I might be temporarily abstaining from wine on school nights (due to lent) but that doesn’t mean that I can’t continue to talk about the wines that I have already tasted.    This wine, like the Passion Has Red Lips, also falls into the Tip O’Neil Corollary territory and I was lucky enough to get to taste it when the rep came into the store.

The Chono wines are  associated with a wine I discussed a while ago… say, in the Fall of 2008, the Palin Syrah, which are both distributed by GeoWines.  I always like Chilean Carménère because it reminds me of my wine history. Carménère is the lost grape of Bordeaux where it was used to enhance the flavors of the other noble grapes of the region, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petite Verdot and Merlot.  After Phylloxera destroyed most of the vineyards in the region, it was believed that Carménère was all but wiped out.  In 1994, an oenologist discovered that a variety of Merlot in Chile that tended to ripen faster was in fact the long, lost grape.  They were interplanted with Merlot which they resemble and accounted for a  large percentage of the grapes produced.  It turns out that Chilean winemaking owed more to France than Spain as one might have expected.

I have also learned that there were so many Carménère grapes produced that they were often used in the production of Pisco and Aguardiente.

The Carménère is produced in the Maipo River Valley of Chile which is in the heart of the most productive vineyards in the country and relatively close to Santiago. The grapes are picked in the second week of May are macerated in stainless steel and then partially aged in oak.  My first sip gave me a smokey taste of dark fruit. The second sip after a few minutes allowed the wine to open up and become smoother and fuller with more of an emphasis on black cherries and less on the smoke.  Clearly, a wine to let breathe a moment or two.

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At the time of this writing, the Red Mountain AVA is, indeed, the smallest appellation in the State of Washington, although if the trend of designating smaller and smaller sub-regions continues we will eventually have every block of vineyard considered unique.  The appellation is located in both the Yakima and Columbia Valley AVAs in Benton County, Washington between the towns of Benton City and Richland.  This area has 4,040 acres, 600 of which are under cultivation.

Appropriately enough given the name of the appellation, the area is known primarily for its high quality red varietals including Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sangiovese and Syrah.  It is believed the quality comes from the Southwest facing slopes which are warmer than typical for the Columbia Valley and cool evenings which preserve the acid levels within the grapes.  Additionally the gravelly soil with high levels of calcium carbonate and acidic soils help to balance the flavors and concentrate the berry flavors of the grapes.  Is this how the mountain got its name?  No.  It is named for the wine red color that the native cheatgrass turns in the spring.

Wine began to be produced on the Mountain in the 1970s with John Williams of Kiona Vineyards and Jim Holmes (now) of Ciel du Chaval.  There are now 13 wineries including:

• Blackwoood Canyon
• Buckmaster Cellars
• Canon del Sol Winery
• Col Solare Winery
• Corvus Cellars
• Goedhardt Family Winery
• Hedges Cellars
• Hightower Cellars
• Kiona Vineyards and Winery
• Oakwood Cellars and WInery
• Seth Ryan Winery
• Tapteil Vineyard
• Terra Blanca Winery

The total acreage in the AVA under cultivation is 14.85% of the total… imagine the wines that could be produced from 15% or 20%!

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I don’t think it is news to anyone that I love wine. Ok. Stop laughing already. I SAID it wouldn’t be news. And as much as I love local wine, I love trying wine from all over the world. Is this inconsistent with my locapour ways? Not at all… I refer to it as the Tip O’Neil Corollary, when speaking of politics, Speaker O’Neil once famously pointed out that “All politics are local”. And I believe that the same holds true with wine. It is local to somebody.

when I got a chance to try some wine from the “local” vineyards of the Clare Valley of Australia, I naturally jumped at the chance.

The wine is produced by Some Young Punks. Already, you know that I was enjoying this. Their name alone, indicates to me that while they love their wine, they don’t take themselves too seriously. The wine was the 2007 Passion Has Red Lips which was a Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz blend. I thought it was earthy, almost leathery. 1500 cases were produced. The artwork was taken from an old pulp fiction novel, Sin On Wheels.

I am hoping to find more of it soon.

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I’m back! After several weeks of very long days focused on a big project at work, I’m finally back on the wine trail – and just in time for Open That Bottle Night 2010.

For those who may be unfamiliar with the latest “holiday” – Open That Bottle Night is an annual even that was started by Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher of the Wall Street Journal in 2000 as a means of encouraging people to open those bottles they’d been saving in their cellars or wine racks for “that special occasion.” It’s held on the last Saturday of February every year, and this year marks it’s 11th anniversary.

