New wine store opening in Seattle!

[Jenise]

And one of it's owners is our very own Dave Egan who posts here as 'MtBakerDave'.

Vino Verite
208 Boylston Ave, Suite E
(in the Capitol Hill district, literally two minutes from downtown)

Congratulations, Dave!

[David M. Bueker]

Yipee! Will he ship to Connecticut?

Maybe I am better off if he won't.

[Jenise]

Yipee! Will he ship to Connecticut?

Maybe I am better off if he won't.

Nah, don't want to miss the boat, do we?

Maybe this is a good chance to have a discussion about Washington wines. Did you know that Washington now has over 500 wineries? It's true. And between increased supply and positive press from such wine world luminaries as Gary Vaynerchuk and Robert Parker's trusty sidekick Jay Miller, more Washington wines are available in more markets than ever before.

Tasting notes on Washington wines from people besides myself and Tom Hill are few and far between--you've posted a few, and so has JC and Clark from Gig Harbor. But rarely does anyone else. On reflection, a bit surprising even on a fairly euro-centric forum.

I've lived here for five years and am almost embarrassed that I haven't tried more of the 500 than I have. I mean, I grab tastes every chance I get, but my friends tend to be very well-rounded and they buy from a broad range of origins so believe it or not, I do not get much more exposure to Washington wines by that means than the rest of you. What I taste, I mostly have to buy for myself.

And I've been buying. Though a lot of the wines made here don't agree with me--too extracted, too high in alcohol, too sappy and sweet--when it comes to buying new world wines this is home now, I love it here, and it makes more sense to buy Washington and Oregon than it does California or points beyond.

Some favorites have emerged: Woodward Canyon, DeLille's "Chaleur", Donadei, Boudreaux, Dunham, Abeja, and certain of the Long Shadows series are at the top of my list and I have already bought multiple vintages for our cellar. The older Quilceda Creeks and many Leonettis have impressed too once the oak integrates, and I've had some very promising wines from Januik, Forgeron, Buty, Northstar and Woodinville Wine Cellars recently.

Hey, here's an awful confession: I recently bought three bottles (not just one, but three) of Charlie Gorman's cabernet sauvignon called "The Bully"--UNTASTED. Charlie's a small producer who makes at or under 500 cases of each of his 4 or 5 wines. And when I said untasted, I mean not just this wine, but any of his wines EVER. Not a drop has touched my lips. So what encouraged me to buy? Well, I read that Charlie's going to be one of ten American winemakers featured at the next Wine Spectator (gasp) Wine Experience in New York City. Mucho demand for his vino will certainly follow, and by then it will be impossible to get. So just in case, when the opportunity was sitting there in front of me I didn't resist.

Have you ever had Chaleur, David, by any chance? It's very Bordeaux-like. And they age beautifully. I've recently added 02's and '95's to my cellar, which should be stunning for current drinking based on recent tastes of both the '94 and '96 vintages.

[David M. Bueker]

Wow - the floodgates open.

I have had exactly two bottles of Chaleur in my life. I would like to try more, but my purchasing dollars have been mostly spent in Germany (duh) and Burgundy lately.

Perhaps it is time to allow a trusty board member to pick me out a mixed case of wine under parameters of style that I can live with (e.g. no ooze monsters).

[Jenise]

Wow - the floodgates open.

Yeah, I was avoiding housework.

Perhaps it is time to allow a trusty board member to pick me out a mixed case of wine under parameters of style that I can live with (e.g. no ooze monsters).

This could work!

If you see this, Dave, congrats!!! Hope you have many happy healthy years of wine work ahead of you.

[David M. Bueker]

Arrr....a new source for me grog...arrr

Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day!

Hey, thanks for the shout and the best wishes, everyone! It's been a long time, and a lot of work, but finally we're here!

