The Year in Wine: 2010

Thanks for making 2010 a great year for WinewomenPSP and the charities we serve. Besides your help in boosting membership and event attendance all year long, we appreciate how you rolled up your sleeves to give your time and support at the milestone Coachella Wine Festival and Women Leaders Forum's L.E.A.D. educational conference. Thanks too for spreading the word about the WinewomenPSP Facebook page we launched and comments you've shared.

In no particular order, these outstanding 2010 wine events deserve a toast. Chime in with your memorable 2010 wine experiences.

Wine spot: The summer opening of 3rd Corner Wine Shop and Bistro was a welcome addition to the valley wine scene. General Manager Marc Plummer guides visitors through their balanced and intriguing wine inventory and gives tableside tips for choosing a wine match you'll like. Executive Chef Matt Smith's cuisine, special wine-pairing and tasting events satisfy wine-curious diners or experienced wine lovers in a comfortable, energized setting. Go.

Wine reading: Daring Pairings by Evan Goldstein was a favorite wine book of the year. See this post for more details. It's not too late to pick it up for the wine-foodie on your list or your own library. After all, Valentine's Day is just around the corner.

Wine online: Sorry Gary V, but Decanter.com's re-release of wine expert Hugh Johnson's 1984 series How to Handle a Wine takes top billing. Learn, laugh and love, as Johnson takes you through the basics with charm and British wit.

Wine values: The best wine prices in years made it tough to decide between bargains and specials that streamed in from all directions. Keep looking and shopping in 2011 as more mark-downs roll in. Stock up on 2008 Pinot Noir from Oregon and big reds from Washington and heavenly picks in 2007 California Cabernet Sauvignon.

Wine tourism: Visits to Los Olivos, Napa, Oregon's Willamette Valley and Washington's Woodinville wine country in 2010 brought exciting wine leads to explore. Napa standouts in 2010 were Robert Biale Vineyards, Regusci (be sure to try their estate olive oil, too), Luna, Hill Family and Signorello. We also checked in with solid producers whose great juice and strong portfolios make them worth return visits. If you haven't built your own list of go-to wines and wineries you like, find a way to taste or visit Byron, Stolpman, Longoria, St. Supery, Failla, Alpha Omega, Lang & Reed, Andrew Rich and Carlton Winemakers Studio, Bergstrom, DiStefano, DeLille and Januik.

Empty bottles: Use the search function or wine listing at the lower right column to bookmark 2010 wines and values from this blog worth a pour. For more, you might want to seek out these winners we tagged in 2010:

Red Wine
Skylight Cellars 2007 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
Santa Ema Amplus One 2006 Old Vines Carignan
Otis Kenyon 2006 Merlot
Coho 2005 Merlot, Michael Black Vineyards
Chateau Virecourt Pillebourse 2005 Bordeaux
Seven Hills 2005 Petit Verdot
Cantele Primitivo 2006
Bodegas El Nido 2007 Clio Jumilla
Zaca Mesa Syrah 2005
Vallado 2007 Douro
Clos de los Siete 2006
Millworks 2008 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir
Becker Estate 2007 Pinot Noir
Adelsheim 2008 Pinot Noir Willamette Valley
Tamarack Cellars DuBrul Vineyard 2006 Reserve Rattlesnake Hills

White Wine
Botani 2008 Dry Moscatel
Zolo 2008 Torrontés
Bethel Heights 2009 Pinot Gris
Mönchhof Robert Eymael 2007 Mosel Riesling Spätlese
Andrew Rich 2008 Roussanne
Stolpman 2007 L'Avion

Rosé
Bodegas Borsao 2009 Rosé
Barnard Griffin 2009 Rosé
Truett Hurst Salmon Run 2008 Zinfandel Rosé
Argiolas Serra Lori 2009 Isola di Nuraghi Rosato

Dessert Wine
Royal Tokaji 2000 Tokaji Aszu 5 Puttonyos
Andrew Rich 2007 Late Harvest Gewürztraminer

We're looking forward to a tasty 2011 as more Pacific Northwest 2008s hit the shelves. Look for more blogging too at writeonwines, writeonhealth or winefoodhealth. Drop a line at gmail for more information.

Have a fabulous, healthy New Year!

