Great NW Wine: Ste. Michelle, Maryhill announce concert lineups

Published: Tue, 03/27/18

Wine of the Week

Penner-Ash Wine Cellars 2016 Viognier, Oregon

Pioneering winemaker Lynn Penner-Ash long has favored Southern Oregon for her Viognier program, and sites such as Crater View (61%) and RoxyAnn (25%) have allowed her to more than triple production of this white Rhône variety since 2010.

Her work with the 2016 vintage ranks among Oregon’s largest and alongside the Northwest’s most expressive and balanced examples. Aromas of Pink Lady apple, white peach, anise and blanched almond lead to flavors of pineapple, dried apricot and cantaloupe. In the background is a fascinating pulse of lime acidity that allows this to standout from a crowd of Viognier, a grape that easily can lead to flabbiness.

Enjoy with steamed mussels, roasted chicken, pork chops, turkey or springtime salads.

This earned our top rating of "Outstanding!" in a blind tasting.

Price: $30

Production: 1,400 cases

Alcohol: 14.3%

Winery website

Value wine
of the Week

Canoe Ridge Vineyard 2016 The Expedition Malbec, Horse Heaven Hills

The winemaking team at this downtown Walla Walla winery pulled from a pair of Precept-controlled sites — Alder Ridge and Canoe Ridge Vineyard — to offer one of the Northwest’s largest and most affordable offerings of Malbec.

It spent nine months in French oak, a third of those barrels new, and it’s redolent of dark purple fruit akin to elderberry, blueberry and Marionberry with notes of violet and wintergreen. Plum-skin tannins and mouthwatering acidity make for an extended finish.

Look for these wines at Fred Meyer, QFC, Safeway grocers as well as smaller independent chains and liquor stores.

Price: $15

Production: 2,236 cases

Alcohol: 14.3%

Winery website

Coeur d'Alene Resort Food & Wine Festival

The inaugural Food and Wine Festival at The Coeur d’Alene Resort will be staged April 6-7 in Idaho’s Lake City.

This weekend festival features wine tasting seminars, cooking classes by award-winning chefs, intimate luncheons with hand-selected wine pairings and two dinners. The Festival culminates on Saturday with the Lakeside Dinner Experience at the Hagadone Event Center overlooking beautiful Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Participating wineries include Barrister, Colter’s Creek, Cinder, Forgeron,
Huston, Latah Creek,
Maryhill, Treveri and a winemaker dinner with Drew Bledsoe of Doubleback.

Prices for individual events at range from $35 to $175, and there are special rates for lodging at The Resort.

Events calendar

Check out our events calendar, which shows what is happening in Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Idaho wine countries.

Have an event? Please add it.

Chateau Ste. Michelle, Maryhill announce concert headliners

As has become tradition, Chateau Ste. Michelle and Maryhill Winery are using the final week of Washington Wine Month to begin the promotion of their annual summer concert series.

Headliners at Chateau Ste. Michelle include Jackson Browne, Sheryl Crow, John Fogerty, Gipsy Kings, Lyle Lovett & his Large Band, Peter Frampton with longtime Northwest resident Steve Miller, Yes and ZZ Top. The series starts June 10 with rock flutist Ian Anderson's 50th anniversary of Jethro Tull.

Maryhill will stage three shows — Chris Isaak on June 16, Michael Franti with Spearhead on June 17 and Ben Harper and Charlie Musselwhite on Aug. 25. Each of those acts also will appear at Ste. Michelle.

This week, club members for Ste. Michelle and Maryhill get priority on tickets. They go on sale to the public via Ticketmaster on Saturday.

Walla Walla's McKibben leads

NW Wine Encounter speakers

A trio of famed Walla Walla Valley producers, led by Norm McKibben of Pepper Bridge Winery and Seven Hills Vineyard, will join the lineup for the third annual Northwest Wine Encounter on June 1-3 in Bellingham.

Serge Laville, winemaker for Spring Valley Vineyard, and Dunham Cellars co-partner David Blair will meet Stephen Reustle of Reustle-Prayer Rock Vineyard in Roseburg, Ore., and Earl and Carrie Sullivan of Telaya Wine Co., near Boise, Idaho.

Cost to attend is $399 per person based on double occupancy. For more information, contact Suresh Rao of DS Vintners Events.

Domaine Serene owners give $6M to Linfield's wine program

McMINNVILLE, Ore. — Grace and Ken Evenstad of Oregon’s iconic Domaine Serene Winery helped Linfield College take a major step with its blossoming wine education program Thursday when they announced a $6 million donation to the Willamette Valley school.

It’s being hailed as the largest gift of its kind of the history of the Oregon wine industry, creating the Grace and Ken Evenstad Center for Wine Education, an endowed faculty position and construction of the Evenstad Wine Laboratory.

Team of Dobbes recruits takes Joe to Go cans beyond Oregon

Oregon-grown star winemaker Joe Dobbes made Gretchen Boock his first hire for Dobbes Family Estate/Wine by Joe, and 15 years later, she and Kristin Rice are taking the next step with Joe to Go canned Oregon wines set to go national.

