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Leavenworth, WA 2011

The drive from Woodinville to Leavenworth via Hwy 2 was beautiful.  The roads were windy and mostly 2 lanes, with patches of snow in late April.  The views were stunning.

We arrived in the adorable Bavarian town of Leavenworth and went directly to the little downtown area on Front Street.  This quant stretch of shops and wine tasting rooms proved to be the perfect spot to spend an afternoon or even an entire weekend.

Leavenworth and the surrounding areas have about 15 wineries.  Some of them grow their grapes nearby, while others have them trucked in from Yakima Valley and Walla Walla.

We decided to start off with a bang and hit the tasting rooms.  We tasted at Boudreaux Cellars (in their new tasting room that just opened on April 1st), Ryan Patrick and Kestrel Vintners.

Our first stop was Boudreaux, which definitely set the bar high for tasting in this small town.  Jennifer was pouring, and she was a delight.  We felt very well taken care of as she poured and shared stories of the winery, including the origin of the name.  Owner and winemaker Rob Newsom, originally from Louisiana, worked for years with Leonetti.   The large number of guys named Rob made it essential to hand out some nicknames, and because of his Cajun roots Newsom was given “Boudreaux” in honor of the infamous Cajun folklore character.  When Rob decided to start making his own wines, the winery name was an obvious one!  And the wines?   Ahhhhh … they are wonderful.  I especially loved the ’06 Merlot, which has violets and cinnamon on the nose and lovely smooth tannins on the palate, and the ’06 Cabernet Sauvignon with its smoky nose and fabulously long finish.

Our next stop was Ryan Patrick, where they had a nice little red blend called “Rock Island” that doesn’t break the bank.  Toni was pouring and she was very nice.

Our last wine stop that day was Kestler Vintners.  Their wine production is done in Yakima Valley, but they have a nice tasting room in Leavenworth.  I was actually pleasantly surprised at their wines.  I’ve had their “Lady In Red” line in the past and haven’t been thrilled with them.  We tasted a great 2007 Co-ferment Syrah.  They’ve blended 7% Viognier with 93% Syrah (done in Rhone style) which adds a nice floral aspect to the nose with violet and lavender, and there is a spice and mocha on the palate.  They also have a nice basic Cabernet Sauvignon at the $20 price point.

We then headed to Cheesemongers, a wonderful cheese shop where we got to try lots of samples.  It was a hard decision of what to buy, but we ended up with 3 to take back to our B&B.

We stayed at Abendblume Pension, in their Tannenbaum suite.  We had two fireplaces, one gas and one wood burning, a beautiful view and a very comfy bed.  The breakfasts were to die for and on Easter Sunday we were delighted to be entertained by the owner’s father playing his alpine horn.

The next day we golfed at a wonderful mountain golf course with spectacular views at every turn.  The Leavenworth Golf Club isn’t a difficult course; and can be enjoyed by players of all levels.

Next Stop:  Yakima Valley

Woodinville, WA 2011

The first day of our ten day journey through Washington Wine Country found us in Woodinville, a suburb of Seattle.  There are many tasting rooms here (due to the close proximity to Seattle’s wine loving population), but only some have their actual wine making facilities here.  Most of the vineyards are located east of the Cascade mountains, which we will be visiting later this week.  On this day we visited DeLille, Mark Ryan, Ross Andrew and Januik/Novelty Hill wineries.

My favorite of the bunch was Mark Ryan.  The wines were great, and so was the delightful gal in the tasting room, Kyra.  She was really fun and great, but also knew a lot about the wines.  We especially loved all of the Bordeaux blends, as well as the Syrah.  While there, a nice guy showed up with his dog.  This “nice guy” turned out to be Jerry of Guardian Cellars.  We would have loved to have tried his wines as well, but he’s sold out!  Guess he’s doing something right too.  I’ll be sure to check him out next vintage!

Ross Andrew (tasting room next door to Mark Ryan) also did a bang-up job.  His 2008 Boushe Vineyard Syrah was really tasty, with black fruit and some bacon fat on the palate and a nice long velvety finish.

There aren’t a lot of lodging options right in Woodinville.  We stayed at the Willows Lodge in one of their suites, which was off the charts amazing.  It was truly one of the best rooms in which I’ve ever stayed, and I’ve stayed in some really cool rooms.  (We did a last minute upgrade for only $30!)  Their restaurant (Barking Frog) was packed and we hadn’t made reservations.  The bar was packed too, so we ordered room service instead (which was also from the Barking Frog) and it was awesome!

The next day we had lunch at Purple, a great restaurant with a fabulous wine list and Jeff (our server) was beyond great.  They have wonderful food and great wines by the glass.

After lunch I really wanted to taste at Sparkman, but we were about 45 minutes early.  They open at 1pm and we needed to head to our next destination, so we decided to save Sparkman for our next visit to Woodinville.

Next stop:  Leavenworth!

 

 

My April Wine of the Month

Pride Mountain 
Cabernet Sauvignon
2007

The Wine – This is a truly lovely full-bodied wine.  The color is a dark ruby.  On the nose there is currant, cherry and, believe it or not, a vanilla milkshake.  I know that sounds as if it may be over oaked, but it really isn’t.  On the palate there is licorice and the currant, along with some blackberry.  I found the tannins to be evident, but not overpowering.  The wine is very drinkable now, although one should decant it for at least an hour.  With time, this wine will become even better.  I rate this wine 91 points.

82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 6% Petit Verdot
50% Napa / 50% Sonoma

My Experiences Visiting The Winery – This is one of my favorite wineries in California, not only because of the wines, but also because of the tasting experience.  When you go deep into the caves, you’ll get some fabulous barrel tastings.  This isn’t the typical “tour”.  This is a very special tasting.  On one of our visits we were shown the actual county line that separates Sonoma from Napa.  We also had the opportunity to see the Wine Maker, Sally Johnson, doing “her thing” during harvest.

An appointment is needed for a tasting here.

The Journey – Pride Mountain Vineyards is on Spring Mountain.  The Napa and Sonoma county lines are literally on their property.  You need to drive some beautifully curvy mountain roads to get there, but it’s worth it for many reasons.  When you get to the winery, the views are magnificent, and so are the wines!

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