WineCOW.com - A Good Place for Great Washington Wine

WineCOW (aka. “The WineCOW-boys”) recently crashed one of the most prestigious wine events held in this country. One where the top wineries, winemakers, sommeliers, and other associated “suits” of the wine industry, gather together to show off their wine skills and knowledge. It was the 2005 New York Wine Experience & Grand Tasting hosted by Wine Spectator.

As described in their own words:
Wine Spectator is more than a written and visual record. It is also a catalyst in bringing the diverse world of wine together. A major element in this effort is the annual extravaganza of wine appreciation and education known as the Wine Experience.
2005 marks the 25th year of this event, which has grown into one of the world's premier celebrations of wine. Unique tastings of rare wines, appearances by leading wine and food personalities and exploration of new wines and emerging regions all make the Wine Experience the overwhelming success it is today.

Now, we understand that this is a valuable event in the wine industry and a fantastic opportunity to taste some of the world’s most amazing wines, but it can also be one of the stuffiest and definitely most expensive wine events that exist today. With this knowledge in mind, there was only one thing we as WineCOW-boys could do…CRASH THE PARTY!!!

At $250 per person (for one 21⁄2 hour session of wine tasting), or just under $2K for the entire weekend, we had to see first hand if it was really worth the pricey entrance fee. Of course we didn’t bother with all the pomp-and-circumstance associated with the entire event, which included lectures, meals, and other activities/seminars, but instead chose to focus on the most important part, tasting wine. Actually, who are we kidding? That was really all we could afford…one night of tasting. So, we purchased our $250 tickets and prepared ourselves for two and a half hours of wine tasting ($100 per hour) with some of the industry’s elites in New York City.

The “Grand Tasting” included over 250 wineries from around the world, all of which had received at least an outstanding Wine Spectator score of 90 points or higher. Although these ratings hold no measure to our “drink what you like” philosophy, you can’t deny that some of the “most drinkable” wines in the industry would be present. Wines that the average wine drinker could never get their hands on, many of which have a price tag of $100+ per bottle.

Starting out, we really didn’t know what to expect from this event, but there were a few things we did know. One, we would be some of the youngest people there. Two, we would be among the most casually dressed (it is not our opinion that you must dress up in order to enjoy great wine…”no occasion necessary”). Three, we would be two of only a handful of people that would really understand the quality of wine coming out of Washington State, and appreciatethe 5 wineries represented at the event. These included Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Crest, De Lille Cellars, L'Ecole No. 41 and Woodward Canyon. So, we decided to make promoting Washington wines our primary goal…besides tasting the most expensive stuff we could get our hands on, of course.

Going into the event, which was held at the New York Marriott Marquis in Time Square, we both wore jeans and WineCOW t-shirts, hidden under a couple dinner jackets due to the “recommended” business attire. Once inside we quickly ditched our jackets to sport tees proudly baring “Wine Connection of Washington, One for all, all for Wine” and “Wine is Yummy, MMM…Cabernet,” and began the tasting.

Instantly we were hit with the mad rush of people in formal attire and dress clothes rushing around like crazed animals trying to get a taste of the world’s best. There were those that you could tell had been here on several other occasions, or just didn’t have to pay for their tickets, because they were just standing around conversing without the lust in their eye. Then there were the drunks that had obviously gotten in for the earlier tasting and were beginning to stumble around with purple smiles. But, for the most part the tasting floor was made up of those trying to get a perfect tasting score for successfully tasting all 250 of the 250 wines/wineries represented Considering the price for a ticket to this event, I don’t blame them at all.

Our game plan was a combination of tasting the most local and most revered. We definitely made a point to visit all of the Washington and Oregon wineries, but at $100 per hour we also tried to taste as many of the big boys as possible. Those included the renowned French Grande Cru (Top Quality Growth or Vineyard) of Bordeaux such as Château Haut-Brion, Château Lafite-Rothschild, Château Latour, Château Margaux and Château Mouton-Rothschild, as well as the infamous big cab producers of California such as BOND, Caymus, Harlan Estate, Opus One, and Screaming Eagle. Without question many of these wines were quite amazing, but several fell short to the quality to some of the great wines coming out of Washington and the Northwest.

