Dallas Wine Chick

Can’t Drive 55!

This was the photo that I got from my lead footed husband as he made the solo drive from the Portland Airport to join me on a tour through Prosser, Red Mountain and Yakima.  I was lucky enough to have one of the top experts, Margot, and her husband, Dave,  show us Washington “wine o’clock” style.

You see, John didn’t join me until after #wbc10 was over. He’s a bourbon boy from the South and while he has a strong appreciation of wine and a collection that reinforces that point, seven days of wine tasting would render him to a state where he would want to poke his eyes out with a fork.  For the sake of our marriage and my enjoyment of the experience, he arrived late on Sunday. 

Unfortunately he missed out on some wonderful experiences.  Our first stop was family-owned L’Ecole. The name, L’Ecole Nº 41 is French for “the school”.  The winery is located in district 41 in historic Frenchtown, a small community outside of Walla Walla that was named for the many French Canadians that settled there in the early 1800s. 

We arrived at the converted schoolhouse that serves as the tasting room and were greeted by Jamie, a fun new friend who hosted us for a fantastic vertical tasting of library wines.  We began with a refreshing glass of the 08 Estate Luminesce ($19) that I loved, but alas, it was completely sold out.  We then tasted the 99, 03 and 07 Apogee from Pepper Bridge Vineyard and the 03 and 07 Estate Perigee from Seven Hills Vineyard.  I personally loved the Apogee – especially the earlier vintages that tasted of earthiness, black cherry, cassis and notes of chocolate.  The evolution in the glass was noteworthy and I left with a case of my own to taste test in the future.

Our next stop was to Va Piano Vineyards to meet Winemaker Justin Wylie.  Its motto: “Chi va piano, va sano e va lontano.” The translation is “He who goes slowly, goes safely and goes far” – an old Italian saying and the winery’s approach to living. This recommendation came from Greg Kassanoff, who owns Pioneer Wine here in Dallas.  We started with two Brunos Blend I and VI wines, one Sauvignon Blanc and one red blend as well as the Semillon.  Father Bruno Segatta, who Justin met during his time at Gonzaga University, is an artist and selfless priest.  Father Segatta inspired Justin to give back to the community. When the Bruno blends are sold out, Va Piano donates a portion of the proceeds to a charity of Father Bruno’s choice.  We tried two Syrah’s – the 07 Syrah and 08 Estate Syrah, which were inky black, spicy and fabulous.  But it was the 07 Cabernet that made me a card carrying member of Va Piano’s wine club.  At $38 a bottle, it rivaled some of Napa’s heavy hitters currently in my cellar.  Let’s just say that I cancelled my Far Niente membership because I liked it that much (the rule in my house is that if I add a wine club, I must cancel a wine club – actually my husband made up this rule after one particular Visa bill).

The next day, we made a brief stop at Airfield Wines where my favorite wine was the Aviator ( $30). It was a big Bordeaux style blend and since my cousin is in process of finalizing his clearance to be a fighter pilot, I loved the history of the winery.

The next day we headed to visit Alexandria Nicole Cellars.  Because Margot and Dave were wine club members, we were given VIP treatment and access to the back room, where we tried more than 16 wines on their tasting list – we even showed restraint as they have 21 varietals.  My favorites included the 07 Jet Black Syrah, 09 Rousanne, 08 Quarry Butte (ah Quarry Butte…), 07 Cabernet and 08 Crawford Viognier.  We also had the chance to sample some older vintages – the 03 and 05 cabernets and merlots from Alexandria Nicole’s enomatics system.  Again, the evolution in the glass and the changes over a two-year period were notable.

Then it was time for lunch.  I was excited to finally meet Scott who has been a long-time friend on Twitter, but I wasn’t prepared for the red carpet that was rolled out by my new Washington friends.  We went to eat at Tuscany and were met by Coop, Sara and Kevin.  Coop brought a bottle of his not yet released 08 Pinot Gris and it paired perfectly with the delicious food.

Mark your calendars for the debut of Cooper Wine Company’s Red Mountain grand opening on Sept. 11.  If his Bordeaux-style reds rival the Pinot Gris, you won’t be sorry. 

