis put thousands of French winemakers and vineyard owners in POW camps. They even forced them to move to Germany and join the German army to supress and imprison their own people. The craziest thing of all is Hitler didn't even like wine!! He thought wine tasted like vinegar and preferred beer. But that didn't stop him from ordering thousands of bottles of France's most precious wines to be taken and then squirreled away in his secret hiding place. The place, the cave, where all of this wonderful wine was taken and hidden away was called the Eagle's Nest on top of the Obersalzburg mountain. The Eagle's Nest was situated several thousand feet above what looked like a typical chalet called the Berghof. The chalet was anything but typical. It was huge and filled with famous art from all over the world. But the real jewels of this Alpine fortress was the wine. In the wine cave that was called the Eagle's Nest, there were a half a million bottles of the finest wines ever made such as Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, Chateau Mouton-Rothschild, Chateau Latour, Chateau d'Yquem, and Romanee-Conti, stacked in wooden cases or resting on racks that filled every inch of the cave. In one corner were rare ports and cognacs, many from the nineteenth century. The crowning glory of this incredible stash were the hundreds of cases of 1928 Salon champagne.
The French winemakers, vineyard owners, and everyone else knew that their future depended on preserving their vineyards, their wines that were already in bottle, and their winemaking knowledge. They risked and sacrificed their lives to keep their vineyards and their best vintages intact. They tricked the Germans by putting the best labels on wine that was really just plonk, while burying their best bottles of wine in their vineyards, and walling them up behind brick in their wine cellars in their Chateaus, and in the wine cellars of their restaurants. The French went through hell and back again to protect their most valuable asset from the enemy. Many French people died, some quickly by firing squad, others slowly and painfully from starvation and from the gas chambers. But they never quit trying to protect their vineyards, their wines, their history.
I hadn't read "Wine & War" yet when I purchased a very special bottle of wine, vintage 1999, from the Pomerol region from Bordeaux as a gift for my daughter and son-in-law as a wedding present a few months ago. My kids opened that bottle of wine one night while playing dominoes with some good friends and they shared that very, very special wedding present with their friends. I asked them how the wine tasted and they all agreed that it was very, very good. I'm happy they enjoyed it, and that they had good friends to enjoy it with.
It made me wonder though, if they'd shared a $10 bottle of wine from the local grocery store, would they have enjoyed the less expensive bottle of wine less than the expensive 1999 Bordeaux wine that they shared with their friends? Or does the joy of drinking wine come from sharing the bottle with someone you care about? I think I know the answer to that question.
The next time you open a bottle of wine, think about what the winemaker might have gone through to make that wine. Think about what past wars might have been fought on the very ground where those vines now grow. Think about how old the vines are and what fossils from eras past that are contributing to the terrior (the soil) of that glass of wine you're enjoying. Think about it and wonder. I do.

I got this from another blog and it really brought out the great quality and comparison of the washington wines. check her out

http://thewinemuseinseattle.blogspot.com/2009/06/wine-war.html?showComment=1245711878380#c2966614455707664572

also check out

http://www.swakanewinery.com/

and

http://aknifeisatoolalso.blogspot.com/

Fathers Day

To all have a great FATHERS DAY from all of us and Swakane Winery. Have glass of wine and enjoy.

Take a look at this great gift.

