L.A. WINELINE WASHINGTON FEST'S MESSAGE: GO NORTHWEST FOR GREAT WINES.Byline: LARRY LIPSON Don't ever pooh-pooh Northwest wines. Look at the various lists of the world's best 100 wines, and invariably in·var·i·a·ble adj. Not changing or subject to change; constant. in·var  i·a·bil you'll notice a merlot or cabernet sauvignon Cab·er·net Sauvignon n. 1. A variety of black grape used to make red wine, notably in Bordeaux and the Napa Valley. 2. A dry red wine made from this grape. [French. from Washington state and an Oregon pinot noir somewhere near the top. Having just judged wines from both of those states along with a few from Idaho and British Columbia British Columbia, province (2001 pop. 3,907,738), 366,255 sq mi (948,600 sq km), including 6,976 sq mi (18,068 sq km) of water surface, W Canada. Geography for the Tri-Cities Wine Festival in Pasco, Wash., I'm more than ever convinced of their general fine quality and of the many with obvious individual superiority. There were 214 wines entered by 85 wineries. Judges only knew what varietal and vintage they were tasting, also in some cases the residual sugar percentage. The Best of Show turned out to be an Oregon pinot noir, the 2003 Barrel Select bottling from River's Edge in Elkton. River's Edge also picked up a silver medal for its 2002 Black Oak Vineyard pinot noir. Double Gold awards went to three Washington wines: the 2002 reserve merlot from Columbia Crest, Columbia Valley; the 2003 syrah from Pend d'Oreille, also a Columbia Valley winery; and the 2003 cabernet sauvignon from Stephenson Cellars in Walla Walla. There were 28 Gold Medal winners, most of them red wines. But a 2004 Canoe Ridge chardonnay, a Domaine St. Michelle nonvintage blanc de blancs sparkler spar·kler n. 1. One, such as a highly polished metallic surface or a virtuoso performer, that sparkles. 2. Informal A diamond. 3. A firework that burns slowly and gives off a shower of sparks. , a nonvintage white port from Hinzerling Winery, a 2004 Hedges CMS (1) See content management system and color management system. (2) (Conversational Monitor System) Software that provides interactive communications for IBM's VM operating system. (blend of chardonnay, marsanne and sauvignon blanc) and a 2004 Peller Estates private reserve Trinity icewine were among the 28 golds. Also in the gold category were a semi-sparkling muscat Muscat, Maskat, or Masqat (all: mŭs`kăt, mŭs`kət), city (1993 pop. 533,774), capital of Oman, SE Arabia, on the Gulf of Oman. It is flanked by rugged mountains. wine, the 2004 from Tualatin Estate and a nonvintage guava guava (gwä`və), small evergreen tree or shrub of the genus Psidium of the family Myrtaceae (myrtle family), native to tropical America and grown elsewhere for its ornamental flowers and edible fruit. wine from Pasek Cellars, which also picked up golds for a syrah port and a 2004 late harvest viognier. Incidentally, the first-place award in the People's Choice category voted by attendees at the festival on Nov. 12 was the 2003 Red Mountain merlot of Barrister Winery, given a silver award by the regular judges. For the entire listing of entries and winners, visit www.tricitieswinefestival.com. QUALITY AND VALUE: Using an average score of wine critics and the current retail price, QPR QPR Queens Park Rangers (football club) QPR Quarterly Progress Report QPR Quadrature Partial Response QPR Quarterly Performance Review QPR Question, Persuade, Refer (suicide prevention program) Wines offers a newsletter that helps consumers pick values out of each vintage. QPR (Quality-Price Ratio) gives as an example the information that the average price for a 93-rated 2000 Bordeaux is $126, and points out that the 93-point 2000 Chateau Pontet-Canet can be bought for a mere $49. A year's subscription for 18 issues is $35. Information: (415) 221-0345 or www.QPRwines.com. NEW RELEASES: The Sonoma County wines of Moon Mountain in current release are the 2004 chardonnay and 2004 sauvignon blanc ($13 each), the 2003 cabernet sauvignon ($16) and the 2002 cabernet sauvignon reserve ($35). Information: www.diageowines.com. ... With 6 percent sangiovese in its new 2004 Angeline Russian River Valley pinot noir ($10), Martin Ray suggests pairing it with pork chops smothered smoth·er v. smoth·ered, smoth·er·ing, smoth·ers v.tr. 1. a. To suffocate (another). b. To deprive (a fire) of the oxygen necessary for combustion. 2. in a mushroom cream sauce. Information: (707) 543-7199 or www.martinraywinery.com. ... The latest Kendall-Jackson 2003 Vintner's Reserve California syrah ($12) uses grapes from Monterey County (42 percent), smaller percentages from Santa Barbara (14), Napa (13) and Sonoma (12) counties, and 8 percent or less from other unnamed counties. Truly Californian. Information: (800) 769-3649 or www.kj.com. ... The new-look label called Lulu B. can be found on a screw-capped bottle of pinot noir, syrah or chardonnay from ... no, not Australia, mate, but Avignon, France, mes amis. Information: grapevine(at)sopexa.com. SIPS & NIBBLES: The hillside vineyard, mostly syrah and zinfandel, of Gravity Hills in the Paso Robles Robles is a common surname in the Spanish language meaning oaks, and may refer to:
Larry Lipson, (818) 713-3668 larry.lipson(at)dailynews.com |
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