We left Tuscany and I had the chance to experience Fidelitas Wines in Red Mountain.  We originally planned to visit several wineries on Red Mountain, but were drawn in by Charlie Hoppes’ big red wines at Fidelitas Wines along with the hospitality of Marilyn and Cindy.  Let’s just say that another case of wine now has a home in Dallas that includes the 07 Red Mountain Cabernet Franc ($40), the 07 Jaguar red ($20), 2007 Champoux Vineyard Cabernet  ($60) and 07 Red Mountain Red ($50).   

P.S. Here is a photo of the not debuted yet packaging…

Our last and final stop was Sean Gilbert at Gilbert Cellars in Yakima where we tasted an array of reds, whites and a Rose’ of Mourvedre paired with cheeses, olives and Marcona almonds.  While I enjoyed every one of his wines, it was the 07 Cabernet Sauvignon ($28) and 07 Cabernet Franc ($32) that will be joining us in Dallas once the Texas heat has diminished.

Sean also talked us out of our dinner selection and sent us to an unmarked sports bar with a hunter complete with a scoped rifle as the signage.  Thankfully we trusted him and enjoyed a great dinner with a bottle of Gilbert Cellars’ Malbec.  We ended the evening hanging out with Margot and Dave in their room where we told stories and toasted a wonderful trip with a few special favorite wines.

Desert Wind Winery – A Five Star Experience

After #WBC10, my husband, John, and I were invited to stay at Desert Wind Winery in Prosser, WA, with Margot, her husband, Dave, Barbara and her boyfriend, Jason.  Margot told me what a beautiful place the winery was and that we were in for a treat.  We usually take family vacations to an amazing resort in Punta Mita, Mexico, so I just expected a pleasant winery stay.  Let’s just say that sans beach this was a comparable five-star experience. 

Courtesy of Desert Wind Winery

Desert Wind Owners Greg and Amber Fries served as exemplary hosts from the moment we arrived and greeted us with a refreshing glass of Sauvignon Blanc on the spacious patio.  We had some time to relax in a fabulous, fully-stocked suite that had everything one could need from bottles of wine to munchies to luxurious bath products (and I love luxurious bath products). 

Just when I didn’t think it could get any better, we started our food/wine experience. We began with a tour of the winery and had the opportunity to barrel taste the 08 Petite Verdot, 08 Barbera and 08 Tempranillo. I was impressed that Greg was so willing to go off the beaten path of the varietals to  see what wines would blossom with his talent.

Chef Frank Magana and Darren Dewalt from Picazo 7 Seventeen treated us to a multi-course dinner paired with Desert Wind and Duck Pond wines (Greg is also the wine maker).  The food parade started with Dungeness Crab Cakes with Chipotle Aioli Firecracker Prawns, Patatas Bravas, various wonderful cheeses, Marcona Almonds and Olives, paired with Desert Wind’s 2008 Sauvignon Blanc and  2009 Viognier.  My foodie and chef hobbyist husband was absolutely in heaven.  I innocently asked Chef Magana exactly how many course were coming and realized some restraint from the appetizers would be necessary in order to stay the course.

The good news is that you too can enjoy Mojave by Picazo at Desert Wind, which is open noon – 3 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays.  But back to this meal, this glorious meal….

Our first course was Prosciutto-wrapped Mixed Field Greens with Ancho Chile Vinaigrette, paired with 2009 Dry Rose’ and 2008 Semillon. If you read this column regularly, you know I’m not the biggest fan of Rose and I’m allergic to pork, so I choose the Semillon and had a special menu adaptation.

We moved on to the Basil-Stuffed Salmon with Tempranillo Pan Sauce, Blue Prawns & Trumpet Mushrooms with Cream paired with a 2008 Tempranillo and 2006 Duck Pond Cellars ‘St. Jory’ Pinot Noir, one of the many library wines we tried. Loved, loved, loved this course.

And then came the beef – the filet of Beef Tenderloin Ruah Sauce, Black Truffle Risotto followed by Grilled Lamb Chops with Ruah-Garlic Marinade was delightful. The meats and sauce paired perfectly with a vertical of Desert Wind Ruah wines from 04, 05, 06 and 08.  Sublime.

I was glad to have run that morning (even though I got lost like an idiot) because the dessert plate … well, it rocked.  It was a trio of Espresso Crème Brulee, a Chocolate Crème Brulee and then a Gorgonzola Truffle.  It’s been a few weeks now and I still fantasize about that darn truffle matched with a 04 Duck Pond Port.

