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Elin McCoy recommends the Wallula Vineyard Riesling

Nicolas — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:13:23 +0000

Thank you to Elin McCoy of Bloomberg news that has just recommended our Pacific Rim Riesling Wallula Vineyard as one of her top dry style Riesling. Here is the full story: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601093&sid=aJoQYMG0.g18&refer=home.

Wallula Riesling 2007

Nicolas — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:40:42 +0000

Duane at WineFoot.com has reviewed our 2007 Wallula. Thank you Duane, you are one of the first one in the country to review the wine.

http://www.winefoot.com/index.php/2008/08/08/2007-pacific-rim-wallula-vineyard-riesling/

2007 Gewurtztraminer

Nicolas — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:35:57 +0000

We are now releasing our 2007 Gewurtz. This year we made a blend of one Oregon Vineyard (Dauenhauer near Dayton in the Willamette Valley from which we also get some Riesling for one of our single vineyard Riesling) and two Washington Vineyard (Pearson on Snipe Mountain and Solstice on the Snipe road bench both in the Yakima Valley). The intent was to bring some cooler climate (Willamette Valley) element in our Gewurtz thus reducing the final alcohol in the wine, increasing acidity and increasing varietal flavors. I think we got it right and the wine is much closer to my vision than the 2006 vintage. By the way, the 2007 just got Best Of Class at the LA wine and spirit competition, so others are noticing…

I am curious, what is your favorite Gewurztraminer?

2007 Sweet Riesling

Nicolas — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 14:44:49 +0000

We are now releasing our 2007 Sweet Riesling. This is our first released wine made in our new winery in Eastern Washington. Because it was made in Washington, we can finally display a vintage (2007) and an appellation of Origin (Columbia Valley) on this wine. OK, now for the numbers:
- 100% Riesling, 100% 2007
- 68% Yakima Valley, 25% Horse Heaven Hills, 5% Mosel
- 25% Wallula Biodynamic grapes (HHH), 25% Blackrock Vineyard (YV), 22% Boast Vineyard (YV), 21% Selenium Vineyard (YV), 5% Mosel from our dear friend Johannes Selbach
- 9% Alcohol, 7% Residual Sugar, 2.99 pH, 0.81 Total Acidity

The wine was fermented at 75% with native yeasts that came on the grapes; this is a fantastic addition to our winemaking book leading to wines with greater sense of place and minerality. Overall the Sweet 2007 is an exceptional wine, very balanced with a great acid/sugar ratio. We have tried a bit of Mosel fruit this year in the blend to see if we could spice it up a bit (I think we did). Same great profile as the 2006, very refreshing and made to go well with a very wide range of food. I had it over Easter with a cold Salmon and beet salad and it was delicious and the low alcohol was nice for lunch (all that to say that it is not only good with spicy food).

Star Chenin

Nicolas — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 14:44:17 +0000

The 2006 Chenin blanc will soon have so many medals and awards (including a best white wine at the Houston rodeo, a double gold at the Tri Cities festival and a top 100 â€œbest of the Westâ€ by the San Francisco Chronicle) that you wonâ€™t see the label anymore. Why is this wine receiving so many awards? I am convinced there is something to do with the old vines we are harvesting our Chenin from. Most of the Chenin in Eastern Washington were planted in the late 60â€™s to the early 80â€™s. No Chenin has been planted since then. The vineyards are mainly located in the Yakima Valley where the viticulture first started in Eastern Washington. The acreage is scattered because often Chenin was planted by growers wanting to diversify their crop and it was never intended as a large commercial planting at the time. The acreage survived to time and the lack of commercial interest sometimes by sentimental attachment as Chenin vineyards were often the first blocks of vinifera that the family planted. It surely did not survive because of the popularity of the varietal which is a pity. Chenin is a very noble varietal and probably one of the most complex and interesting in the world with Riesling. Our Chenin is quite dry (about 1.2% RS) and fermented very anaerobically. We keep the wine in stainless steel at all time with little contact with the lees, no oak and of course no malolactic fermentation. We are looking for a fresh style with just enough sugar to coat the varietal grapefruit rind finish that Chenin often displays. The 2006 was spot on in my mind with flavors of citrus and fresh cut grass.

