This week’s Wine Word of the Week is hybrid.

Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine:
Hybrid, in common viticultural terms, is the offspring of two varieties of different species, as distinct from a cross between two varieties of the same species. European Union authorities prefer the somewhat cumbersome term ‘interspecific cross’ to the word hybrid, which has pejorative connotations within Europe.

Layman’s terms from Kori:
Hybrid is the offspring between two different species, for example, a hybrid of Vitis vinifera and Vitis labrusca such as Herbemont and Othello. Other, more familiar hybrids include Marechal Foch, Chambourcin, Frontenac, and Vidal.

What first attracted me to this book, A Taste for Wine: 20 key tastings to unlock your personal wine style by Vincent Gasnier, Master Sommelier, was the subtitle, because I believe there are many wine consumers who sort of know what they like in wine but haven’t equated it to a particular wine style.

“Wines are like cars! We all have our favorites; the one we drive every day and feel comfortable with—and the one we dream of owning. Like wines, cars have different styles; a Ferrari is fast, powerful, noisy, and brash (in an expensive way!); a Mercedes is also powerful, but smoother, more quiet and controlled. There are no rights and wrongs, only personal preferences, and, just as you would always test drive a car before buying it, you need to taste wines of many different styles to find your favorites.” –Vincent Gasnier

The guts of the book features Gasnier’s grouping of wine varietals by style and takes the reader on a tasting tour of what he considers the major wine... ...
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Would you like a quick suggestion for a good wine to drink tonight (or this weekend) that won’t break your budget and is widely available? Many of our readers have said this is something they would like, so here is this week’s selection, the 2008 Buried Cane Merlot from Washington State.

Our selection criteria include:

Buried Cane is the value brand for Middleton Family Wines. The Middletons, a multi-generation Washington timber family, also own Cadaretta Winery in Walla Walla, which is where Buried Cane is produced. Buried Cane wines are named after a time-honored practice used to protect grape vines from frigid winter temperatures in which low-growing vine canes are buried and then unearthed after winter freezes pass.

“Buried Cane Merlot has plenty of sweet cherry and berry flavors, with complex aromas that include earthy mint, tobacco, and spices like... ...
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William Church Winery, founded in 2005 by Rod and Leslie Balsley, is located in the warehouse district in Woodinville, Washington. Bitten by the wine bug when they honeymooned in Italy, Rod and Leslie got their start in winemaking as a hobby when they moved next door to a man named Dick Gidley who had been making wine in his garage for over twenty years. After a while, they decided to pursue winemaking on a commercial scale.

Rod originally thought that they should open their winery in Walla Walla. They also looked at the Prosser area before deciding on Woodinville. Leslie was drawn to Woodinville because it was an up-and-coming wine community with great potential and they would not have to move. Rod also joked that “its proximity to Nordstom” was another reason Leslie preferred Woodinville. When they opened, Woodinville had only about fifteen wineries. In the five years since, the Woodinville wine community has exploded and now boasts over 90 wineries and tasting rooms....

Since we live in Washington State and often drink wines from Washington State, we want to make sure that we continue to hone our knowledge of the entire world of wine and maintain well-rounded palates in order to make us even more objective when we evaluate wines from Washington State. Therefore, we are thoroughly enjoying our Wine Peeps Tasting Group which includes what we think is an excellent peer group of knowledgeable wine lovers to taste, share, and learn more about wine together. Unlike our monthly wine tasting dinners in which the guests rotate, this tasting group includes people who are committed to getting together once a month which we believe benefits all of us. In addition to trying varieties and regions that we do not taste frequently, the other main difference between this group and our wine tasting dinners is that each group member brings a bottle consistent with the month’s theme so no one knows all the wines in the blind tasting.

Last week, we met and...

Kori S. Voorhees, our Wine Peeps Editor-in-Chief, is also a regular contributor to Washington Tasting Room Magazine, a quarterly magazine that focuses on Washington State wine with articles about wineries, vineyards, travel, and lifestyle. The following article, written by Kori, appeared in the Winter 2009/2010 issue.

Klipsun Vineyard is known for its big, bold flavors and has evolved as a shining example of Red Mountain terroir

Klipsun means sunset in Chinook Indian jargon. But the sun is certainly not setting on Klipsun Vineyard, located in the Red Mountain AVA (American Viticultural Area) near Benton City, Washington. In fact, it’s more like late morning in the evolution of Klipsun Vineyard, with many of its best vineyard blocks just entering the prime of their productive lives.

If you ask the best winemakers in the state of Washington to name the top vineyards in the state, Klipsun Vineyard is near the top of almost every list. And in the very next breath,... ...
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This week’s Wine Word of the Week is cross.

Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine:
Cross is the result of breeding a new variety by crossing two vine varieties of the same species, usually the European vinifera species. Thus, Muller-Thurgau, for example is a cross.

Layman’s terms from Kori:
Cross is the offspring of different subspecies within the same species. For example, Cabernet Sauvignon is a cross between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc.

When the infamous Willie Sutton was asked why he robbed banks, his answer was, “That’s where the money is.” When I’ve asked winery owners from Eastern Washington why they’ve opened a tasting room in Woodinville, the answer has most often been, “That’s where the people are.” Makes sense, doesn’t it? In fact, I wrote a post last month devoted entirely to The Woodinville Phenomenon.

While Woodinville is only about 30 minutes from Seattle (unless it’s rush hour when it can take an hour or more), I’m noticing that some of the Woodinville wineries are now talking about putting tasting rooms in Seattle proper, closer to more of the people and closer to tourist traffic, especially cruise ship visitors. Again, it makes sense, doesn’t it? In fact, one group of five wineries, Alta Cellars, Barrage Cellars, Des Voigne Cellars, Cuillin Hills Winery, and Flying Dreams Winery, has already joined together to open the Vintner’s Annex in the Ballard neighborhood in Seattle.