I've lived here for five years and am almost embarrassed that I haven't tried more of the 500 than I have. I mean, I grab tastes every chance I get, but my friends tend to be very well-rounded and they buy from a broad range of origins so believe it or not, I do not get much more exposure to Washington wines by that means than the rest of you. What I taste, I mostly have to buy for myself.

Hm, interesting comment. I'm working on getting a good selection of Washington wine in the shop, but it's easier said than done. There are a couple problems. One is some of the most interesting small wineries in the state have no distributor. That means that I have to deal with them all directly. It's a lot of research and paperwork for me, and I suspect a lot of wine shop owners don't want to spend the energy on it. It's pure speculation, but I get the impression a lot of local wine shop owners have fairly Euro-centric palates. I do too, frankly, but I get lots of indications that my customers find domestic wine a lot less intimidating than European wine, and the domestic wine that I taste and like is by and large from Washington and Oregon. So, I carry it. I've been working hard to get as much wine as possible on the shelves as quickly as possible, and for that, I've been working with the distributors, which have broad portfolios to choose from. I've gotten in a couple of my favorite small wineries' offerings, but there is much more to do on that score. The small guys are going to have to wait until I can get the majority of my stock in place.

For the little wineries, the situation is just as tough. The self-distributors also have to deal with all their retailers directly. It's a lot of work for them as well. It's probably not so bad for them when they come to Seattle, where there is some concentration of wine shops and upscale grocery stores. In the more far-flung corners of the state, it's no doubt much tougher for them to get their wares out efficiently, so I imagine the selection is a little more spotty outside of the city. Another problem is that there aren't really that many good venues for the little guys to get their wines tasted by the public. There's Taste Washington, but that's a real madhouse, and there's the odd wine shop tasting, but that doesn't really go all that far for them I imagine. I'm working on getting a bunch of Northwest winery visitors into my Thursday evening tasting lineup, and we'll see how it goes. I hope the Washington winemakers do well at those tastings, but one possible problem I see is that a lot of them have most of their offerings priced in the $30 $40 $50 range. I think people who buy at tastings do so largely on impulse, and those are some pretty stiff prices for impulse purchases. I've got a couple of true garagistes penciled in whose stuff is more reasonably priced - and I'll bet they'll do well. One of them - Eleven - http://www.elevenwinery.com is on Bainbridge Island, just a ferry ride from Seattle, and the other - Animale - http://www.animalewine.com is making wine right in town - in Ballard to be exact. Both are making very good wine, but In spite of that, they're almost unknown, even right here in Seattle.

Hey, here's an awful confession: I recently bought three bottles (not just one, but three) of Charlie Gorman's cabernet sauvignon called "The Bully"--UNTASTED. Charlie's a small producer who makes at or under 500 cases of each of his 4 or 5 wines. And when I said untasted, I mean not just this wine, but any of his wines EVER. Not a drop has touched my lips. So what encouraged me to buy? Well, I read that Charlie's going to be one of ten American winemakers featured at the next Wine Spectator (gasp) Wine Experience in New York City. Mucho demand for his vino will certainly follow, and by then it will be impossible to get. So just in case, when the opportunity was sitting there in front of me I didn't resist.

I have a suspicion The Bully might not be to your taste. I admit it's been a year or more since I last tasted, but as I recall, it's well-ripened fruit, extracted like crazy, and quite tannic. It's a very aptly named wine IMHO - It'll beat you up! It might well have the stuffing to age well, but I wouldn't touch it for many years. I'm not surprised that Wine Spectator likes it. Chris Gorman is great fun to visit with by the way. I used to see him all the time when he worked for a local distributor. He'll no doubt make a splash in NYC.

Have you ever had Chaleur, David, by any chance? It's very Bordeaux-like. And they age beautifully. I've recently added 02's and '95's to my cellar, which should be stunning for current drinking based on recent tastes of both the '94 and '96 vintages.

I don't recall ever having tasted a Chaleur, but your description sounds very enticing. I'll have to see if I can get my hands on a bottle to try.