Woodinville, WA
Tasted Saturday, March 31, 2007 - Sunday, April 1, 2007 by last chance with 1,814 views
This was our 4th year to attend the Passport to Woodinville event, but the first time that we had a group so large it forced us to get a van and a driver. That was a wonderful luxury, and many of the group took full advantage of it.
This has always been our first stop because it is so far away from all the other wineries, but also because we really enjoy Lance's wines. The bluegrass band is always fun to see at Passport as well.
Since these share the same location, there is always a ton of wine to taste here. Since we had a driver this year, that didn't slow us down one bit. Great food here as well to go with the wine tasting (well, drinking really).
On the way to Mark Ryan, we saw that Gorman was open, even though it wasn't included in the Passport event. Our group has been big fans of Chris' wines, especially the Bully and Evil Twin. We had hoped he would be open, but it was still a nice surprise.
This was one of the stops that we were really looking forward to. Mark is such a fun guy to be around, and with the disco ball and rock music playing in the winery, it's almost inevitable that you will see a loaded couple making out in one of the corners. Yup, they were there. We just didn't expect them to be in their mid 40's. I'm not encouraging this behavior, but mearly narrating the events that transpired while we were there. The wines were great, and we were thrilled to be able to taste some library Dead Horse.
Stopped in while we were amongst the warehouse wineries to see friends that were there. We've tasted some of their wines that haven't been released yet, and they're going to have some nice stuff coming out in the next year or so. This is one to keep an eye on.
Since you can only get into this place a couple times a year, it's almost obligatory to go when you are attending the Passport event.
The first bottle of red wine that really made me start paying more attention to what I was drinking was a 1999 Matthews Red Wine. We still have a few left, and they are drinking great now. Matthew Loso is usually pretty hard to spot at these tasting events, but he has a big staff there that are all helpfull and friendly.
This place is usually so hard to get into that we haven't bothered, but when you have a van (a bus like one, not a minivan) at Passport, they let you drive right on up instead of having to wait to catch a shuttle at Chateau Ste. Michelle. That sure was easier.
Finally time to stop to eat after everyone shut down for the day. Most of the group got the Kobe beef burgers. Wow, were those great burgers. We had plenty of great wine to go with them as well. Some of us started with a glass of Lillet Blanc, and we also had a bottle of 2004 Baer Arctos that was picked up at the winery earlier in the day.
Now that our large group was well fed, it was time to pull out some corks and keep laughing and drinking for a while.
We took a detour from the Passport event (and a couple construction detours too) and went to the Quilceda Creek release. No, QC wasn't open because of the Passport event, it was for mailing list members to come pick up their wines that they had already purchased. This was a fantastic way to start Day 2.
This is another place we were looking forward to going to during Passport. Tim is a really fun guy that always seems to find time to come talk with you even though his place is packed. We got hooked on Stevens during 2003, and will keep coming back.
Time to go see the brothers. Darren and Derek are great guys. Darren is the winemaker for Des Voigne, and Derek is the winemaker for Cuillin Hills. There's always a lot of wine to taste here, and a lot of smiles from the antics of these two. This is a really fun place to stop by.
Usually this place only lets you taste the Kennedy Shah label, but on Passport, they were pouring Darighe and Dussek. How they are still pouring the 2000 Darighe is a mystery to me since this wine was sold out when we attended our first Passport event in 2004. Oh, I see how you really are...
We have always enjoyed the Ottimo from DiStefano, but they were not pouring it this time. They have a lot of wines to taste on most weekends, but only 3 for the Passport event.
There is just no way to hit all the stops in a weekend anymore while dealing with traffic, lines, and the number of great wineries that are still open even though they aren't included in the Passport event. The wineries that we didn't hit were Arlington Road Cellars, Austin Robaire Vintners (they weren't open), Chateau Ste. Michelle (they're always open), Columbia Winery (always open too), Covington Cellars, Edmonds Winery, Facelli Winery, Page Cellars (line was too long when we were near it), Silver Lake Winery, Sparkman Cellars, William Church Winery, and Woodinville Wine Cellars.
What a great weekend filled with good times, good friends, and good wine! And yes, it was very hard to take notes on this many wines in two days. Fun, but very hard...
2004 Baer Winery Ursa 91 Points
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
(3/31/2007)
Dark purple color. Great flavors of dark fruit, licorice and mocha. There was a hint of some greenish or herb flavors, but I really didn't pick those up much like others in the group. Full bodied wine with a good mouthfeel leading to a long finish. Great way to kick off the Passport event.
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2004 Baer Winery Arctos 90 Points
USA, Washington, Columbia Valley
(3/31/2007)
This wine was pretty cold when we tasted it. After working it over in the glass for several minutes, the nose began to show blackberry, vanilla and some spices. Plum and currant flavors with just a hint of something floral. Medium to full bodied with good mouthfeel and nice length finish.
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