In...

Would you like a quick suggestion for a good wine to drink tonight (or this weekend) that won’t break your budget and is widely available? Many of our readers have said this is something they would like, so here is this week’s selection, the 2009 Seven Hills Riesling from the Columbia Valley of Washington State.

Our selection criteria include:

Founded in 1988 by winemaker Casey McClellan and his wife Vicky, Seven Hills Winery is located in downtown Walla Walla, Washington. Casey was raised in Walla Walla and is a fourth-generation farmer. After completing his Masters of Science at UC Davis, he and Vicky returned to the Walla Walla Valley to open Seven Hills Winery. The winery was originally located in Milton-Freewater, Oregon, and in 2000 moved to its current location in Walla Walla, just ten miles up the road.

“This is a graceful, balanced Riesling of...

Sauvignon Blanc has been one of our favorite white varieties for years. Our trip to New Zealand in 2005 solidified that love, and we have a soft spot for Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region of New Zealand. Since that trip, we have made it a point to try Sauvignon Blanc from other countries/regions when we have the chance. Given our emphasis on wines from Washington State, we decided that it was time to feature Washington Sauvignon Blanc in one of our wine tasting dinners. Last Friday was a gorgeous, sunny day in Seattle, perfect to enjoy crisp, refreshing white wines.

All of the wines paired well with Mom’s (LaGayle) dinner of curried butternut squash soup, mixed green salad with thyme-seasoned goat cheese cakes and balsamic-dijon vinaigrette, grilled shrimp, sun-dried tomato and basil risotto, roasted asparagus bundles, and Muscat Canelli cake with lemon and mint garnish for dessert.

The consensus favorite of the evening was the 2009 Chateau Ste. Michelle...

This past weekend, the Washington wine industry hosted its 23rd annual Auction of Washington Wines. The Auction has raised more than $24 million since its inception in 1988 to benefit the uncompensated care program at Seattle Children’s Hospital and since 2001, the Washington Wine Education Foundation, funding viticultural and enological research across the state. This year’s Auction raised over $1.4 million.

The three-day event included a Barrel Auction and Picnic with the Winemakers, winemaker dinners, a run/walk, and a Gala Auction. Dad (John) and I attended the Barrel Auction and Picnic at Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, Washington. This was the first year that we have had the pleasure to attend, and it truly is an outstanding event for a great cause.

The highlight of the Picnic is the Barrel Auction itself in which bidders have the chance to win future, limited-release wines from twenty participating wineries. All attendees have the opportunity to taste...

Today’s post is part of a series featuring the Women of Washington Wine. In an industry once dominated by men, more and more women are joining the ranks as winery owners, vineyard owners, and winemakers. Being a woman myself, I am fascinated by these women and what they have done and continue to do. Through this series, I hope to introduce you to some of the brightest female faces in the Washington wine industry.

Leslie Balsley and her husband Rod founded William Church Winery in 2005. The winery, located in the warehouse district in Woodinville, Washington, is named after both of their fathers. After years in the high-tech industry, Leslie and Rod are thoroughly enjoying their second careers in the wine industry. With the help of assistant winemaker Marcus Rafanelli, Leslie and Rod are both actively involved in all aspects of the winery. William Church Winery produces 2,000 cases per year.

Recently, Leslie was kind enough to take time out of her busy schedule to...

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is inoculate.

Official definition from Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst’s The New Wine Lover’s Companion:
Inoculate is a winemaking technique of adding an active yeast culture or malolactic bacteria to juice, must, or wine. Winemakers often inoculate their must with known strains of reliable yeasts to activate primary fermentation and achieve their desired results. Although malolactic fermentation will sometimes occur naturally, many winemakers prefer to manage this phase by inoculating with a properly prepared malolactic bacteria starter.

Layman’s terms from Kori:
Inoculate is the winemaking process in which a winemaker adds yeast to the must to initiate fermentation.

More than a few times I’ve had someone ask me, which is the ideal setting in which to review a wine, with food or without food? My standard reply is: when do you normally drink wine, with food or without it? For most people, the answer is with food. So the best evaluations of wine for those people probably are with food.

At Wine Peeps, where we are tasting thousands of wines a year in a variety of settings, as a reader you might want to note the setting for the tasting when placing importance on a particular one of our reviews. Personally, I value the results of our monthly wine tasting dinners and weekly family private tastings the most. The reasons are that the tastings are blind tastings and with food. When I find a wine that knocks my socks off before I’ve had anything to eat and then continues to be my favorite all the way through the evening with the meal, I would give our review of that wine the ultimate in credibility.

Over the years, those of us who taste...

Would you like a quick suggestion for a good wine to drink tonight (or this weekend) that won’t break your budget and is widely available? Many of our readers have said this is something they would like, so here is this week’s selection, the 2007 Boomtown Cabernet Sauvignon from the Columbia Valley of Washington State.

Our selection criteria include:

Boomtown is the entry level value brand produced by Dusted Valley Vintners. Dusted Valley Vintners, located in Walla Walla, Washington, was founded in 2003 by brothers-in-law Chad Johnson and Corey Braunel who are co-owners and co-winemakers. Both Chad and Corey are originally from Wisconsin and are proud cheese-heads. In fact, they bring a bit of Wisconsin to Dusted Valley by using barrels made from Wisconsin oak to age their wines. Last summer, they opened a new tasting room in Woodinville near the Hollywood...