Winning Washington Wines

The Discover Washington cover stories in this month's Wine Spectator are definitely worth a read. We had that distinct pleasure last year, as we tasted our way through nearly 100 Northwest wines. The occasion was the first Renaud Society wine competition, held in conjunction with the 5th International Wine and Heart Health Summit in Walla Walla that you read about here.

At the 2009 competition, the Renaud Society – an international organization of medical and wine professionals with an interest in better health and a passion for wine – awarded its best-in-show Tastevin to little-known Skylite Cellars for their 2006 Columbia Valley Reserve, a blend of Malbec, Carmenere and Cabernet Sauvignon.

This year's Renaud Society competition was a bit different. First, the venue had changed to Silverado Resort, in the heart of Napa Cab country. As before, the 2010 contest was held blind using the same 20-point scoring system as in Walla Walla, but with a different panel of judges that tasted their way through a new batch of wine entries. In the end, a surprise outcome carried a familiar ring: the winner of the best in show Renaud Society 2010 Tastevin was Skylite Cellars once again, this time for their 2007 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon.

Scoring a second coveted Renaud Society Tastevin recognizes talent at young Skylite Cellars, founded in 2003 by owners Tom and Cheryl Hodgins. To make Skylite's winning 2007 Reserve, winemaker Robert O. Smasne uses 100% Cabernet Sauvignon fruit from three Walla Walla vineyards.

Other Washington wines that landed top-ten scores for gold medal awards were four reds by Maryhill Winery. A Columbia Valley 2009 Gewürztraminer by Maryhill received the highest white wine score for a gold medal. Located along the northern bank of the Columbia River in the gorgeous Gorge region, Winepress NW named Maryhill Winery the 2009 Washington Winery of the Year.

Filling out the 2010 competition's top ten picks were red wines by Napa's Rocca Family Vineyards Grigsby Vineyard 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2007 Syrah; 2006 M by Michael Mondavi Family Wines; and Lamborn Family Vineyards Howell Mountain 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon. Check out the full list of competition winners from 2009 and 2010 on the Renaud Society website.

As the nation's second-largest wine-producing state, Washington is producing terrific wines worth a pop. More than 30 different grape varieties are under vine with acreage dominated by its big four: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay and Riesling. Add to that Syrah, a variety that appears destined for signature status, much as Pinot Noir dominates Oregon's wineprint.

Find tips for your next visit to Washington wine country on our WinewomenPSP website, with updates coming soon. In the meantime, treat yourself to Washington wines. Many wines flagged by Wine Spectator are available at local outlets. Find wines by large producers Columbia Crest and Chateau St. Michelle at grocers and big-box stores. Wines by smaller wineries noted in Steiman's articles and those hailed by the Renaud Society can be found at valley wine shops, online at Avalon or from the wineries themselves.

Pick up the December 15th Spectator and start your own Washington wine discovery. Wines by Leonetti, Cayuse, Woodward Canyon, Tamarack Cellars, Pepperbridge, Buty, K Vintners, Abeja, Walla Walla Vintners and Otis Kenyon are just a few you won't want to miss. Give your 'buds a treat, Washington style.

Showtime! Winewomen and Song This Friday

Our Ahnfeldt wine dinner on Friday, October 22 is sure to hit the high notes. Between the vocal performance of classical songstress Jessica Tivens with Gale Enger at the piano, wines that include two reds from Napa's excellent 2005 vintage, Chef Nyerick's cuisine, a gorgeous outdoor venue at Miramonte and the incredible charity that is Well in the Desert, you are in for a monstrous treat.

Tivens has covered a lot of sheet music in her twenty-something years. The precocious talent made her debut on TV's Star Search when she was only eight years old. Later, she trained at New York's legendary Julliard School of Music, followed by her professional operatic debut in 1999 and an appearance at Carnegie Hall only a year after that – how tough is that in Noo Yawk? Lemme tell ya.

Besides performing for dignitaries Rudy Giuliani and the Clintons, Jessica has also shared the concert stage with Josh Groban, Davis Gaines and Michael Crawford. Listen to this lady rattle the rafters on her website – yowza!

As though all this weren't enough for one night, our Winewomen and Song event features Nyerick's gorgeous fall menu wine dinner and five pairings with Napa Valley's Ahnfeldt wines.

Start with passed appetizers and Ahnfeldt 2005 Cuvee at 6 PM and be humming your way home by 9:30 PM. The dinner includes Ahnfeldt's 2009 Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay as well as two 2005 vintage beauties: Ahnfedlt Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and Estate Merlot.