Upcoming Events

Chateau Champoux’s Lemberger/Lamburger Barbeque, Saturday, June 20 Head to Horse Heaven Hills for the seventh Annual Lemberger/Lamburger Barbeque and Wine Tasting from 11 a.m. to 4p.m. Sample the Lemberger wines produced from Champoux Vineyard grapes, enjoy a Lamburger barbeque, gift basket drawings and the energizing music of Bram Brata, the Tri-Cities Youth Caribbean Steel Band. Ticket cost is $50 per person or $90 per couple. The winery is located at 524 Alderdale Rd. in Alderdale, Wash.
Red, White and Blues Festival, Saturday July 4 – Sunday, July 5From 10am-6pm each day, sample red wine, white wine, and listen to live blues music at multiple wineries throughout the weekend to celebrate the “Big Birthday” in style. The main event at Silver Lake Winery of Roza Hills features wines and winemakers from all the local wineries, great American foods, and fireworks viewed from the top of the hill where you’ll see the displays of all four cities in the Valley. The event is located at various wineries off of I-82, but begins at 2890 Lee Rd. in Prosser, Wash. Locations included are Wapato, Zillah, Outlook, Granger, and Sunnyside.
Annual Art Walk & Wine Gala, Saturday, July 18This event brings together 30 Artists, 20 Wineries, and five local caterers as they showcase their specialties for a fun evening in the “Birthplace of Wine.” Artists from around the Northwest come to display their art, while the local wineries share their finest vintages on Sixth Street in downtown Prosser. From 6 to 10 p.m., this event offers signature cuisine and live jazz music. Local businesses stay open late as the street is turned into a garden-like setting. Ticket price is $10 per person and can be purchased by contacting the visitor information center at 509-786-3177. Guests under 21 years of age will not be admitted.
Fourth Annual Trail Drive, Wine Tasting, & Barbeque, Saturday, July 18The wineries of Horse Heaven Hills Wine Growers (HHHWG) invite guests to join in the celebration of the Horse Heaven hills American Viticultural Area (AVA) anniversary. This event funds the HHHWG Scholarship and special projects at Crow Butte Park. From 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., take a drive through the winery and taste the various wine selections at the local wineries and tasting rooms. Participating stops include: Columbia Crest, Canoe Ridge Estate, Alexandria Nicole Cellars, Heaven’s Cave, Canyon’s Edge Winery, Chateau Champoux and McKinley Springs. Enjoy a barbeque dinner, wine tasting, music and prizes in Alderdale Wash., 30 miles south of Prosser. The ticket price for this event is $40 for adults and includes a wine tasting, logo glass, and BBQ dinner. Ticket price will increase to $50 for adults after July 11.
Outdoor Dinner and a Movie at Two Mountain Winery, Saturday, August 1Enjoy the experience of an outdoor dinner and a movie at Two Mountain Winery. Dinner will be served at approximately 7:30pm followed by a relaxing evening as guests enjoy a movie while lounging on the grass outside the winery. The cost of dinner tickets is $25 per person and includes a glass of wine. The winery is located at 2151 Cheyne Rd. in Zillah.
Sunday Music Series at Silver Lake Winery, Sunday, August 2- Sunday, August 30Each Sunday during the month of August from 12 to 4 p.m., guests can enjoy live music concerts, lunch and bottle of wine. There is no charge for admission for the concert. Prices for wine bottles and lunch vary. The event will be held at the Silver Lake Winery in Zillah at 1500 Vintage Rd.
Prosser Wine & Food Fair, Saturday, August 8Join over 3,500 wine enthusiasts in Prosser, Wash. for the 27th annual sampling of fine Washington wine and local food specialties. Jazz and blues bands provide entertainment while guests taste the best from 34 Washington wineries and 20 local food vendors. The event runs from 3 to 9 p.m. at Washington State University’s Ag Research Center. Tickets are available for $20 presale and $25 the day of the event. Guests must be 21 years of age to attend.
Vineyard Crew: Verasion at Two Mountain Winery, Saturday, August 15Become a member of the Two Mountain Winery Vineyard Crew and learn what it takes to make wine in the vineyard. This session is one of four education sessions on the various stages of vineyard growth. Crew members of the verasion session will gain an expanded knowledge of the grapes’ changing color and how to manage vines for the best possible fruit. Each session concludes with wine tasting and tasty morsels after a hard day’s work. Vineyard crew members are also eligible for 15 percent off year round discounts. This event will be held at the Two Mountain Winery in Zillah, located at 2151 Cheyne Rd. Cost per person is $100 or $175 per couple.
Chateau Champoux’s Sunset Dinner, Saturday August 15The Sixth Annual Sunset Couple’s Night and Italian Delight dinner at Chateau Champoux Winery invites guests to enjoy the food, savor the wines, and linger over the special port & chocolate provided by the winery. Hors d’oeuvres will begin at 7 pm, with dinner following from 8 to 10 p.m. The cost per couple is $165 and tickets are limited. The Champoux Vineyard is located in Alderdale at 524 Alderdale Rd.
A Case of the Blues and All That Jazz, Saturday, August 15This festival features blues and jazz music, award-winning local wines and microbrews and a delicious array of foods and desserts. Benefiting the community through the Yakima Greenway Foundation and Junior League of Yakima, this event takes place from 3 to 11p.m. Tickets are $40 per person presale and $45 per person the day of the event. Guests must be 21 years of age to attend.
About Washington Wine CountryFounded in 2003, Washington Wine Country is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting wine-related tourism and economic vitality by fostering collaborative regional partnerships throughout the celebrated wine growing region of Eastern Washington, where 99 percent of Washington State’s wine grapes are grown. The region includes the Yakima Valley, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley, Red Mountain and the newer appellations of the Columbia Gorge, Horse Heaven Hills, Rattlesnake Hills, Wahluke Slope, and Snipes Mountain. For more information on Washington Wine Country, please visit http://www.winecountrywashington.org/.

