Aside from the usual big name suspects from Washington, a small producer that we love is Sparkman Cellars, especially the Stella Mae Syrah. Talk about asparagus tips…Gary would be all over the 2004 for the vegetables.

WA- home sweet home!
QOTD: too many to pick just one:
94 Arbor Crest Cab Franc
99 Leonetti Merlot
00 Cayuse Bionic Frog, 02 Cayuse Viognier, 04 Cayuse Widowmaker, 03 Cayuse Armada Syrah
02 Buty Rediviva Of the Stones Walla Walla (Cayuse grapes)
02 K Vintners Ovide (Cayuse grapes)
any L’Ecole cab sauv, merlot, syrah
thirsty now, must go

I had a ’99 Lâ??ecole Syrah that is one of the few Washington state wines that I have tried. I enjoyed it quite a lot. I have had several other L’ecole wines that have been PAZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. I’m not sold on Washington bringing complete thunder yet…

Here’s some Washington State recommendations.
Any Betz or K Vintners wines
Best Merlot in the world – Reininger & Novelty Hill
Need to know about now – Gorman, Cadence, Mark Ryan
Value wines – Desert Wind Ruah, Ghost of 413 Red

So excited to see more Walla Walla wines on the show!

QOTD: One winery I’m super excited about right now is Ensemble Cellars. Cab Sauv dominated Bordeaux blends. Release One is fabulous (and sold out). Release Two is amazing! Seriously, Craig Nelsen knows what he’s doing.

But I still can’t pick a favorite. There are too many good ones out there!

QOTD- Walla Walla Equinox and Desert Wind Cab Seven Hills Ciel du Cheval, all quite yummy. It is hard to narrow it down to just one. Loved the show great to see you get totally jazzed on poop. Wow!!

QOD:
Had a Leonetti Sangiovese 1999? about 6 mos ago.
It was one of the most extracted, intense wines I have ever had.
However, it was a discounted (New Orleans restaurant flood sale wine!) and was high to mid shoulder fill with a seepage around the cork and a syrup under the seal! I thought it wasn’t going to be good for those reasons, but was I surprised! Went to the internet to buy 2 more bottles and tried one –
turned out to be not that intense! Saving the other to either microwave or put away for a few years. Maybe the New Orleans heat cooked this wine just right. One of those one in a lifetime experiences!!! john

QOD:
Had a Leonetti Sangiovese 1999? about 6 mos ago.
It was one of the most extracted, intense wines I have ever had.
However, it was a discounted (New Orleans restaurant flood sale wine!) and was high to mid shoulder fill with a seepage around the cork and a syrup under the seal! I thought it wasn’t going to be good for those reasons, but was I surprised! Went to the internet to buy 2 more bottles and tried one –
turned out to be not that intense! Saving the other to either microwave or put away for a few years. Maybe the New Orleans heat cooked this wine just right. One of those one in a lifetime experiences!!! john

QOTD: Belle Pente Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

Best Washington wine ever had is the:
2003 K Vintners Morrison Lane Syrah.

Great show! Love to see some more Cab Francs! QOTD: 2004 Rockblock Syrah. It’s from the Walla Walla Valley. Good stuff!

I have trouble believing that a dirty diaper can be appealing, Gary, I guess it’s one of those subtle things that makes sense within the context of the fact that the liquid in question is still composed of grapes, and not feces…Although Pomegranate sounds good.

QOTD: Never had one (as far as I know) Why? dono.

BUT I do have a question for YOU (and It’s not about the quickly approaching Temecula episode). . . . . If I wanted to try my first Washington wine, what would you reccommend it be?

Wondered what peeps were talking about with Dr. Loosen as a WA wine! Wasn’t aware of the association. However, I was astounded to find the Dr’s riesling as a special at a local shop for $20. Yum-eee! Will have to watch for it again and take a closer look for the WA connection.

QOTD Not observed: On a ‘southern’ trip across Washington a couple of years ago, we were disappointed with the choice of local wines offered in the restaurants we visited. I’d done some research and was excited about what we might get to try. Stopped in Leavenworth and Yakima, stayed over in Wenatchee and Spokane. Only in Spokane did we find a little bistro sort of place with a good list of Washington whites.

🙂
had several low end washington state, not too too bad 🙂

Well, I just learned of this website yesterday. I’d never even heard of Gary Vaynerchuk until about 36 hours ago. Technically, I was a lurker, and now I’m registered. I’m finishing off a Meridian 06 PN – I reviewed it at Cork’d, for what it’s worth to anybody else (I’m a novice, but I know what I like). So far, I can only really talk intelligently about two bottles of wine – both pinots – and maybe not even that intelligently, but I’m still getting my feet wet. On the plus side, my in-laws are wine LOVERS, and an annual trip to Napa is pretty much guaranteed. My next venture will be a good, cheap shiraz. And so ends this pointless comment.

Oh man, that diaper stuff really grossed me out. I grew up on a cattle ranch, and it was not uncommon for me to be covered in manure by the end of the day. Manure doesn’t gross me out at all; it’s just highly processed grass. But diapers are another matter entirely. My little brothers were eight years and twelve years younger than me, so I’ve spent plenty of my childhood and adolescence surrounded by the inescapable stench of baby. It’s not the human feces that bothered me. I can handle shit, and I can handle manure. But the smell of both baby-powder and diaper-rash ointment are enough to make me sick, even to this day.

267, huh? Good gawd, I sure hope it doesn’t take that long for you guys to whip Cork’d into shape!

QOTD: I honestly can’t remember if I’ve had anything from WA, but I was born in Pullman (WSU). Maybe I should try to find some ’79 WA vintage and see if it’s aged any better than I have.

only really interested in a countdown until the next free (or even discounted?) shipping. my wine habit has gotten too pricey thanks to wltv and i had to cancel my last wl order when 6 of the 12 bottles in my cart werent in stock anymore (??). anyway ill buy like 3 cases or more when free shipping comes up, but until then im out of action…

Love to try one of these but not here in OZ… Sorry.

GV – Enjoyed this episode. Not much ranting, you were focused — until the dirty diaper comment. NO MORE dirty diaper notes, GV, unless you a panning the suckiest wine ever!

You need to do more WA and OR wine tastings.

QOTD — For those I find good value: Rober Karl Cab and CSM Indian Wells Cab.

The wines that really bring the thunder out of washington are Mark Ryan (Dead Horse and Long Haul) and Gorman Winery (Evil Twin and The Bully)

As usual, great episode!
QOTD: Cayuse baby! All the way!!!

Last

Interesting show GV, ….. sounds like washington is similar to Pyrenees in Victoria with colder climate (old world) type wines…… one that reminds me is the Dalwhinie wine…. it smelled dirty but really nice, unlike real old world like rhone but with more fruits……

QOTD…… didn’t have any… can’t get’em in aust…….