When I returned from my run the next morning, there was a food basket waiting for us with yogurt, fresh fruit, baked goods, coffee and other assorted goodies that we enjoyed on our balcony.

If you are looking for a great winery and gourmet food married with a five-star resort experience that is centrally located near several great wineries in Prosser, I highly recommend checking out the hospitality of Amber and Greg.  It will certainly be an experience that you will always remember and I’m certainly looking forward to my return.

My Pre-WBC Conference Love Affair with Oregon Wines

In reading the materials for the Wine Bloggers Conference, one theme remained the same.  Figure out your blogging strategy.  Clearly, I failed miserably in heeding this advice.  Part of it was that I was fully engaged on Twitter during the conference.  Part of it was the pre-trip to Oregon and the post-trip to Washington State with a fellow friend, blogger and co-worker.   And, finally, it was the massive workload explosion that I walked back into that consumed me.

So why don’t I start at the beginning?  I was lucky enough to be invited to an unofficial pre-conference trip that originated in Portland going to the Willamette Valley.  Since I was arriving later than the rest of the bloggers I fully expected to fund my own cab for the hour plus trip that began at Solena Grand Cru Estates.  But no, this is Oregon wine country so  I found myself in a car with Amy, a delightful tour guide and person who welcomed me with the biggest chocolate, peanut butter and Rice Krispies covered donut that I’ve ever seen.  After ripping it in half and handing half to Amy, I joyfully took a bite of my first donut in probably five years.

Voodoo Donuts

As we reached the gates of Solena, our bloggers chariot awaited — a candy apple red double decker bus.

The Double Dutch Bus Coming Down the Street

The day only got better from there.  We toured the winery and got to experience “do it yourself blending.  If you didn’t like the blend, you could only blame yourself, but it is hard not to succeed with so many good wines at Solena.

Rolling out the red carpet

We were then seated for a four course lunch prepared by chef Matthew Howard matched with Solena Estate’s wines.  The first course, early summer corn soup with fingerling potatoes, prosciutto and basil oil with 08 Solena ElvenGlade Vineyard Chardonnay.  The second course, Plank-roasted wild sockeye salmon with fava bean puree, shaved fennel salad, rhubard and nectarine compote with 07 Solena Domaine Danielle Laurent Pinot Noir.  The third course, grilled cascade natural flat iron steak with yukon gold potato and leek hashbrown with heirloom cherry tomato relish with an 08 Solena Hyland Pinot Noir.  Our dessert course matched a rosemary and fleur de sel shortbread, oregon strawberries, Bellweather Farms carmody cheese with an 08 Solena Late Harvest Riesling.

Early Corn Soup

Plank-roasted sockeye salmon

Our next stop was Soter Vineyards where we were greeted with a glass of sparkling rose.  Even though it had rained for six weeks straight in Portland, we had an absolutely gorgeous day.  My favorite was the  2007 Mineral Springs Ranch Pinot Noir with big notes of plum, earth and cherry.

Time at Soter

We wrapped our winery tour with Anne Amie, which is well known for its Pinots, but offers a wide array of affordably priced red and white wines.  I was familiar with the Pinot Noir because I discovered it at Veritas Wine Bar in Dallas and it sold out quickly.  We were surprised to learn that the winemaker Thomas Houseman first had a career as a modern dancer.  This was something interesting to try to reconcile after several glasses of wine.

Thomas Houseman, wine maker and former dancer

We were feeling lucky, so our bus stopped off the beaten path so we could buy Powerball tickets and beer.  I can’t imagine what the gas station attendants were thinking when our fire engine red bus stopped and Liza ran in with a fist full of money.  Alas, we were too late.  Powerball had closed.  We decided to donate our money to next year’s Wine Blogger Scholarship Fund instead.  So I thought… but I recently learned that a different scenario actually took place.

Our hospitality continued with a BBQ at Mary and Sean Cressler’s house, who live in the city in a fabulous home in a charming historic neighborhood.   Their backyard was made for entertaining.  Sean had spent the day smoking a pork butt for us.  The wines flowed freely, the weather on their back patio was spectacular, the conversation was hilarious and the food, oh the food.  Because I have pork allergies, I tried everything else from the tofu that they grilled for me (which was surprisingly tasty), the smoked salmon dip, the veggies, freshly baked bread and anything else that I could cram in my mouth.  Everyone else raved about the pork actually before, during and after the conference.  This was the day the diet died…

It was close to midnight so I was dropped off at my hotel – or so I thought.  The Marriott Courtyard had bumped me to another hotel.  When I got there, I was given the only room left – the one with the handicapped bathroom.  I was tired and in hindsight, trying to navigate the shower was pretty humorous the next day after an hour run throughout the city.