Last fall, Dobbes publicly mapped out his retirement from Dobbes Family Estate, Wine by Joe and the restaurant-focused Jovino. This spring, his recruits will roll out cans of Pinot Gris and rosé in 14 states. The 375-milliliter Joe to Go cans will sell for $6.99 each, the equivalent of $14 per bottle

Canoe Ridge hires Mouat after Murray moves over to Barons

Haydn Mouat, a winemaker from New Zealand who is well-acquainted with the Walla Walla Valley, has been hired by Precept Wine as head winemaker at Canoe Ridge Vineyard.

Mouat replaced Bill Murray, who joined Barons Winery in Walla Walla.

Nicault guides Long Shadows to regional winery award

Fifteen years ago, French-born Gilles Nicault was happily making wine for his friend Rick Small at Woodward Canyon when he learned about the star-studded Long Shadow Vintners project. It was being led by mastermind Allen Shoup, who recently had resigned from Ste. Michelle Wine Estates.

This month, Wine Press Northwest, a regional publication based in Kennewick, Wash., announced Long Shadows Vintners as its 2018 Pacific Northwest Winery of the Year.

“My life has been made up of a lot of fortunate situations, and Gilles is right there at the top," Shoup said.

10 NW winemakers set to judge Cascadia International awards

The sixth annual Cascadia International Wine Competition will convene a judging panel that features 10 winemakers from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia. They meet April 10-12 at Columbia Point in Richland, Wash.

Previous wines to have won best of show were the Wild Goose Vineyards 2016 Pinot Gris, the Palencia Wine Co., 2015 Albariño, the Vino la Monarcha 2014 Pinot Noir Rosé, the Saviah Cellars 2011 Elephant Mountain Vineyard G.S.M., and the Zerba Cellars 2010 Malbec.

New wine reviews posted

We have posted several new reviews, including:

Ledger David Cellars 2015 Estate Malbec, Rogue Valley
Three of Cups Winery 2013 Le Vertu
Red Wine, Yakima Valley
Seven Bridges Winery 2013 Seven Hills Vineyard Syrah, Walla Walla Valley
Novelty Hill Winery 2014 Cascadia Red Wine, Columbia Valley
Armstrong Family Winery 2014 Dineen Vineyard Petit Verdot, Yakima Valley
Nodland Cellars 2013 Private Blend
Red Wine, Walla Walla Valley
Belle Fiore Winery 2014 Belle Esprit
Estate Teroldego, Rogue Valley
Ginkgo Forest Winery 2012 Estate
Cabernet Sauvignon, Wahluke Slope
Page Cellars 2011 Syrah, Columbia Valley
Finn Hill Winery 2013 Stillwater Creek Vineyard Merveille Merlot, Columbia Valley
Alder Ridge 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon,
Horse Heaven Hills
Love That Red Winery 2015 Deadheat Syrah, Columbia Valley
Henry Earl Estates 2015 Merlot,
Red Mountain
Upchurch Vineyard 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Mountain
Goose Ridge Estate Winery 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley
Apex Cellars 2016 Sauvignon Blanc, Columbia Valley
Idilico 2016 Albariño, Yakima Valley
Horan Estates Winery 2014 Musicians Malbec, Columbia Valley
Aubichon Cellars 2015 Chardonnay, Willamette Valley
Zero One Vintners 2015 Golden Delicious Riesling, Columbia Valley
Ryan Patrick Wines 2016 Olsen Brothers Vineyard Riesling, Yakima Valley
Nine Hats Wines 2016 Benches Vineyard Pinot Gris, Horse Heaven Hills
Underwood NV Pinot Noir, Oregon
Buty Winery 2014 Rockgarden Estate Red, Walla Walla Valley
Cave B Estate Winery 2016 Cave B Vineyards Cavewoman White Wine,
Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley
Malaga Springs Winery 2015 Malbec, Columbia Valley
Reininger Winery 2015 Syrah,
Walla Walla Valley
Coach House Cellars 2013 Syrah,
Columbia Valley
Washington Hills 2015 Late Harvest Riesling, Washington
Lost River Winery 2014 Barbera,
Horse Heaven Hills
Reustle-Prayer Rock Vineyard 2016 Estate Cuvée Sauvignon Blanc, Umpqua Valley
Aubichon Cellars 2015 Reserve Pinot Gris, Willamette Valley
Airfield Estates 2014 Merlot, Yakima Valley
Boomtown by Dusted Valley 2015 Merlot, Washington
Plain Cellars 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon,
Red Mountain
Tapteil Vineyard Winery 2015 Estate Grenache, Red Mountain
Waterbrook Winery 2016 Mélange Founder's White Blend Melanage, Columbia Valley
Long Shadows Vintners 2014 Feather Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley
Buty Winery 2014 BEAST Wildebeest
Red Wine, Columbia Valley
Desert Wind Winery 2016 Estate Chardonnay, Wahluke Slope
Rio Vista Wines 2016 Wacky White, Columbia Valley
Coach House Cellars 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley
Alexana Winery 2014 Lonesome Spring Ranch Gran Coeur Red Wine,
Columbia Valley
Le Cadeau Vineyard 2015 Équinoxe Reserve Pinot Noir, Chehalem Mountains
Penner-Ash Wine Cellars 2015 Pas De Nom Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley
DiStefano Winery 2013 Carménère,
Columbia Valley
Balboa Winery 2014 Pandemonium Syrah, Walla Walla Valley

Read the reviews