The premise of Open That Bottle Night is simple – it’s the wine, not the occasion – if you keep waiting for that special occasion, it may never come. Or as Maya tells Miles in the movie Sideways when he mentions he has a bottle of Cheval Blanc he is saving for a “special occasion,” “any time you open a bottle of Cheval Blanc is a special occasion.”

The wine need not be expensive or rare. The night’s more about giving yourself permission to uncork that bottle that’s been calling to you.

In my house it will be a bottle of Kelham Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc. Gretchen, Kevin and I discovered this when on a trip to Napa to celebrate our friend Richard’s 40th birthday. Both Gretchen and I fell in love with the wine, and occasionally I order a case. I discovered a lone bottle down in the cellar the other day – a very pleasant surprise – and decided Open That Bottle Night was the perfect time to uncork this last bottle.

What will you be drinking?

Open That Bottle Night 2010 is Saturday, February 27th

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The answer is neither. Snipes Mountain is named after an early pioneer to Yakima, Ben Snipes, who built a house at the base of the mountain and established a cattle ranch in the 1850s. The viticultural area is a subset of both the Columbia Valley and Yakima Valley AVAs and is unique due to the existence of rocky aridisols which contain gravel deposits that range in size from that of a fist to melons. The appellation is in the rain shadow of the Cascade Mountains which deprives the region of precipitation and yet lies in the ancient river bed of the Columbia River. The AVA includes Snipes Mountain as well as nearby Harrison Hill and can be located between the towns of Sunnyside and Granger, Washington.

Vineyards were initially planted on the mountain beginning in 1914. Only one winery is currently in operation in the AVA, but other vineyards exist supplies grapes to other wineries. The appellation is one of the smallest in the state with only 4,145 acres in total area of which only 535 are in production.

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Kevin and I continued our exploration of local wines with the winery that sits on our 100 mile mark and at the very edge we discovered the Cedar Creek Winery.

In all fairness, we had a heads up on Cedar Creek.  Kevin had discovered the wine while at Mars Cheese Castle.  But the actual winery was new to us.  The funny thing is that we love a winery’s story and we had no idea of that from his trip to the ‘Castle’.  The trip to the winery… or at least the tasting room provided the rest.

The winery in Cedarburg, Wisconsin is one of a pair.  Cedar Creek’s sister winery is in Prairie du Sac and is within the Lake Wisconsin AVA (and now the Upper Mississippi River Valley AVA) which I will undoubtably illustrate for you later.  Because, when push comes to shove?  I am a map geek, and geography major, thus meaning that I know how to make maps.

Cedarburg, Wisconsin is one of those quaint little towns that is full of artists, antique shops, cute little restaurants and “general stores” .   Often they have no connection to the reasons that we consider them unique.  But in the case of Cedarburg, the town was home to largest wool mill outside of Philadephia in the 1800s.  In the 1890s the town began to produce electricity through a contract with the Cedarburg Light and Electric Commission.  The company still exists.  Now the town still contains its “quaint” antecedents while still moving into the 20th century.

This includes the winery.

The winery is owned by the same family that owns Wollersheim Winery in the Upper Mississippi Valley AVA and share a wine maker, Phillipe Coquard who has been with family since 1984 and is now part of the family having married owners Robert and JoAnn Wollersheim’s daughter Julie.  Because of the cold temperatures in Wisconsin, the vitis vinifera grapes used to produce Cedarburg’s Chardonnay,C abernet Sauvignon, Riesling, Pinot Grigio and Syrah are contract grown in California, Washington and New York.  The vineyard in Prarie du Sac grows hybrid grape varietals, St. Pepin and Lacrosse, which are used in some of their wines.

The winery produces 16 different wines, including a non-alcoholic champagne, an oaked and non-oaked Chardonnay (which is a nice contrast of flavors), a number of fruit blends and holiday spiced wines.  Additionally Beaujolais made by the winemaker’s Uncle Pierre is also available.  (The Wollersheim winery carries the wine produced by Uncle Jean’s Beaujolais as well as  Phillipe’s brother’s Lombardian Bonarda.

Cedar Creek Winery
N70 W6340 Bridge Rd.
Cedarburg, WI 53012
(262) 377-8020
1-800-827-8020
info@cedarcreekwinery.com

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Designated as an AVA in 2005, Horse Heaven Hills has been producing wine grapes since 1972 when Mercer Ranch owner, Don Mercer planted a seven acre block of Cabernet Sauvignon with the hope of growing grapes that would rival those of Chateau Lafite in Bordeaux. That vineyard, now owned by the Champoux Family in partnership with the Andrew Will, Powers Winery and Woodward Canyon produces high quality Cabernets. Twenty vineyards are located within the AVA, including Washington’s largest which belongs to Columbia Crest. The majority of the vineyards are producing for grapes for wineries in other appellations. Seven wineries call Horse Heaven Hills home.

