Washington Wines

Over the weekend we traveled out to Seattle, WA to get acquainted with the Pacific Northwest. Not only did we find beautiful weather and scenery but there was also wine there! On our first day we took the ferry out to Bainbridge Island and were delighted to happen upon a couple wine shops.

Harbor Square Wine Bar and Shop, https://www.facebook.com/Harborwine, was the first wine store on the Bainbridge Island map. Not only did they have a “Washington Wines” tasting but it was also being served from a tap. I’ve come across “wine on tap” a couple times but have not tasted it yet so let’s see what it’s like. Here’s what we tried.

White table wine, 2011 Perennial Vintners, Madeleine Angevine, Bainbridge island grapes
Rosé of syrah and grenache, 2013 Buty Rockgarden, Walla Walla, WA
Red table wine, 2012 Result of a Crush, Walla Walla, WA

The white wine had mineral and cat pee aromas with a tart crisp pear flavor, not really the type of white wine we prefer. We both noticed strawberries in the Rosé and agreed it must have been aged in oak because it was smooth and buttery. I did find it to have a tartness also, so I didn’t like it but Neil said it was his favorite of the 3 wines. The final wine was a red wine which seemed to have the most flavor of the three wines. I noticed slate and soft fruit aromas and then more slate, earth and smoke flavors. Neil identified a beef jerky pepper aroma with pepper and smoke flavors. We were happy to try some wines from a new place but maybe our palate is more used to the full-bodied California wines we find at home? On to the next shop.

What a funny coincidence, the people who were tasting wine next to us at Harbor Square Wine Bar and Shop also went to Island Vintners, http://www.islandvintners.com. We all sat at the bar and introduced ourselves to Melissa and Robert, from Louisville, KY, who also love to travel and drink wine. What a nice chance to have a conversation with some new friends.

Island Vintners carries 2 brands of wine, Amelia Wynn and Fletcher’s Bay, both produced and grown on Bainbridge Island. They carried 16 wines total and we could choose four samples for our tasting flight. See our list below.

2013 Viognier-Amelia Wynn
2012 Roussanne-Amelia Wynn
2011 Patriot red, Super tuscan-Fletcher’s Bay
2011 Tara rouge, Bordeaux-Fletcher’s Bay
2012 Tempranillo-Fletcher’s Bay

Yup, we tried 5, living the wine life!

We decided to choose a few that we are somewhat familiar with, Viognier and Roussanne and some that we know of, but really haven’t tried often, Super Tuscan and Bordeaux blend. It just happened to be the white wines we tried were from Amelia Wynn and the reds were from Fletcher’s Bay.

The Viognier was light with honey, pear and green apple aromas and flavors. I found it to be smooth, while Neil said it was tart and a little sweet. The Roussanne smelled smooth and creamy and reminded Neil of burnt caramel and buttery peppery corn, it must have been aged in oak. For flavors, we agreed on butter but I said butterscotch and Neil found it to be a little dry. I really liked this wine but I already knew I liked oaked Roussanne’s because we carry one at work.

Now on to the reds. Patriot Red was a Super Tuscan Blend, created from sangiovese, cabernet sauvignon and merlot. This wine had many different aromas; cherry, slate, licorice, pepper and cassis. What a complex blend! For flavors we noticed spice, cassis and cherry and found it to be fruity, light and tart. We both enjoyed it and decided to purchase a bottle to drink later in our trip. Our next wine, Tara Rouge, was a Bordeaux blend of merlot, cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon. We both noticed the floral aromas and Neil identified some spice as well. When we tasted the wine, we found some slate flavors, the smooth light texture and a little cassis.

As a bonus, we tried the Tempranillo. Sharon, the owner of the store, and Melissa, our new wine tasting friend, highly recommended it. Neil said it smelled and tasted jammy! I noticed the alcohol in the aroma but then found tannins and vanilla flavors. We were both getting to the end of our wine tasting tolerance so we decided to call it a day after that and find some lunch at a nearby diner. Definitely a fun time and enjoyable wines!