Today was a pretty big travel day broken up by some wine events, as opposed to our previous days that felt the other way around. Although, we did get a fair amount of down time at the luxurious Suncadia Mountain Lodge. That was a pleasant surprise.
The day began with a bus ride out to the DuBrul vineyard. Owned and farmed by Hugh Sheils and his family, they escorted us on a foot tour through the vineyard where we sampled all the varietals they make off the vine. They produce Cote Bonneville themselves, but also sell a lot of the fruit off to other wineries like Owen Roe. With 48 acres under vine, you kind of have to let a little go. This was my first time tasting Riesling off the vine and I have to say, I’d love to have these frozen in my freezer for a hot day.
At the end of the tour, we stopped and tasted through the wines off the back of Hugh’s SUV. These included the 2008 Chardonnay, 2007 Carriage House Blend and the 2003 Cote Bonneville which was pretty amazing. In addition, they poured us a little Late Harvest Riesling that they make for themselves and their wine dinners. This was the star of the show. Even though it’s 16% sugar, it felt completely dry because of all the acid Washington produces. I’d put a few of these away if you ever happen to see them by some chance.
A lengthy bus ride later, we arrived at the Red Willow Vineyard in Yakima. Absolutely stunning property! A strenuous uphill hike through Owen Roe’s Syrah vines brings you to a small chapel they built to resemble La Chapelle in France. And from up there, an amazing view of Mt Adams and the rest of the property. The smell of the Concord grapes being grown down below wafted up the hill and smelled like a jam truck exploded.
We had a sit-down Syrah seminar with some producers, highlighting how Syrah is affected by including stems in fermentation, how the weather can change its flavors, as well as the winemakers influence. The real standout at this tasting was the JM Cellars ‘Boushey Vineyard ‘ Syrah 2007. It had everything going on: mocha, vanilla, pepper, smoked meat, blueberry, soy, beef jerky. It’s beginning to become apparent that there truly are Grand Cru vineyards in Washington.
We enjoyed tacos, burritos and beer on the lawn of the property from the Taco Truck they brought in. We relaxed for a bit and then hit the road for another lengthy bus ride to the Suncadia Mountain Lodge where we had a full three hours of scheduled down time to relax in whatever way we wanted. I took a stroll around the property and wound up at the far end of the driving range where I came upon six deer. Two families, in fact, with the parents and their babies. I had to sit down and soak in the wildlife for awhile. This is a gorgeous property and well worth the visit – I will definitely be going back someday!
At the other end of the property, we attended a small tasting on the patio of their adjacent and sister restaurant. Then, we were escorted down to dinner in the barrel room. We enjoyed the wines from Stillwater (the winery where we dined) among others. Our table of Master Sommeliers, et al re-joined forces and wreaked havoc on our tour group yet again. I started calling us “The Ocho” (an affectionate name I have for the “party table” in any room). We sucked down as much Riesling as we could throughout the course of the Italian-themed meal and had a blast!
Shortly after dinner, we discovered a life-size stuffed sheep… It’s not everyday one gets to molest a farm animal with a couple of Master Sommeliers.
We returned to the hotel for “Beer Hall”. I was quickly coerced into playing piano and was joined by Andy McNamara who sang a grumbled rendition of “Black”. That turned into Lady Gaga and so on. A few of us tackled the hot tub for about thirty minutes to relax and then off to bed with enough time to recharge for the final day.
No comments:
Post a Comment