CLANG-CLANG-CLANG WENT THE TROLLEY

I had seen the classic vehicle on the streets of Temecula for the past six months, usually in Old Town or parked at a winery on Rancho California or De Portola.  I thought it was a cute rental vehicle for private parties and put it on my “maybe someday” list.  That was until I met Amy Brewen, the vehicle’s owner and event planning mastermind behind Brewen’s Empire Trolley.

Amy is a woman on a mission to fill up the valley’s social calendar with exceptionally fun events and take the stress out of attending them.  Mr. WINEormous and I caught up with her this past week and hopped aboard for the premiere “underground night on the trolley.”  Passengers gathered at the first destination which on this tour was Read more »

After a jam-packed 1st day with the 11 other winners of the WBC or Bust contest, we left Seattle’s Renaissance Hotel and headed west towards Walla Walla. 8:00 came early, but being the troopers we were we sucked it up, hopped on the bus and prepared ourselves for the day’s first stop: Cave B Estate Winery. Cave B is located in Quincy, WA and overlooks the Columbia Gorge. About a dozen wineries were pouring for us including Cave B and Cedargreen Cellars. Owner/winemaker Kevin Cedargreen joined us on the bus ride from Seattle and told us about the vertical Chenin Blanc tasting he had planned for us. Other wineries on hand were St. Laurent, Syncline, Hard Row To How, Fielding Hills, Camaraderie, Arbor Crest, Col Solare and a few others. I was intrigued by Read more »

I’ve just returned from an amazing five day visit to Washington State, where not only did I attend the Wine Bloggers Conference in Walla Walla, but I was also one of 12 lucky winners of the WBC Or Bust contest with a plethora of pre and post conference activities. If you’re familiar with this site, you know I like to use photographs. Lots of them. At this moment I’m in the photo editing process and will probably be at it until at least tomorrow. I wanted to say the event was above and beyond all expectations. I hope the five days I spent there will help make this a more enjoyable and relevant place for you to visit. While I work on the photos, here are a few stories I thought you might enjoy from some of those who were a part of this great experience.

Lettie Teague from the Wall Street Journal gave one of the keynote speeches and brings a breath of fresh air to the party. Here’s her take on finding the right words to describe wine.

Joe Herrig publishes Suburban Wino and was part of a panel on Top Gun Blogging. He hails from Atlanta and we had a chance to visit on the bus ride back to Seattle from Walla Walla. He shares a few of his thoughts on the experience here.

Joe and Amy Power are from Houston and were two of the contest winners. Joe publishes Another Wine Blog and hopes Read more »

The anticipation is building. Minutes from now we will be tasting 12 red wines, with 5 minutes per wine to learn about, taste and write about each one. The tasting will begin in moments. I hope you’ll check back.

We’re beginning with a blind tasting. Beautiful deep color, interesting nose, I pick up some chocolate. This wine is smoky, big, chewy and finishes well. AOC travel guides, an iPad and iPhone app. We still don’t know what it is, but the app looks interesting. We’ll be told later what the wine is. Hmmmmmm. Aha! An Italian Lagrein, 2005 Nusserhof Sudtirol, priced around $20.

Dana and Manfred have poured us a 2nd wine, 2008 Sunce Mourvedre from the Russian River. Nice balance, bright.

Lisa from Jordan is pouring a 2006 Jordan Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. I’m a Cab fan and this one is hitting the right notes. A lingering finish, fruit forward, blended with Merlot, Petit Verdot and a splash of Malbec. You can probably find it for about $45. I would drink this wine again.

Here’s the first Washington Zinfandel I have seen. It’s Maryhill’s ’07 Columbia Valley Zin. Production is 3600 cases and this is priced at $14.95. Not a big nose, but it’s lovely on the tongue and I think an excellent value. Alcohol is 14.3, relatively low for a Zin.

Co Dinn is here from Hogue Cellars with their ’07 Genesis Meritage. It’s a blend of 49% Merlot, 44% Cab Sauv with a touch of Malbec and Cab Franc. The mouth feel is exceptional and at $16 I would jump all over this. A real winner!

Buty (pronounced “beauty”) Wines from Walla Walla is pouring the ’06 Rediviva Phinny Hill Vineyard blend. It’s 55% Cabernet Sauvignon with the balance Syrah. Case production is 3000. Great fruit on the nose and palate, with the Syrah really showing itself. $48.

Chad is here with Boomtown Cab with a little Syrah and Can Franc. This is Dusted Valley’s entry level wine priced at about $15. Not a lot of nose, but it sure tastes good and for the price you’d be hard priced to find a better value. I love fruit forward wines and this one works for me.

Katy has arrived from Gordon Brothers and is presenting their ’07 Merlot from Washington’s Columbia Valley. They’re the oldest estate fruit winery in Washington State. This state is producing some outstanding Merlots and I would rank this one as very good, especially at $20. They also grow cherries on their property. A family owned operation.

Nicholas Cole Cellars was founded in 2001 and is named for owner/winemaker Michael Neuffer’s children. The 2005 Camille is a Bordeaux blend with Merlot the primary grape. It’s a unique tasting blend, perhaps not my favorite, but I my be experiencing a bit of palate burn out. $35. This is a Walla Walla wine.

James Leigh Cellars’ Lynne Chamberlain has stopped by and is pouring her ’04 Cabernet Sauvignon. Another Walla Walla wine, Lynne is owner/viticulturist/winemaker. At $18.99, it’s a tasty wine. I want to visit her winery.

It’s time to visit Italy now and the ’07 Banfi “Balnero” Sangiovese blend. $35 +, alcohol content at between 13 and 14%. I like the nose, but this wine may be better suited for food. Not wild about it by itself.

New and exciting is what we’re promised for the final wine. Monthaven’s 2007 California Central Coast Cab comes in an octagonal silver 3 liter box and is priced at $24. The fruit comes from Paso Robles and Monterey. It’s not especially complex, but the price is right at about $6 per 750 liters.

Whew! We’re done. This is hard work!!!

Although I live in the Temecula Valley, I was still excited to see it as a visitor. The group of writers from IFWTWA came from across the country to take in many of the magnificent opportunities afforded by this magnificent area. Monday morning I woke up at the Temecula Creek Inn, got out of bed and looked out the window to the golf course. The rooms at TCI are spacious and comfortable and renovations have already begun to provide a more rustic look and feel as well as Read more »

We headed home from a visit to the Sierra Foothills with one stop remaining. Paso Robles. My wife Laura and I made our first stop in Paso in the Spring of 2008. I’ve lost count, but I believe we have been back ten or eleven times since then. We pulled into town on the afternoon of May 5th and checked into our motel. I paid a quick visit to Windward Vineyard, chatted with owner/winemaker Marc Goldberg and did a bit of tasting.

Windward only offers one varietal: Pinot Noir. Different vintages from Read more »

I’ve lived in the Temecula Valley for nearly eight years now. I wasn’t aware of how much I hadn’t seen until last week’s visit by a group of writers from the International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association. I was introduced to this outstanding organization at a luncheon at Thornton Winery last year. I joined shortly after the luncheon and took my first trip with them this past January, a cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. When I heard they were planning Read more »