We were then off on our next adventure – the caravan to Walla Walla.  Mary had set up a private tour with Bob Morus of Phelps Creek Vineyards where we spent a great deal of time learning about the intricacies of the winery and harvest.  Since I geek out during conversations like this with the winemaker, I was in heaven and thought it was fascinating that they have two wine makers — one American and one French that make two entirely different styles of Pinot.  I personally loved the 08 Cuvee Alexandrine, a big Burgundian style Pinot.

Bob Morus from Phelps Creek

My husband can attest that I am not usually a road trip person and I was a little hesitant to spend hours with folks that I’d met only on Twitter.  However, this was not your usual road trip.  From blasting tunes that I enjoyed from elementary school with Jason (Duran Duran and Missing Persons if you must know) to having a conversation imposed “time out” to force Doug to work on his client deadline while I became even more addicted to the Zombies and Plants game on my iPad, it was an experience that I’ll never forget and definitely hope to have again.

A special shout out to Lynette (and Amy) for their unmatched hospitality.  You truly gave as an experience that will be hard to replicate.

Top Things Learned at #wbc10

1. You may have the opportunity to let another blogger who cannot attend live the experience through your eyes. Otherwise known as the what you say can and will be used against you adage Vintage Texas

2. Under any circumstances possible, schedule your birthday to coincide with #wbc11. Trust me on this. From the presents of bottles of birthday wine to a fun surprise birthday party to being poured non-stop Velvet Glove wine from the Molly Dooker folks months before its US debut (thanks  Brian Pasch), it was an amazing time and every one is really nice to you on your birthday. I prefer to refer to #wbc as #mbc (“Melanie’s Birthday Conference”).

3. Get to know your local distributors, wine representatives and others in the industry. Thanks to Greg Kassanoff, CEO from Pioneer Wine Company, I was invited to several special events and had the chance to spend some time with Justin Wylie from J Piano, whose wine club I immediately joined after the tasting.

4. Share a room. As a married person for almost 16 years, I was planning to have my own room until a mutual friend asked if I’d mind sharing with another female blogger who needed accommodations. I ended up with the most fun roommate in Liza and she became my running buddy at all events.

5. Attend the unconference events. In the midst of one of our sessions, a note was sent out on Twitter that an unofficial wine tasting was in process on the back patio. As I slipped out in between the sessions, I found the bottle of Turley that I brought from home paled in comparison with the vintage Bordeaux’s, high end champagne and other cellar selections from other bloggers. 

6. Bring your list of Twitter handles included in the #wbc handbook. It was so much fun to put faces and names with personalities that I’ve come to know and love over the past year and a half.

7. Spit. Thankfully this is a lesson that I didn’t need to learn. If you were to ingest all the wine that is offered to you especially during speed tasting, you would end up curled up in a ball in a corner somewhere. You already need a bionic liver to hold your own here anyway.

8. Open your mind and try to put aside preconceived notions. While I can’t say I left the conference with a differing opinion on rosé, I did try it and know that there is one person on a mission to convince me to change my mind.  Mary, I’m happy to continue trying….

9. Partner with the local experts. I had the opportunity to spend three days with one of Washington’s top wine bloggers Write for Wine and her husband, Dave. They taught me so much about the region, introduced me to some amazing wines and truly rolled out the red carpet.

10. Exercise daily. Just trust me on this. It clears your head, jump starts your metabolism (you desperately need this based on the 6,000 calories that you consume daily with food and wine) and there is not a better way to see your surroundings.  The reactions of your fellow bloggers as they pass you in the exercise room on the way to the conference are priceless.

11. My bonus tip is to buy flair. The ribbons are sassy, fun and help define your personality. Find Thea and know that your money will go to the scholarship fund to send a deserving blogger to #wbc11.

I Tweet. Therefore I Drink Wine.

