Posted by: Denise Slattery in Wine on
Jan 25, 2010
Lately I have been thinking about wine in a box. And I'm not talking about the mass produced vino that come with a spigot (although, hey, in a pinch, not so bad!) I'm talking about wine that comes in a box and is delivered right to your door by the friendly folks at Fedex or UPS! That's the GOOD kind of wine in a box - and guess what? We make that in Walla Walla too!
Ok, hopefully you get my drift here! I'd like to draw some comparisons and make an argument for joining any of the great wine clubs offered by Walla Walla area wineries.
First, if you had an amazing experience in a winery or tasting room and really loved the wines you tried, chances are extremely high (really, way up there) that you will love their future releases, too. We could even back this up with science and refer to Newton's Law of Wine Tasting that states: When You Like What You Taste, You Will Continue To Like What You Taste.
And so, it reasons, if you enjoyed the wine you tasted in Walla Walla you will want more of it, sent directly to your home twice a year or so. When a box of wine arrives on your doorstep you can open it up (like Christmas!) and re-live your memory of Walla Walla all over again! You can drink in the tastes that a favorite winemaker selected and managed to coax into a bottle for your very enjoyment! Of course there are many frills and benefits related to a wine club membership, too varied and exciting to list here, but the main thing to know is that you get something quite thrilling for your trouble. And Walla Walla does not disappoint!
Posted by: Denise Slattery in Wine on
Nov 23, 2009
As you begin to hash out the details of your fall wine tasting intineries in Walla Walla, I thought it might be useful to provide a lexicon of terms
Often associated with this time of year....in alpha order! Cheers -
| Arrghhh! |
The forklift is out of propane |
| Barrel-Down |
To move the finished, pressed-off wine into barrels |
| Beer |
The winemaker's favorite beverage |
| Crush |
The time of year when your phone calls will not be returned |
| Character |
That which makes the wine distinctive and some of the people you may meet in a tasting room! |
| Dry |
When red wine registers at minus 1.5 brix and the sugars have all been converted to alcohol |
| Ebulliometer |
Instrument used to measure the level of alcohol in wine |
| F*%&! |
Someone left the valve on the tank open! |
| Free Run |
Wine from the must that doesn't go through the press |
| Grapes |
What we make the wine out of, silly! |
| Hard Frost |
When temps fall below 28 degrees for more than a few hours. |
Posted by: Denise Slattery in Wine, Food on
Oct 22, 2009
In some parts of the country, chefs and food enthusiasts are joining the Slow Food movement.
www.slowfoodusa.org It's a simple idea; eat food that's grown locally, reject processed foods, endorse sustainably produced foods. It's a way of life, and once you adopt even a piece of it, you really won't see food production in the same light again.
I've always maintained that wine is the ultimate slow food. If you drink wines made right here in the region, you are contributing to a beautiful cycle. Winemakers are working with growers and vineyard managers to produce the highest quality fruit and that generally means employing sustainable viticulture practices. Vinea www.vineatrust.com is one organization that growers tap into for these guidelines. Salmon Safe is another. www.salmonsafe.org.
Walla Walla produces so many amazing wines from vineyards in the Valley and nearby Eastern Washington AVA's, it's a locavore's delight! Drinking local wines is easy and a real pleasure. The terroir travels with you in every bottle you take home to share with friends and family.
Posted by: Denise Slattery in Wine on
Sep 21, 2009
Harvest is nearly here, or for some Walla Walla wineries, it's already arrived! We've been preparing for the grape harvest and now, after so many months of planning, coaxing, watering and weeding the grapes will start to come off the vine and into the winery by the ton.
These final weeks (days for some) mean multiple trips by winemakers to the vineyard to check for ripeness. Measuring the level of sugar (brix) with an instrument called a refractometer is one way to go, but tasting is what winemakers truly rely on. We're looking for a complexity of flavors, not just the amount of sugar. It's a very critical time because the condition of the fruit can change quickly, too. Ultimately, it's up to the winemaker to call the shot on harvest. Once the grapes reach the winemakers specified level of ripeness, the fruit is scheduled to pick. It all happens very fast and essentially everyone is on standby. Nature does not keep a date book!
If you are driving through Walla Walla, or around the outskirts of town where a lot of the wineries are located, you may start to notice trucks with flatbeds hauling grape bins. I like to spot these because each winery has their name tagged on the sides of the bins and it's a fun way to keep tabs of who's got fruit in the winery that day. Lots of times it's someone you'll know behind the wheel so a friendly wave is in order. The white grapes come off the vine first of course, followed by early ripening reds and finally the long hanger-oners. This year harvest is a bit sooner for everyone because of the massive heat we had in July and August. The collective heat units stepped up the ripening process quite a bit.
