Wine in the Warehouse with Estelle Imports

I find the warehouse is a fitting scene for an industry tasting. Estelle Imports showed selections from Italy, Spain, France, and the North West.

Some of our favorite finds:

• Angel Vine Columbia Valley 08 "the Hellion" ($22): 72% Primitivo blended with Petite Syrah. An interesting combination, and an interesting wine! I get a dirty, tasty zing of smooth, synthetic blueberries and a light stone characteristic.
• Marco Porello 08 Nebbiolo d'Alba ($18): the most awesome juice box you ever had in elementary school.
• Rouge Queues 08 Santenay: comforting toasty cracker with nicely integrated tannic rubber.
• Bodegas Juan Manuel Burgos Rivera del Duero Roble 08 "Fescenino:" short takes on the long winded title-- Brent says "best deal of the day," Caitlin exclaims, "oh my god." Yes, this jammy, American-esque Spanish red is tasty and affordable.

A Taste of X

I had an incredible opportunity to taste through some serious knock-out wines from ExCellars distribution. The tasting was friendly and intimate, hosted at the fashionable MetroVino, which is known for a mind-boggling list of 80+ wines by the glass (a feat impossible without the use of the stylish Enomatic wine preservation system). Present wineries included Owen Roe, Sineann, El Corazon, Côte Bonneville, Fausse Piste, and Pomum.

On the table we found the latest releases by Owen Roe. With each vintage comes variant percentages in blended grape varieties, and I was eager to try the '09 Sinister Hand after adoring the 2008 creation. The soft and supple spice and well rounded candied pecans on the palate were less warm and decadent than the previous year, and while I enjoyed this wine, it was not as sexy as its preceding installment. I loved, however, the magical forest-like 2008 Yakima Valley Red, and especially the 2008 Cabernet Franc "Rosa Mystica." The wine was so smooth that it coated my tongue as if it were milk, reminding me of sipping a decadent Hot Toddy in the blizzarding mayhem of Winter. In pouring our tastes, the winery's own Darius Price beamed, "this Cab Franc stole my heart;" just as it did mine.

Winemaker Kerry Sheils poured a selection of her 94+pts creations from Côte Bonneville. Fabulous aromas and complex aromas, yet for $120 I'll pass on the 2004 DuBrul Vineyard Cab/Merlot.

The charming and animated Spencer Sievers appropriately entitled his lively wine El Corazon, meaning "heart." I didn't believe his Syrah could be bested until the Malbec was poured. The deep beet colored juice was so smooth and dreamy with the slightest dash of ink that, in a daze, I scribbled ♥ ♥ ♥.

Jesse Skiles, the creative mind behind Fausse Piste, had several kick-ass wines to share. One of my favorites was Skiles' 2008 Syrah Ce Lieu Apres (not yet released), an unreal blend which exhibited amusing barnyardy corn meal and Spray Millet complexities. The line-up also features Skiles' lovingly created treasures, "lOrtolan" Roussanne, a 2009 Viognier, and an '09 Syrah titled "Levier de Cuisine." Keep an eye on this talented winemaker!

And then there was Sineann, with adorably chic glass stoppers and an irresistible 2007 Yates-Conwill Pinot Noir (90pts Wine Enthusiast, $35), which combined elegant opalescence with cleanliness and a side bowl of animal crackers and vanilla wafers. If I could pair this wine with a film, I would leisurely enjoy it with The Fall (a gorgeous and heart warming action/fantasy by Tarsem, 2006.) Sineann's Sugar Hill had me thinking, "holy frosted cupcake, Batman!" and the 2009 Oak Ridge Pinot Noir tasted of wonderful warm and chewy, rubbery earth.

Ruling: the ExCellars tasting brought awesome small production, artisan wines on each front. Don't miss out on these wines, they are worth the hunt!

Chefs Dinner with Shawn & Corin

Last Monday I met with friends, coworkers, and canines for a fabulously leisured four course chef's dinner hosted by culinarians Shawn Clark and Corin Wilder. Each course brought mouthwatering savoriness with wines to pair.

To implore that life grant excellent food, wine, friends, and conversation is the greatest recipe for happiness. Salud to life!

°.°Bubbles & Port°.°

Aperitif met desert at Lucier for an industry tasting. Here, I meandered with fellow industry friends to giggle over bubblies and mellow out with Port.

We munched on an array of salumis, cheeses, and artisan breads while reviewing wines organized by distributor. Some of my favorite sparklers included:

• the complex and fruity Dom Ste Michel Luxe ($16). I adored its every aspect from the wonderfully integrated bubbles to its affordability and orangy, white chocolate covered strawberry essence.
• Piper Heidsieck Brut Cuvee ($40) excited my palate with bright lemony orange peel and nasturtium flavors.
• the eccentric Louis Perdrier Brut Rosé ($10!) held perfectly lateral off-dry, light bubbles across my tongue while integrating a bright under layer of citrusy raspberry.

Then we began our round of desert wines:

• yum! a light, white raisin, almost inky port: the Nicolas Feuillatte Millenium Cuvee Special ($50).
• the amazingly complicated, unassumingly lightly syruped Osborne 20year aged Port ($42) had a deceptively heavier and richer nose than the 10 year (savory salumi maple for $28), and earned it a ♥ ♥ in my note book.
• Flavor explosion! Another deuce heart extravaganza, this time orange liqueur flavored baby food from Royal Tokaji: Red Label (05/06, $29), and an awesomely effervescent white grapefruit-esque Mad Cuvee (2008, $15!).