Swakane winery tasting room open

click below for times a dates

http://www.swakanewinery.com/

Lets Remember Wenatchee Valley Wines

I read alot about Washington and South Central Washington wines, but what I don't see is much on the Wenatchee Valley wine producers. After living in the area for some time I have seen several wineries in the area and after trying some of them, I have found they are highly comparable to the rest of the State and the West Coast and at competative priceing. I know there are several wineries throught the Wenatchee area and all the way down to Yakima and Tri-Cities. I'll keep looking for more and get a list going for all to see. For now here's one that all should check into.

http://www.swakanewinery.com/

also check out:

http://aknifeisatoolalso.blospot.com

LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT SYRAH WINE

Over the weekend Paul Gregutt put a post on his blog (which if you are not reading you should be) about why Washington syrah doesn't sell particularly well. One of the reasons, which I agree with, is that there are not very many good Washington syrahs in the value category. There are many exceptional wines at $30 and over but not many for less than that as far as I have seen.Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to prove this hypothesis wrong. So...1. Tell me what you think are good Washington syrahs that are $15 and under. I will start the bidding with:
Charles Smith Boom Boom! Syrah 2007 $15
Wines of Substance Syrah $14 2007. Tell me what you think are good Washington syrahs that are $30 and under. Here I will spot you (the list is obviously bigger but so is the price point):
Amavi Syrah Walla Walla Valley 2006
Five Star Cellars Syrah Walla Walla Valley (any year) $30
Isenhower Cellars Wild Alfalfa Syrah 2007 Columbia Valley $24
Isenhower Cellars River Beauty Syrah 2006 $24
K Vintners Syrah Milbrandt Vineyard 2006
K Vintners Syrah Motor City Kitty 2006
Lantz Cellars Syrah Rattlesnake Hills 2007 $27
Lantz Cellars Syrah Yakima Valley $28
Owen Roe Ex Umbris (any year) $24
Rulo Syrah $20 (haven't checked out the most recent vintage but have never been disappointed)
Trust Cellars Syrah Walla Walla Valley 2007 $28
Walter Dacon Syrah Columbia Valley C'est Syrah Belle 2006 $303. Give data that Washington syrah does sell particularly well just to throw the whole thing out the window4. Give data that there are not quality syrahs at this price point outside of Washington either.
we need to look at wenatchee area for a good quality in also.
Take a look at what Swakane winery has to offer:
http://www.swakanewinery.com/