The Oregon connection

Nicolas — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 14:43:43 +0000

This year we are playing with some Willamette Valley grapes in our effort to broaden our sourcing from the larger Northwest. The idea is to complement the grapes from Eastern Washington. This has worked very well with our Gewurztraminer 2007 which will be about 40% Willamette Valley and 60% Yakima Valley. The resulting wine is much lower in alcohol than a 100% Yakima Valley Gewurzt. The wine is also less phenolic allowing us to reduce the final residual sugar; all in all a better balanced wine.
We also have played with a single vineyard Riesling from the Willamette Valley. The wine is now finished and we have decided to make it as a Kabinett style. The wine is truly refreshing and distinctive from an Eastern Washington Riesling.

Dry Riesling 2006

Nicolas — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 14:42:58 +0000

2006 It is about time to release our 2006 Dry Riesling to general consumption. This wine is our largest bottling and it is also our signature wine. The blend comes mainly from the Columbia Valley of Washington State with a splash of Rheinhessen wine that we bring from our dear Friend Johannes Selbach in the Mosel. We thrive to achieve a dry profile (below the 0.9% Residual Sugar line that the German call â€œtrockenâ€) with low alcohol (below 12.5%) and plenty of minerality. The final wine is very impacted by the winemaking decisions of low sulfites and sur lies aging for six months. The nose is impacted by the dual fruit sourcing; The riper style from Washington (apricot, tangerine) is blended with the more floral German style (jasmine, lilac). On the palate, the wine is crisp and straight forward with some yeastiness from the sur lies aging. It is a very versatile wine and I have yet to find a dish that does not work with it. 2006 was a great vintage in Washington and in Germany and I think it shows in the quality of this wine.

Sweet Riesling 2006 is sooo good

Nicolas — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 14:40:56 +0000

Our first sweet Riesling is now bottled and shipping. What a fun wine! It is made from 100% Columbia Valley grapes picked a bit riper than the grapes for our Dry Riesling. We stop the fermentation at 8.5% Ethanol leaving about 7% of Residual Sugar. The wine is packed with acid and we leave a good amount of Carbon Dioxide to make it lively (yet not spritzy).

Well, it just tastes great. The wine is sweet but the acid makes it very appropriate with food. Spicy food is always a great match (Mexican, Thai, Carribean, everything works as long as it is hot!). The low alcohol (8.5%) does not make the dish hotter and the sugar reduces the burning sensation. The final acid bite cleans up the palate so you are ready for another bite. The sweet Riesling is also very good by itself on a warm summer day. It is a fun wine to make and a great wine to sip.

Chenin 2006 coming soon

Nicolas — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 14:42:10 +0000

We are close to be releasing our 2006 Chenin Blanc in our brand new shiny package. Chenin is one of those underappreciated varietals that really deserve more attention. Chenin vineyards were mostly planted in the 80â€™s and are among the oldest vineyards in the State of Washington. Luckily few wineries are interested in buying Chenin allowing us to source a good amount of Chenin grapes from those older vineyards (25 years old). The advantage of sourcing older vineyards is that they produce lower yields and have a more established root system providing us with a better expression of the soils of Eastern Washington.

Our Chenin winemaking is supported by two main principles, 1) Chenin has a tendency to go reductive (reduction is an electrochemical state accentuated when the wine is poor in dissolved active oxygen. Its manifestation can range from a slightly canned fruit taste to overly stincky rotten egg) and 2) Chenin has a slight bitter finish reminiscent of chewing a grapefruit rind. We keep our Chenin very clean at all time as wine lees are a great oxygen scavenger and can increase the reductiveness of the wine. We also leave a tid bit of Residual Sugar (1.2% in 2006) to coat the mouth soften the finish.

The result in a great Chenin Blanc loaded with all I love about Chenin. It is a bit grassy with melon and grapefruit notes, a bit like a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. It has a good acidity balancing the Residual Sugar. This is a great aperitif and a good companion to salads and vegetables. It is also awesome with goat cheeses.