Last weekend the Whidbey Island Vintners hosted a Red Wine and Chocolate tasting. Chocolate??? Wine?? Two of my favorite food groups! I had no problem tempting Seth to join me on an excursion to the south end of the island, plus we've been pleasantly surprised about Washington State's wines. I can't begin to go into all the details of the wines we tasted that day, so I'll just list our favorites. (Disclaimer: Seth and I are relatively new to the wine tasting world, so I apologize if I don't use the correct descriptive terminology. We have our own crazy wine language)
First stop: Greenbank Farm Wine Shop. They featured wines from Fish Talk and Blooms of Whidbey. But I would have to say that the best wine there was (no surprise) the Loganberry wine. It is definitely great for dessert, and it blended with the Loganberry chocolate truffles in a tangy rich perfection. An excellent excuse to host a chocolate party!
Next up: Greenbank Cellars. What a spot! The tasting room has a gorgeous marble top bar that is totally unexpected from the rustic barn exterior. I was very interested in trying their Cabernet Franc because I've usually only seen it in blends with stronger reds. On its own, it was very mellow and almost earthy. Their Sangiovese was quite good, but our favorite was the Cab Sauvignon. The only problem with these wines was that we were expecting something a little more bold and everything seemed very light. Maybe my tongue was confused with the many varieties, but we noticed that many of the wines made with Whidbey Island grapes tasted almost.... watered down? If anyone has insight into this please let me know!
Third on our list: Holmes Harbor Cellars was just the place we were looking for! Greg Martinez selects his grapes and crafts his wines like a chef carefully selects ingredients for an intricate gourmet meal. Each tasting was a piece of art. We started out with their fabulous Pinot Noir which took to the milk chocolate better than the dark chocolate (to my sad dismay). All other wines were forgotten when we tried his Walla Walla Valley Syrah. When I think of comfort I usually play a scenerio in my head that consists of many things, including a leather sofa. This Syrah was like drinking a leather sofa. Not only did it smell like a tack shop, but its rich smoothness warmed me in a way no hot beverage ever could. We oohed and ahhed over it so long that we bought a bottle to take home. It's a splurge (about $30 a bottle) but well worth it if you need to warm yourself up on a special rainy PacNorthWest day!
Lastly: Whidbey Island Winery was a fun spot nestled away near Langley. Their Sangiovese left me with a spicy anise finish that made me wonder why I hate all things licorice. We ended up purchasing a bottle of their 2007 Primitivo (or Zinfandel) because I'm becoming obsessed with that grape and getting the name "Zinfandel" out into the public without the word "White" prefacing it. (As Seth's sister, Hannah once told me... Friends don't let friends drink White Zin.)
Anyways, I highly suggest going to any of these shops for local wines. The only thing this day lacked was good food to pair with the wine, but I guess that's my job now...
First stop: Greenbank Farm Wine Shop. They featured wines from Fish Talk and Blooms of Whidbey. But I would have to say that the best wine there was (no surprise) the Loganberry wine. It is definitely great for dessert, and it blended with the Loganberry chocolate truffles in a tangy rich perfection. An excellent excuse to host a chocolate party!
Next up: Greenbank Cellars. What a spot! The tasting room has a gorgeous marble top bar that is totally unexpected from the rustic barn exterior. I was very interested in trying their Cabernet Franc because I've usually only seen it in blends with stronger reds. On its own, it was very mellow and almost earthy. Their Sangiovese was quite good, but our favorite was the Cab Sauvignon. The only problem with these wines was that we were expecting something a little more bold and everything seemed very light. Maybe my tongue was confused with the many varieties, but we noticed that many of the wines made with Whidbey Island grapes tasted almost.... watered down? If anyone has insight into this please let me know!
Third on our list: Holmes Harbor Cellars was just the place we were looking for! Greg Martinez selects his grapes and crafts his wines like a chef carefully selects ingredients for an intricate gourmet meal. Each tasting was a piece of art. We started out with their fabulous Pinot Noir which took to the milk chocolate better than the dark chocolate (to my sad dismay). All other wines were forgotten when we tried his Walla Walla Valley Syrah. When I think of comfort I usually play a scenerio in my head that consists of many things, including a leather sofa. This Syrah was like drinking a leather sofa. Not only did it smell like a tack shop, but its rich smoothness warmed me in a way no hot beverage ever could. We oohed and ahhed over it so long that we bought a bottle to take home. It's a splurge (about $30 a bottle) but well worth it if you need to warm yourself up on a special rainy PacNorthWest day!
Lastly: Whidbey Island Winery was a fun spot nestled away near Langley. Their Sangiovese left me with a spicy anise finish that made me wonder why I hate all things licorice. We ended up purchasing a bottle of their 2007 Primitivo (or Zinfandel) because I'm becoming obsessed with that grape and getting the name "Zinfandel" out into the public without the word "White" prefacing it. (As Seth's sister, Hannah once told me... Friends don't let friends drink White Zin.)
Anyways, I highly suggest going to any of these shops for local wines. The only thing this day lacked was good food to pair with the wine, but I guess that's my job now...
What an honor to be quoted! The post was a great read, too. You're making me want to try out more Washington wines. Tony and I need to visit. :)
ReplyDeleteBy the way, Tony and I have a blog, but we've been REALLY bad at keeping it updated. I'll try to be better - at least to link back to you!
Katy dear, now it's 1pm here in Indiana, and I'm ready for a glass of wine and a little chocolate! ;)
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