Taste Washington! SpokaneSunday, June 21st • 5 - 8:30pm
The Davenport Hotel

This is one of the best wine events of the year - don't miss it.Tickets now on sale through Brown Paper Tickets.You can also buy tickets at the following retailers:
http://www.arborcrest.com/http://www.atahcreek.com/http://www.vinowine.com/http://www.williamsseafoodmarketandwines.com/

More than 100 wineries will be on hand, pouring up to three of their wines.Try new releases of old favorites, or new varietals from some of Washington’s many brilliant new wineries.From small to large wineries, whites, reds, rosés and dessert wines, Taste Washington has it all.Taste Washington Spokane is part of the Washington Wine Commissions efforts to raise awareness of Washington wines regionally, nationally and internationally.
This is one of the premier wine and food events of the year right in our own backyard!If you’re new to wine, or an old hand at swirling and spitting, Taste Washington Spokane is the ideal event to learn what wines you’ll love to drink.Taste Washington Spokane isn’t just about sipping marvelous wines — approximately 25 regional restaurants will be on hand, to prepare their favorite bites. Wondering what restaurant to try next? Try them all! Hip, new restaurants and historic establishments alike will tempt you with delicious fare.
You will also enjoy a Silent Auction at Taste Washington featuring large-format bottles from several Washington wineries, gift baskets from local companies, trips and other one-of-a-kind Washington products. All of the items will be on display through out the event.
Click here for a listing of items available at the Silent Auction.The Silent Auction benefits Washington State University Viticulture and Enology Program and the College of Business’ new major: Wine Business Management, offered by the School of Hospitality Business Management.

Also see:
www.swakanewinery.com

check out the 2007,2008 riesling, 2007 rose' 2007 chardonnay and cabernet at:

swakane winery

http://www.swakanewinery.com/

Central Washington has some of the best wine production on the west coast. There are several winerys in Central and Eastern Washington, from the Wenatchee valley to Yakima and to the Spokane area. The price and quality is much better than the California Wines in my opinion. Take a look at this Winery

http://www.swakanewinery.com/

Also Take a look at:
http://aknifeisatoolalso.blogspot.com/

A MARKETING-SURVEY company has released some telling statistics about wine drinkers. According to the Pointer Media Network, 7.5 million wine drinkers purchase 80 percent of the wine sold in this country. That includes wines at all price points, but the cheapest wines are showing the growth, while expensive wines are losing customers.
Another industry bellwether — Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates — notes that sales of California wines priced at $14 and below are still increasing at a healthy clip, while wines priced above $14 are dropping. So $14 has somehow become the magic number for consumers.
I was chewing on these stats while snarfling through a lineup of pricey California merlots and cabernets the other day, and wondering who actually buys these wines. Why they don't opt for something twice as good at half the price from Washington?
I have frequently opined that California merlots, for example, are almost always watery plonk unless you pony up at least $40 a bottle. The Three Palms vineyard merlot from Sterling Vineyards, perhaps the most iconic California merlot of the past three decades, is a pretty nice bottle of vino. It retails for right around 50 bones. It's also worth noting that, unlike most Washington merlots, it is blended with considerable amounts of cabernet sauvignon and petit verdot, presumably to beef it up.
In Washington it is usually the merlot that is blended in to beef up the cab, rather than the other way around. Most quality California cabernets start their pricing where the merlots leave off. The number of so-so $60, $80 and even $100 bottles being produced is staggering. One fine exception is the Hess Allomi Vineyard cabernet sauvignon, an estate-grown Napa Valley wine, aged in one-third new American oak barrels, meaty and substantial, and widely available (Noble distributes). It retails for about $24.
Being perfectly honest here, those looking for comparable quality in wines priced under $15 are not going to find it. But the Hess wines — their Su'skol Vineyard chardonnay is another gem — offer the sort of quality in the mid-$20 price range that I find in a growing number of Washington boutiques.
News Source : Washington wines comparable at better-than-California prices

For the best wines in central Washington and Chelan County click on the link:

www.swakanewinery.com

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http://aknifeisatoolalso@blogspot.com