Best Buy! Mike Conway and daughter Natalie shine with aromatic whites, but this marks just their sixth vintage of producing Pinot Gris. Their latest effort may be perhaps their best with this Italian grape, and they present it with an orchard fruit style rather than a tropical style. It starts in Art denHoed’s vineyard and opens with aromas of white peach, green banana and … [Read more...] about Latah Creek Wine Cellars 2015 DenHoed Vineyards Pinot Gris, Yakima Valley, $11
vinAmité Cellars finds its way in British Columbia wine industry
OLIVER, British Columbia — It seemed natural for Ray and Betty Coulombe to take over a vineyard in the Okanagan Valley that was dominated by Bordeaux and Burgundy varieties. However, before they developed what has become vinAmité Cellars in Oliver, that vineyard needed some reining in. “When we bought this place in 2009 there was a 17-year old vineyard, and we saw that … [Read more...] about vinAmité Cellars finds its way in British Columbia wine industry
Sparkman Cellars 2013 Evermore Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, $100
Christian Sparkman’s first release of fruit from venerable Sagemoor Vineyard and its Dionysus blocks came with his acclaimed Birdie Riesling project. Here marks the second vintage of Evermore Old Vines Cab by Sparkman and his winemaker, Linn Scott, as they pulled most of it from grower Kent Waliser’s 1972 block. There’s also significant support (18%) from Upland Vineyard on … [Read more...] about Sparkman Cellars 2013 Evermore Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, $100
Tinhorn Creek Vineyards 2013 Pinot Noir, Okanagan Valley, $22
Sandra Oldfield, a graduate of the University of California-Davis, and viticulturist Andrew Moon orchestrate the harvest of two estate Pinot Noir sites on opposite sides of the Okanagan River in the South Okanagan Valley - Diamondback Vineyard on the Black Sage Bench and Tinhorn Creek Vineyard on the Golden Mile Bench near the winery. The latter, at age 24, is the older … [Read more...] about Tinhorn Creek Vineyards 2013 Pinot Noir, Okanagan Valley, $22
Chateau Ste Michelle 2015 Harvest Select Sweet Riesling, Columbia Valley, $9
Best Buy! This marks the sixth bottling of this rather off-dry Riesling, which Bob Bertheau started as a collaboration with Wendy Stuckey before she returned to her native Australia. David Rosenthal has taken over the white program for her, and residual sugar has been bumped up 4.7%, which takes it to the right side of medium-sweet on the scale from the International Riesling … [Read more...] about Chateau Ste Michelle 2015 Harvest Select Sweet Riesling, Columbia Valley, $9