Of the Washington wineries present here is what they were serving and how they panned out:

De Lille Cellars – 2002 Chaleur Estate Red
Offering to house our jackets as we worked our way through the tasting room floor, Greg Lill is always a good sport… even allowing us to walk out the door with a couple bottles of his Chaleur Estate for a little fun (and Washington promotion) after the event was over.

Chateau Ste. Michelle – 2004 Eroica Riesling
Winemaker Bob Bertheau was a pleasant surprise, as he was fired up about the idea of WineCOW and was completely on board with our goal to inspire the young wine drinker to get involved with wine and the Washington wine industry. “Don’t count us out,” he said in response to our preference of supporting small production Washington wines/wineries. Cheers Bob!

Columbia Crest – 2002 Walter Clore Private Reserve Red Table Wine
Ray Einberger, winemaker for Columbia Crest, definitely wins the “biggest pour” award. As we’ve mentioned several times, drinking/tasting wine is all about the experience. How can you be expected to really get a taste for a certain wine if all you get is a thimble’s worth? Cheers to those winemakers, such as Ray Einberger, that take pride in their wine by offering up big pours so that we as tasters can really take the time to enjoy what we’re drinking.

L'Ecole No. 41 – 2003 Seven Hills Vineyard Estate Merlot
While we are big fans of L'Ecole wine, their reaction to WineCOW at their booth was less than enthusiastic, which was a little surprising. In an event where thousands of people hardly know where Washington State is, we expected a little more enthusiasm for a couple of guys just trying to promote the Washington wine industry. Oh well, we’ll keep drinking your wine anyway.

Woodward Canyon – 2002 Columbia Valley Merlot
We may have been a little lopsided by the time we paid a visit to the guys of Woodward Canyon, but our deep purple grins were greeted warmly enough. And a laugh or two was shared over a taste of their great Washington wine as they tried to show us on the map exactly where Walla Walla was. Didn’t we mention that we were also from Washington? Oh well, we often forget some important details after a few glasses of wine.

Outside of paying respect to our fellow Washington wineries throughout the evening, we also managed to carry on a few conversations with other people, from winemakers to distributors to wine enthusiasts. Some of the discussions were fantastic as we vociferously discussed the younger generation of wine drinkers and how people just want to get involved and have fun with wine. While part of what we had to say was well received, some people were quick to shun our outside-the-box thinking, maybe because they greedily want to maintain the cult of knowledge, prestige, status and power for themselves?. Surely not. But overall, both WineCOW and the great wines of Washington were eagerly welcomed, giving props where props were due.

Some of the great people that we met along the way who supported our cause of the everyday wine drinker, included the winemaker from Oregon’s Argyle Winery, Rollin Soles. He shared a story about a wine bar that several years ago used to consist of stuffy drinkers, resembling some type of good ol’ boys club. But, today he walks in and it is a bunch “30 and younger’s” shooting pool, drinking big globes red wine (instead of Bud Light), and having a good time. Then there was Mac McDonald from Vision Cellars of California who was there to embrace anyone who wanted to have fun with wine by serving up great big pours, laughs, and high fives. It was people like this, who knew that wine is really about enjoying and having fun that made our experience at the Grand Tasting worthwhile. It also gave WineCOW hope for the slow turn of the wine industry to eventually recognize the potential of the young market who is eagerly waiting to be included.

All in all we had a great time at the 2005 New York Wine Experience & Grand Tasting and if you can front the cash, it is a cool thing to try at least once. If not, I would suggest getting about 10-20 of your wine cronies together, open several bottles of wine from around the world and enjoy throwing your own “Grand Tasting.” And if you need some help, we’re always looking to crash a good wine party…ENJOY!