12/18/06
(Monday) - Another Successful Holiday Wine Party!
 If you missed out on the 2006 Holiday Wine Party…well then you just plain missed out! As usual it was one of the most entertaining wine parties of the year, even without power! Yeah that’s right NO POWER! But, the challenge of pulling off this year's Holiday Party against all odds was nothing a couple winemaker brothers and foolish WineCOW’s couldn’t handle. The party must go on. And go on it did with the help of plenty of lights (aka. Candles), music, food, and of course great wine! Well enough with all the big words, you can see it all for yourself at our party pics page.
-MP
12/11/06
(Monday) - Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100 Wines of 2006
In Wine Enthusiast’s “Special Best of Year Issue”, that recently hit the shelves, they probably should have renamed it “Washington Scores Big in 2006 Issue!” OK maybe not, but with all of the high scoring wines in this issue it definitely showed how the Washington wine industry is really starting to make some major impact in the world of wine. Besides eight wines finishing in the top 100, with one top 10 recipient, they also had nine wines in the top 100 best buys of the year, including the number one selection. This not only proves that Washington is a producer of world class wine but our state also offers wine drinkers some great bargain options. Check out our Top Washington Wines of 2006 article for the full lineup.
Besides the Top 100 results Washington also had several high scoring wines including a multitude of great Cabernet’s and Red Blends:
CABERNET & RED BLENDS
95 points – Fielding Hills 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon (Wahluke Slope); $30
94 points – Gorman Winery 2004 The Evil Twin (Red Mountain); $50
94 points – Mark Ryan 2004 Dead Horse Ciel du Cheval Vineyard (Red Mountain);
$42
93 points – Fielding Hills 2004 RiverBend (Wahluke Slope); $28
93 points – Gorman Winery 2004 The Bully Cabernet Sauvignon (Columbia Valley); $35
93 points – Mark Ryan 2004 Long Haul Ciel du Cheval Vineyard (Red Mountain); $39
93 points – Spring Valley Vineyard 2004 Uriah (Walla Walla); $40
92 points – L’Ecole No. 41 2004 Ferguson Commemorative Reserve (Columbia Valley); $45
92 points – Sineann 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon (Columbia Valley); $30
91 points - Fidelitas 2003 Champoux Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon (Columbia Valley); $55
91 points – Gorman Winery 2004 Zachary’s Ladder (Columbia Valley); $25
MERLOT
94 points – Fielding Hills 2004 Merlot (Wahluke Slope); $32
91 points – Abeja 2004 Merlot (Columbia Valley); $35
CAB FRANC
91 points – Fielding Hills 2004 Cabernet Franc (Wahluke Slope); $28
SYRAH
94 points – Fielding Hills 2004 Syrah (Columbia Valley); $32
92 points – Mark Ryan 2004 Wild Eyed Syrah (Red Mountain); $35
92 points – Spring Valley Vineyard 2004 Nina Lee Syrah (Walla Walla); $50
91 points – Gorman Winery 2004 The Pixie Syrah (Red Mountain); $30
91 points – L’Ecole No. 41 2004 Syrah (Columbia Valley); $25
And even more great red and white wines!
-MP
12/04/06
(Monday) - Strong Praise for Washington in Wine & Spirits by Varietal
 In the December issue of Wine & Spirits magazine they offered a look at the year’s best in Cabernet Sauvignon. Out of 535 American Cabernets tasted over 12 months two of the top nine were from Washington State. This included the 2003 Leonetti Walla Walla Valley Cab (94 points - $70) and 2003 Pepper Bridge Walla Walla Valley Cab (94 points - $50). Not too shabby given that all of the remaining wines (7 of 9) came from some of Napa Valley’s best growing regions for Cabernet.
Some of Washington’s top finishes in other varietals included:
MERLOT (5 out of top 12)
2004 Leonetti Walla Walla Valley Merlot (93 points - $60)
2003 JM Cellars Red Mountain Merlot (92 points - $32)
2003 Pepper Bridge Walla Walla Valley Merlot (92 points - $45)
2004 Tamarack Cellars Columbia Valley Merlot (92 points - $28)
2003 Whitman Walla Walla Valley Merlot (92 points - $32)
SYRAH (3 out of top 16)
2002 Cayuse Walla Walla Valley En Cerise Vineyard Syrah (94 points - $45)
2003 McCrea Yakima Valley Amerique Syrah (93 points - $45)
2003 Reininger Walla Walla Valley Syrah (93 points - $32)
-MP
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