Taittinger offered an intriguing rosé, Prestige ($66), which stood out from the rest with a quick crash of bubbles and overt notes of soapy pink flowers as if to beg, "bath time!" A yeasty contrast, the Chas Heidsieck Brut Reserve ($43), elicited images of 1950s school house life with taunting burnt hair and muddy wet dog.

A representative from Armand de Brignac offered a speech and a pour of "what the young kids like to call the Ace of Spades" champagne, whose bottles are hand dipped in metallic coating, and worth around $300. Though the high end bubbles were certainly delicious, smooth, and mushroom-like, the presentation was a little overdone, almost up-tight-turned-kitschy.

Bubbles best pair with food-- as it is able to cut through fat, cool spice on the palate, or brighten any heavy plate-- and special occasions; this event left me beaming with newfound bubbly appreciation. Port, I've found, is best served solo or alongside blue cheeses, walnuts and chocolates; after this tasting, I have a renewed, voracious appetite for such desert wines.

See you next time in the tasting room!

the Next Hip Artisan Wine

Enso Winery is a shiny new urban project masterminded by wine makers Chris Wishart and Ryan Sharp, both formerly instrument to Arcane Cellars. The exuberant duo source grapes from the west coast states, and we'll see their first commercial vintage hit the market next fall. I was ecstatic to attend their teaser taster bash, for which Chris and Ryan poured their recently bottled Resonate Red (a velvety blend of Malbec and Grenache) and a simply divine dry Riesling entitled Resonate White. These wines are phenomenal-- get amped for what's up next; we got a decanted preview of the adolescent Zinfandel, and it has genuine spunk. We will also see an array of reds, whites, and a rosé (hurray!) come fall 2011. Thank you Chris and Ryan!

Family in Town!

Portland is an influential axis of culinary enthusiasm, and Brent's equivalently ebullient Southern Californian family was in town last weekend to partake in our city's scrumptious creations. We gorged at food carts, savored a bite at Café Vélo, enjoyed libations at local establishments, and-- what better to do with the visiting vinophile family than taste in our nearby wine country!

We had a fabulous visit to one of our favorite wineries, Rex Hill, which wowed everyone with Pinots and dazzled with whites. We also stopped by Chehalem Winery for artsy-sleek labels, fresh dry Reisling, and friendly dogs! I highly recommend the steel barrel aged 2007 Ian's Reserve Chardonnay (91 pts Wine Spectator, $36) for a special occasion.

Further adventuring included a cellar opening at Thirst, classic wining and dining at Jake's (where we enjoyed a bottle of De Ponte 07 Dundee Hills Pinot Noir!), dancing at a Vanimal show, a rain storm, happy hour at Nel Centro, a cupping at Stumptown, and more!

Thursday Tasting with Josh

Once again, it's Thursday, which means wine tasting at Thirst! I sat down with my esteemed friend Josh to sample 3 wines by Erin Glenn.

Wine no.1 - A blend of Viognier, Gewerztraminer, and Riesling, the 2008 Isa ($unavailable) is nicely crisp and acidic. My palate loves the mild dirt and unwashed melon rind of this white wine. I got a twinge of bitter almond and watered down tropical flavors; imagine a rustic island vacation sans the mob of tourists and tacky leis.

Wine no.2 - The 2008 Tantrum Red ($19) is quite a different blend of Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Barbera. POW! I smell chemicals, I taste a frosted red velvet cupcake. "It feels like I'm cleaning the bathroom," Josh surmises. We get chewy rubber fruits from the Pinot, chocolate, spice, and all things nice from the Merlot, and a big guy punch from the Barbera.

Wine no.3 - A drink for dessert! The 2006 Gemini ($14), a late harvest Gewerztraminer, reminds one of a sweet Riesling with a dash of fennel and poppy seed before fading into butterscotch. Josh's inference was that this dessert wine is like "an alcohol soaked poppyseed cake; so by that standard its... lemony?!" We paired the wine with a hunk of Beechers white cheddar, which, as if using brown sugar as glue, patched all the wines disjointedness together.

Good show by Erin Glenn Winery-- nothing spectacular, but tasty all the same.

the Superlative Intoxicant: from... New Zealand!

It's time for a little double blind action! As I pour myself a glass, the light color and boisterously earthy nose suggest a Pinot Noir. The zingy fruity lightness confirm my suspicions, a Pinot indeed! As for its origin, consider me stumped... The sprightly earth on the nose reminds me of wines from both the Willamette Valley and Burgundy, yet the lusciousness of the fruit on the palate has me convinced its a Burgundy... Let's unveil.

Oops! Forgot about those zany Kiwis; an impressive show from

New Zealand-- it seems they're bringing a little competition to the Frogs, especially at this price!

Stoneleigh Marlborough Pinot Noir 2008

visuals: an opalescently dark eggplant.

sniffings: did you ever think manure could be so inviting?

palate: light, simple, supple-warm-buttery-raspberry creme.

ruling: thank you New Zealand for this, thine fabulously unpretentious, out-of-the-ordinary Pinot Noir. We went back for two more bottles for every day consumption.

spendings: $15 or less.