The Last Night of the Year
Submitted January 2nd, 2009
It’s the last night of the year, and we are celebrating in our usual way, with a special dinner and very special wines at home. We just finished a Kestrel Signature Edition Old Vines Merlot 1998…thank you, Ray Sandidge. It was a worthy accompaniment to the last dinner of a most unsettling year. We started with a tiny onion, apple, apricot tartlet and a small glass of Scott Benson’s fruity Curious and ended with my own chocolate truffle and Wedge Mountain Winery’s Roses and Rubies in a small Edinburgh crystal Thistle glass. I enjoy wines and foods which engage all the senses.
What a wealth of wine we have right here at home in North Central Washington. It’s good to know we don’t have to go far to find good wines, and many of the foods which accompany them. As Dorothy said, back there in Kansas, “There’s no place like home.”
Unfortunately, many of our local products-wines in particular-are more expensive than those brought in from other areas. For those watching expenses…and who isn’t, these days…buying local isn’t practical or possible. Major wine retailers around the country are reporting that many of their customers are ignoring the more expensive wines and buying cheaper ones.
As many of us know, price does not determine quality in a wine. Many wonderful wines out there are reasonably priced. Spain, Chile, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand all produce excellent wines, many of which are modestly priced. Lesser-known wine areas of the United States often produce some stellar wines. Out here on the West Coast we do not often get wines from New York or Virginia, to name but two, but we do get wines from California’s Lake County and Amador County, and from Temeculah and even from the once-maligned Lodi area in California’s Central Valley. We also have the giant wine companies here, which make many thousands of bottles of good, inexpensive wine. Recently some German imports of Riesling and other white varietals have been showing up but unless you understand the labels or can look up the names, it can be a risky purchase. Grocery Outlet has had some good ones; I particularly liked Granite, with its high acid and hints of stone and citrus.
Some of the local wineries have been producing lower-priced blends. Ryan Patrick Vineyards has its Rock Island Red, an excellent blend often available at Costco. At the Leavenworth tasting room several vintages of it are available and it has aged beautifully. The 2003 is my favorite. Saint Laurent has come out with Lucky White and Lucky Red, also very good wines, but at lower prices. Cascadia Winery in Peshastin has three whites: Riesling, Chardonnay and the surprising Apple Wine, all reasonably priced.
Recently I read this quotation by Mark Twain which exemplifies my own feelings about personal choices in wine, and in other things. Too many people have an apologetic attitude when mentioning their favorite wines if they aren’t ones on anyone’s “list” or are brands not commonly praised by wine writers and wine articles.
“There are no standards of taste in wine, cigars, poetry, prose, etc. Each man’s own taste is the standard, and a majority vote cannot decide for him or in any slightest degree affect the supremacy of his own standard.” -Mark Twain
Whatever your choice, I hope it helped make your own New Year’s celebration special.
Members: I appreciate your emails and phone calls, and I want to thank you. Your comments and encouraging words are important to me, and are very much appreciated. Thanks also to those of you who go to www.wenworld.com and read my Community Blogs.
Joanne Saliby