Wines produced on the south facing slopes of the hills have reduced rot and fungal diseases due to the strong winds blowing up from the Columbia Gorge. Additionally the winds keep the area dry, stressing the vines and producing higher quality fruit. Other varietals produced in the area include: Barbera, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chenin Blanc, Grenache, Malbec, Merlot, Mourvedre, Petit Verdot, Riesling, Roussane, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah, Viognier and Zinfandel.

The appellation and the mountains got their name from James Gordon Kinney an early settler of the area who, remarking about the knee high grasses that fed the feral horses in the area, “This is surely a horse heaven!” In fact, the fossil record of the area shows that early horses were in the hills as early as 12,000 years ago (the feral horses seen by Kinney were actually re-introduced into North America by the Spanish Conquistadors). Either way, I keep thinking of that Poco album, Legend that had the cover art designed by the late, great Phil Hartman. And yes, that means I am old enough to remember record albums.

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Wine has been produced near Lake Chelan since 1891 by Italian immigrants and that 154 acres were planted as of 1949 only 260 acres are currently under cultivation. There are fifteen wineries in the AVA (with one on the way). Grape varietals grown in the region include Syrah, Merlot, Malbec, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewürtztraminer, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

The area is unique in the Columbia Valley due to the micro-climate created by the lake which increases the amount of time that fruit stays on the vine. This allows the additional development of complexity building phenols while keeping the sugars and acids in balance. Additionally glaciers on ice-age Lake Chelan left the appellation with a coarse, sandy soil that is full of quartz and mica.

The Lake Chelan AVA is yet another subset of the Columbia Valley and was designated in April of 2009. . The AVA application for Lake Chelan was delayed for several years as Alcohol and Tabacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) froze all petitions due to a controversy related to the Calistoga designation. It was determined that any winery that included the name of the AVA or substantially similar to it must source 85% of its grapes from within the region. This required five wineries in the AVA with “Chelan” in their names to comply with the regulation.

Nothing is ever simple…

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For my next installment of Lists for Locapours I am going to tell you about a Chicago restaurant that includes local wines on their list. Naturally, you would assume that this restaurant is of a lower quality.

You would be wrong.

Charlie Trotter’s even has a page on his website dedicated to American wines, stating:

“….By 2001, there were licensed wineries in all 50 states. All these producers have great pride in what they’re cultivating. Thus far, the results are good, with incredible potential in the years to come…..we invite you to enjoy our ongoing search for the quintessential wine produced in each of the 50 states, either from European and native North American grape varieties, or from other fruits. They may be red or white, dry or sweet. This chapter, like winemaking in North America , is a work in progress, and evolution. The search will continue as we cross borders and venture into Canada and Mexico .”

Some of the wines that are included on this list are:

1994 Lynfred Cabernet Sauvignon, from Roselle, Illinois… We have been there!
Hopkins Vineyard Cabernet Franc, Western Connecticut Highlands (VinoVerve has been there!)
Cedar Creek “Semidry” Vidal, Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin (VV has been there but I forgot to post it… ugh! But I will soon)
2003 Sakonnet Vidal Blanc, Southeastern New England (from Rhode Island, and yes… we’ve been there!)

So, remember, the next time someone tells you that there are no decent local wines, and they certainly don’t pair in a fine dining environment remind them that Charlie Trotter disagrees.

Viva the Locapour, Charlie!

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Located completely within the Columbia Valley AVA and within Benton and Yakima Counties, Rattlesnake Hills is a 16 mile long stretch of territory of basalt mountains. The AVA was created in 2006 but has been under cultivation since 1968 when the Morrison Vineyard was planted with Cabernet Sauvignon and Riesling for Chateau St. Michelle. Currently there are nearly 30 vineyards in the area some of which can be found here

Grape varietals grown in the hills include Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Gewürtztraminer, Malbec, Merlot, Muscat Canelli, Petite Sirah, Riesling, Semillion and Viognier.

The AVA is centered around Zillah, Washington. I am hoping given that I will be in Walla Walla which is relatively close by, that I will get to experience the hills for myself. I was especially relieved to learn that the name “rattlesnake” comes from the shape of the hills… and not for any reptilian invaders in the area. I am like Indiana Jones that way. I hate snakes.

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