Markey Writes

Seattle & Columbia Valley Wines

Seattle was an unexpected experience. Although we didn’t get to spend a lot of time in the city, we did get a feel for the downtown and the overall size: big. While in Victoria, we had been warned by some locals that the Clipper Ferry we were taking from Victoria to Seattle could be pretty rough. Remembering this, I packed some Gravol that we had left over from our flight out West. The morning we left, the fog was so thick leaving Victoria Harbour, that we couldn’t see anything outside the boat. It was a bit of a surreal experience – like flying through the middle of a big cloud. We both took a Gravol as soon as we got on the boat and the boat began to tip up and down… despite this, we promptly fell asleep. The Ferry ride itself is about 3 hours long, but with checking in and customs, the whole trip from Victoria to Seattle was closer to 5 hours.

We chose the ferry because it was significantly less expensive than flying what cost us about $270 total would have been close to $650 to fly.

We arrived in Seattle as Hemp Fest was in full swing and realized very quickly that we had underestimated the size of the city – this included how far the rental car office was from the Harbour. But, once we managed to get through the crowds and picked up our rental car and a bottle of wine from a local convenience store, we decided to stay and explore a bit of the city.

We had read about the famous Fish Market downtown Seattle where the very first Starbucks is, so we headed over for a peak. As it was a Friday afternoon it was bustling with people, and we arrived just in time to sample some fresh crab cocktail (delicious treat) and see how the Starbucks Brand has changed. Further wandering took us to this alley by the market that is covered in chewing gum – I wasn’t able to find out what the history was of this wall, but it was definitely unique and rather disgusting.

The following day, we headed east out of Seattle to taste some Washington wines. Ontario doesn’t have a great variety of wines from Washington, so we were very excited to see what we could get locally. Due to time constraints we were not able to get out to the Colunbia Valley to actually visit the vineyards themselves, but we discovered very quickly  that in order to taste a variety of wines, that was not really necessary. The experience differs, but the variety is available close to the city.

We had been used to the small community style of Prince Edward County where we visit with the winemakers, often tasting wines in their actual wine-making facilities. But, in Washington (which we were told was similar to California) there are dozens and dozens of tasting rooms around and outside Seattle. In Kirkland where we stayed, we were able to drive for about 5km to what appeared to be a little village built for the purpose of tasting wines. It was like a strip mall for wine tasting – you could go from one store to the next to taste wines from all over the State. Unfortunately with this style, you are not speaking with the owner or wine maker from the vineyard, but rather, trained staff in the product their are trying to sell. A more commercialized approach to the wine tasting experience.

We did get to visit the famous Chateau Ste Michelle and their beautiful grounds. The general notes from our tasting in Washington is that you will often find dill, cola, dried meats, anise and spice throughout the wines. They are not subtle, but rather robust and colourful wines evocative of the volcanic soil throughout the region.

These are the tasting notes from our trip through Washington.

Chateau Ste Michelle

Overall impression was that the grounds were beautiful, the wines were just okay. It has become a tourist location and just getting a spot at the the tasting bar among the buses of visitors proved challenging.

Tasted:

• Unoaked Chardonnay, 2012: slight butter, tangy, left a dryness on the tongue, well balanced but served too cold.
• Pinot Gris, 2012: well balanced, slightly waxy, mild citrus.
• Cold Creek Merlot, 2010: caramel on the nose, fruit bomb with sugar, and slight spice.
• Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010: meat, sundried tomatos and herbs on the nose. Palate was cinnamon-y, dry with a slight sweatness on the finish.

JM Cellars

Tasted:

• Viognier (100%), 2012
• Brumble Bump Red, 2011 (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Petit Verdo, Camenier, Malbec)
• Longevity, 2010 (40% Merlot, 37% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Malbec): the nose smelled like a barn yard with dill, the palate had strong tannins and slight spice.
• Tre, 2010: stinky nose, dry palate, light in body with medium tannins, almost no sweetness, cery controlled and consistent. (Our Favourite from JM)
• Margaret’s Vineyard Estate Red (single vineyard from Walla Walla): nose was caramel, lavender and sweet herbs; palate had strong tannic structure, aging potential, slight sweetness and spice.

DeLiLLE Cellars

The staff were not only friendly, but extremely knowledgable. We had a private tasting experience, one-on-one with one of the staff. The wines were delicious, although the location is on one side of a stripmall – not ideal in my mind.

Tasted:

• Doyenne, 2012 (100% Rousanne): mild nose with apricot, wax, honeysuckle; palate was mild with citrus notes, well balanced with a very slight sweetness.
• Metier Blanc, 2009 (90% Viognier, 10% Rousanne): We got pear, caramel, butter, slight sweetness.
• Doyenne Aix, 2010 (51% Syrah, 43% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Mouvedre): on the nose there was dill, cola, slight anise or fennel on the palate there were strong tannins, spicy, blackberry, espresso – smoky.
• Doyenne Signature Syrah, 2010 (97.5% Syrah, 2.5% Viognier): bright acidity, slight tannins, pepper and blackberries. We were told that the Viognier was added in order to draw out colour and also to mute some of the black pepper notes in the Syrah.

Mark Ryan Winery

We really enjoyed these wines, they were well made, well balanced and delicious. These are big, bold wines produced for long-term cellaring.

• Viognier, 2010: on the nose there was wax and ascitone, on the palate, white peach, bright acidity, slight sweetness, balanced.
• Dissident Red, 2011 (28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, Mouvedre, Cab Franc, Petit Verdot): dill on the nose.
• Wild Eye 2011 (100% Syrah): tar on the nose, the palate had a beautiful tannic structure, anise and cassis.
• Long Haul, 2010 (61% Merlot, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, Cab Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot): the nose was meat, tomato, bright acidity, minerality and herbs; the palate had slight anise and sweetness, medium tannins, pepper and mocha.
• Dead Horse, 2010 (81% Cabernet Sauvignon): mild nose, tea leaf, tobacco, green pepper and alcohol; the palate had medium tannins, black currant and cocoa.