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By Duane Pemberton One hundred-twenty miles off the coast of Greece is the island of Santorini, an island that’s left over remains from a volcanic explosion around 1640 B.C.  There are three indigenous white grapes grown here – Assyrtiko, Athiri and Aidani. I was super excited to try these two whites from Santorini and after [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: http://www.andrewwill.com   Located on Vashon Island, Andrew Will Winery has been a local favorite by wine lovers and sommeliers for over a decade. Its winemaker, Chris Camarda, is a long-time veteran in knowing how to work well with Washington Fruit that nearly always translates into very expressive wines. Technical Data:  Composition: 38% [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: http://www.manupropriawinery.com Taken from the Italian meaning of “by my own hand”, Manu Propria is a very small winery located in Woodinville Washington that is owned by Mike and Rachel Macmorran. They produced only 70 cases of this exceptional wine and the only way to get future releases is to sign-up on [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: http://stagsleap.com While California has never been really known for “killer Viognier” there  are a few producers in that state which seem to do a pretty good job with it. This 2011 Stags’ Leap does a good job of combing fruit, acid and some minerality. Technical Data:  Vineyard sources: Oak Knoll and [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: http://www.gregnormanestateswine.com/ The “Great White Shark”, Greg Norman – pro golfer turned wine lover back in the 1970s has been having wines produced under his name for quite awhile now. This particular Shiraz is from the Limestone Coast of Australia and would pair quite well with grilled meats. Technical Data: Appellation Limestone [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: http://www.emiliana.cl/ Novas is a brand of wine that’s produced by Chilean producer of Biodynamic wine, Emiliana. It tends to be a very good quality-to-price ratio label – let’s find out if this Cab holds up. Technical Data: Valley:Maipo Valley Composition: 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot Vinification Facility: Las Palmeras Alcohol: 14.2° [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: http://www.chateaudesours.com/ Price: $15 Chateau De Sours is a winery that’s located to the southwest of Libourne and Pomerol – facing towards St. Emilion – and has been producing wine for over 200 years. To say they have a long pedigree in making quality wines hardly scratches the surface. On the nose: [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: http://www.threeriverswinery.com Located on the outskirts of Walla Walla, Three Rivers Winery is a relatively long-time established winery in the greater area and even though it changed hands of owners a few years ago, still has a loyal following. Even though Petit Verdot, on the whole, hasn’t been produced very much – [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: http://bartholomewwinery.com/ Bartholomew Winery, in the SODO district of Seattle Washington, is located inside one of the more iconic buildings of the area – the old Rainier Brewery building – right next to Interstate 5. Its owner, Bart Fawbush, has been passionately churning out good wines now for a few years and this [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: http://www.amavicellars.com A sister winery of Pepperbridge in Walla Walla – Amavi allows winemaker, Jean-François Pellet, to have some fun with other varietals of grapes that don’t fall under the model of Pepper Bridge. This Syrah from the Walla Walla Les Collines vineyard is showing very well right now – let’s dive into [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: http://www.avennia.com Avennia Winery is a relative new-comer to the Washington wine scene and specializes in what I feel is one of Washington’s strong-points and that is red blends. It does make a Sauvignon Blanc and straigh Syrah as well but those are for a different review. Technical Data: Appellation: Columbia Valley [...]

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By Duane Pemberton While Argentina clearly rocks the Malbec, there’s another little-known varietal that it does a good job with as well – Bonarda. Originally from Italy – largely grown in the Piedmont region – this grape has really started to take off quite well in Argentina. Technical Data:  Varietal: 100% Bonarda Vineyard: Ugartech Lujan [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: http://pedroncelli.com/ Price: $19 Many wine lovers appreciate a good port-style (or fortified) wine with dessert or to simply lightly sip on with a cigar or pipe. This 2005 port-style wine from Pedroncelli offers a great deal of complexity at a price that won’t break the bank. Technical Data: Appellation: Dry Creek [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: http://www.kilikanoon.com.au/ Even though Australia is primarily known for its outstanding Shiraz, it’s also home to some very good white wines as well – like this 2012 Riesling from Kilikanoon. It’s dry, finishes very well and for sure plays along very well with various kinds of food. Technical Data:  Residual Sugar: 1.8g/L [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.chateaustjean.com/ California certainly has a reputation for making over-oaked Chardonnay, however, this 2010 bottling from the Robert Young Vineyard is different. It has a much better balance than many of its peers at its respective price range and is rather food friendly. Technical Data:  Harvest Dates: Sept. 30-Oct. 19, 2010 Harvest [...]

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By: Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.waterbrook.com (Seattle WA 4/10/2013) – A brand of Precept, Waterbrook Winery is a relatively large producer in Walla Walla Washington and is also one of the older wineries in the area. It has wide distribution on a national level so finding its wines shouldn’t be too difficult. Technical Data:  Varietal blend: 91% [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.andrewwill.com Seattle WA – 4/10/2013 – Based on Vashon Island, Andrew Will has become one of the Northwest’s favorite “cult-like” wineries. Its small production and jedi-like winemaking prowess of Chris Carmarda have raised up a loyal following and strong demand for the wines, every vintage. Technical Data: Composition: 65%, Cabernet Sauvignon [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.stagsleap.com Stags’ Leap Winery was established in 1893, making it one of the oldest wineries in the State of California and the oldest in the Stags Leap district. It has built a loyal following off of its Petite Sirah and for good reason – using 30-year old vines helps add [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: http://www.lafite.com/eng Cabernet Sauvignon is the most widely planted grape in the country of Chile and this 2009 Le Dix bottle sources grapes which come from 70-year old vines. Meaning “10″ in French, Le Dix was first introduced in 1996 to commemorate  Domaine Barons de Rothschild (Lafite)’s first ten years in Chile. Since it [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.saviahcellars.com Often treated as the step-child to the other bordeaux grapes, Petit Verdot has slowing been making a comeback as having the ability to be bottle all on its own merits. There are only a handful of Washington wineries who make a straight Petit Verdot and Saviah Cellars (based in Walla [...]

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