I’ve been asked a lot lately by friends who are not on Twitter why I spend so much time ”Tweeting”. I joined Twitter close to a year and a half ago because I thought I needed to know more about the interworkings of social media due to my job in PR management. I logged on and had absolutely no idea what to do or how to navigate. I stayed in that mode until about three months later when I went back and collectively read my responses, or Tweets. I was ridiculously boring and I had only a handful of employees and loyal friends who were following me.

At that point, I decided I was going to focus and follow my passion of talking about wine. Slowly my community grew into an ecosystem of wine lovers, food lovers, wineries and wine logistics people. It was then that I understood the allure of Twitter – it’s about interacting with a group of people interested in your passion. It became fun – and somewhat of an obsession – just ask my husband who sometimes refers to himself as a Twitter widow. I started tweeting questions such as: What wine should I drink tonight? What wine pairs best with a certain food? Where can I buy the best sake in Dallas for a dinner party? Should I go to the gym or drink wine? Not only could I get an answer, but it was like having hundreds of wine experts available at any time to respond to my questions.

My network of folks continued to grow and I found myself beginning friendships with a core group of people. Those people lived all over the world, worked in all kinds of industries and had different lives than I did, but we all shared a love of the grape. These are the folks who encouraged me to start the Dallas Wine Chick blog. I sat back and learned from them for a year and they offered me a ton of (free) advice on how to make this site the best that it could be.

You may ask, “Melanie, how do you maintain friendships and connections with people that you have never met?” Through Twitter, I have actually had the chance to meet about 15 of those people. I have found that they are people I would have become friends with under “normal” circumstances. Also, I’ve had some really memorable Twitter experiences through those interactions. Here are some of the highlights – I’ve tried to hone in on experiences where I have actually met the person vs. friendships and interactions or this would column would go on forever:

• @donatifamily. I had never heard of Donati Family Vineyards prior to Twitter. But, based on my interaction with Brandi, who runs the wine club program on Twitter, I found out that she was coming to Dallas. I set up a lunch with some wine lovers at Lakewood Country Club followed by a wine blow out at our house that went into the late hours. The wine was wonderful and the people were better. I also had a new friend @amyperryhall who happened to be in town and came to spend the night for the festivities.

• @rickbakas. Rick, the director of social media of St Supery, and I shared a fantastic meal at my favorite restaurant, Abacus. Rick was doing a tour of Texas with St. Supery and we enjoyed some wonderful wine, food and fun. Rick also brought along some very cool folks from Dallas that I hadn’t had the pleasure of meeting until that time.

• @cleavagecreek. Cleavage Creek was another winery that I was not familiar with, but I loved their story of donating proceeds of gross sales to breast cancer research. They quickly have become a good Twitter friend and someone I cannot wait to meet. I also have several bottles of their wine that I plan to open with some breast cancer survivor friends.

• @baconator. I met Ryan in Austin for a drink at a wine bar with lots of Austin charm. The wine list was interesting and global and we brought out the snarkiness in each other. It was a blast. I was also forgiven for being allergic to pork.

• @wineevangelist. This lunch was so much fun at a great wine bar in town, Dali. Barbara, a renowned expert on Pinot Noir and former vineyard owner, and her charming family ordered a crisp White Burgundy that complimented the food and fun conversation. I look forward to learning much more about Pinot from her.

• @lynnerae. A fellow wine lover and marketing person who lives in Punta Mita, my favorite vacation place. My husband and I had a fantastic time meeting she and her boyfriend. They even hooked us up with an in-town wine connection so I don’t have to always bring wine and have introduced us to all the great local places in town (including my surfing instructor).

• @winewonkette and @houstonwino.  I was invited to the Urban Wineauxs road trip to Dallas where we had a wonderful meal at Abacus (sense a theme) paired with wines that brought out the nuances of the food.  Because a flood caused us to move out of our house temporarily, we continued our evening at Veritas Wine Bar.  Another great night with great wine, food and people.

This doesn’t include all the virtual wine tastings or TTL (Twitter Taste Live) events where the wines might range from Oregon Pinots to Washington Merlots to California Cabernets.  Through Twitter, I signed up for the Wine Bloggers Conference in Walla Walla, Washington in June. I cannot wait to put names and faces to Twitter handles. I will get the opportunity to hang out with @writeforwine, a work colleage, estabished blogger and friend, who I have yet to meet in person. I’ll be the new kid on the block there, but I know there will be a supportive wine blogging community to show me the ropes.