Weather permitting, Tivens' performance and our wine dinner should unfold under the stars at Miramonte's romantic Mediterranean Lawn. Proceeds will benefit Well in the Desert, a charity dedicated to food assistance, programs and services that focus on poverty prevention and intervention.

Make your just-in-time reservations today! Tickets are $75 for WinewomenPSP members and $85 for nonmembers.

See the entire four-course dinner menu and event schedule online and ring K at 760.799.7076 con brio. See you there!

Winewomen, Song and Ahnfeldt Wines

To close out California wine month, we want to tip our hats to a small Napa Valley winery you'll have the chance to get to know better next month – Ahnfeldt Wines.

Plan to join us as we reprise Winewomen & Song with a special Ahnfeldt wine dinner on Friday, October 22 at Miramonte Resort and Spa. Our last Winewomen & Song was such a magical evening under the stars at Miramonte's Mediterranean lawn that we were driven to do it again!

This time, we're honored to showcase talented vocalist Jessica Tivens and her accompanist, the ever-charming Gale Enger. Chef Nyerick has composed a gorgeous menu to pair with five Ahnfeldt wines.

Napa's Ahnfeldt has been turning out 90+ point winners, a laudable feat for a winery that only began in 2002. Crushing this successful run is enologist and winemaker Craig MacLean who put his talents to work at Markham Vineyards, Cain Cellars and Spring Mountain Vineyard. MacLean's handcrafted wines for Ahnfeldt are made only from grapes harvested from Ahnfeldt vineyards. They show beautiful fruit while offering refinement and complexity.

Check out the amazing lineup here along with the menu and festivities. Not only are you are in for a treat, but you'll also support Well in the Desert, the west valley charity that provides services to seniors and the working poor, homeless and disabled.

Bring a light evening wrap or someone special to keep you warm. Call Kathleen today to reserve at 760.799.7076 and you'll soon be singing Ahnfeldt's praises too.

Ode to Oakville

The tasting season is underway. With a chance to catch Oakville Winegrowers' 2009 Taste of Oakville on its first Los Angeles stop at the Beverly Wilshire on May 1, only one question remained before we hit the road: Where's dinner?

Tastings offer a focused tasting room experience closer to home. They might be organized by region, brand or grape varietal. At their best, tastings can offer a master class in wine. Besides face time with the winemakers themselves, there's the chance to explore a grape's different expressions, whether in a single-varietal bottling or a blend.

Tiny Oakville lies at the heart of the Napa Valley appellation. The AVA or subappellation's two-mile stretch of wine country paradise is home to more than 60 wineries whose names are synonymous with top-flight Cabernet Sauvignon. Acre for acre, big-name producers Mondavi, Opus One, Far Niente and Joseph Phelps along with cult wineries such as Screaming Eagle, Rudd and Dalla Valle make Oakville one of the greatest Cab-producing clusters on earth.

Oakville Cabernets are soaked with minerality and lusty fruit that reflect the region's soil diversity. Between gravelly soils along the western end and volcanic earth eastward, Oakville produces fleshy and structured wines rich in dark fruit kicked up by layers of mint or eucalyptus, tobacco and cedar.

About half of the AVA's wineries were present, which meant we had our work cut out for us. Loathe to skip a single one, we tasted, spit (so sad) and refreshed our palate with dry bread. Stand-outs among the stand-out Cabs were 2005 Detert Family Vineyards, 2005 Bond St. Eden and Vecina in an east vs. west throw-down, silky and juicy 2005 Groth Reserve, aptly named 2005 Flora Springs Holy Smoke and 100% certified organic 2006 Ghost Block Oakville Estate. Special treats included 1997 Dalla Valle, 2005 Robert Mondavi Reserve To Kalon Vineyard and Miner Family Vineyards' 2006 Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon, juiced by 5% Cabernet Franc. For value Cab Sauv, we thoroughly enjoyed the 2005 Robert Mondavi Oakville District, which we've spotted at local wine outlets in the $25 range.

If you've been searching for the Promised Land in California Cabernet Sauvignon, set your sights on Oakville wines. Most will set you back a pretty penny and many are tough to find but oh, what a reward to those who seek them out. Happy tasting – can't be late for Mozza!