Since it is now camping season I thought I would share with you my favorite wine to take on your summer trip. I used to think of camping as strictly a beer drinking type of vacation but I came across a wine that I simply can’t do with out while sitting by the camp fire. Camas Prairie Winery makes a hot spiced red wine that is wonderful to warm you up. The wine is sweet and spicy and is made with cherries. We love to bring a bottle (or more!) of this wine and heat it up in a pan next to the fire. It is so wonderful and I guarantee you won’t take another camping trip without it once you’ve tried it!
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Upon tasting the 2005 Carmenère by Merry Cellars I was inspired to begin writing. The pepper on the nose pales in comparison to the flavor that lies within. I normally don’t care for a wine that is peppery, however this wine is so overtly peppery that its extraordinary! Like most of Merry Cellars wines it has soft tannins with a pleasantly lingering finish. I was lucky enough to be able to directly compare the 2005 to the 2006 vintage, and in doing so truly understood the importance of vintage. The 2006 is equally as exquisite but much different than the ‘05 in all aspects. The pepper on the nose is much more subtle and is complemented by a fruity aroma. Upon tasting, the sweet fruit shines through more so than in the ‘05, and the pepper flavor is more of a back note; but the two work together in perfect harmony. The finish on the 2006 is as delicate as the fruit on the nose. Both of theses vintages are noteworthy; however personal preference, surprisingly, lies with the 2005. The extreme pepper flavor is enough to make this wine stand out in my mind and I tend to favor uniqueness. The wine tasting and auction that was held at Hill Ray Plaza in Colfax, Wa on Friday the 25th had much less attendees than last year. There were about half as many people than last years event put on by the Chamber of Commerce, which raises money for the towns Christmas Tree lighting ceremony. The food that was provided by the Rosauers deli was fabulous, however the wine selection was as limited as the attendees were this year. Merry Cellars was the only winery personally presenting their selections for tasting and the rest of the wine selection was presented by Vehrs Inc and Odom Distributors. The live auction was very entertaining as auctioneer C.D. ‘Butch’ Booker (a local) teased the attentive audience. Humor abounded as the item selling for the most amount of money was a day of fun with a local man that involved hitting golf balls off of Steptoe Butte. While most likely it was a much less profitable year it was most enjoyable indeed! I have to share my new favorite wine word or should I say phrase with everyone. Our friends and I noticed one evening of tasting that everyones lips and teeth were blue. This was after several glasses of hearty Syrahs, so now we have decided to use the term “teeth stainer” to define the intensity of various wines. Usually its used in reference to a very bold red wine and so now we tell them “we’ve got a real teeth stainer ready for you” and they know what to expect! Thank you for visiting the Wines of the Pacific Northwest Blogsite! We will be posting all types of information here including tasting notes from various Northwest wines, notes and images from winery events, as well as fun wine words. We hope the information found here will be fun and informative. Again, thank you for your interest and check back often as we continue to develop this site! |
