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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.waterbrook.com This 2010 Melange is made by Waterbrook winery, one of Walla Walla’s oldest wineries and has done a really good job of establishing itself on a national level as a solid Washington producer. This Melange Blanc is a “field blend” of varying white varietals from one of the cooler years – [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.casswines.com No question about it, Paso Robles is an exciting area to watch grow and taste wines from. Located just north of San Luis Obispo, this AVA is known for its stellar Zinfandel, but also does a good job with some of the Bordeaux Varietals as well as some Rhone whites – [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.hestiacellars.com/ Chenin Blanc seems to get quite lost amongst white wine lovers and that’s unfortunate. It can be made in a very nice dry or off-dry style and proves itself time and time again to be rather food-friendly. This bottling from Hestia Cellars does an admirable of showcasing how good this [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.doubleback.com Drew Bledsoe – the famous NFL Quarterback – hails from Washington State so it’s no wonder why he’d have an interest in launching a winery project in Walla Walla. Along with long-time friend, Chris Figgins (Leonetti) – this 2009 Doubleback Cab represents a collaborative effort between Chris and Drew. It’s [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery Website: http://www.rutherfordwine.com/lander-jenkins-vineyards/ Lander-Jenkins is a project from the Rutherford Wine Company and does a good job for its price in representing the region in a bottle. It’s not a “barn burner” but represents a pretty solid value for the money. Technical Data:  Blend: 87% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot 3% Cabernet Franc Alcohol: [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.chateau-goelane.com I’ve had the opportunity over the past several years to taste through quite a number of French wines and am delighted to see the Bordeaux region making strides in its quality-to-price ratio. This gem comes to us at a very reasonable price of $13 and would make  a nice supplement [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.baronsv.com Matt Loso’s kung-fu-like winemaking skills come through big-time in this delicious Cabernet Sauvignon, made from some of the best vineyards in the Columbia Valley. Technical Data: Vineyards: Conner Lee, Hedges Estate, Stillwater Creek, Belle Villa Vineyards Appellation: 100% Columbia Valley Grape Varieties: 86% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc Average [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.baronsv.com Barons V is a small winery located in the “Warehouse District” in Woodenville Washington – it hasn’t been around too long and has already been generating a great deal of buzz amongst Seattle-area wine lovers. Its winemaker, Matt Loso, is no stranger to making wines that please the palate [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.paraduxx.com What do you get when you combine the two most notable red grapes of California into a well-crafted bottle of vino? You get a wine like the 2009 Paraduxx C-blend – one that combines Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel in a very tasty way. Technical Data: Appellation: Napa Valley Harvest Date: [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.andiswines.com The Sierra foothills of California are starting to make some good traction towards wine-lovers who appreciate lower alcohol, higher-acid wines that are very food-friendly. This 2009 Reserve Petite Sirah from Andis does an admirable job of showcasing just that as well as preserving the integrity of the varietal. Technical [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.robertmondaviwinery.com While Mondavi is known around the world for its high-end cabs, it also produces much more affordable “daily wines” like this 2010 Chardonnay. It’s a “California-style” Chardonnay that isn’t over-oaked and one I’m sure many people will enjoy. Here’s the rub: Technical Data: Appellation: Napa Valley Grape Sourcing: 41% Napa [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.hartfordwines.com If ever there was an appropriate name for a wine, it’s this “Highwire” from Hartford Family Wines out of Sonoma. It is, quite simply, one of the best Zinfandel’s I’ve ever had as it completely embodies everything I adore about this varietal. The spice, texture, aromas and that sense of [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.weingutwittmann.de/en Price: $45 Why does Germany “own” Riesling? Well outside of having a sublime climate for this amazing grape, it also has wineries like Wittman that have been around far longer than we’ve been a country. Established in 1663, Wittman is a family-owned and family-run winery which has been producing biodynamic [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.roxyann.com Syrah from Oregon? You bet! Located in the southern part of the state is the Rogue Valley – near Medford. This AVA is a “hotbed” for both Bordeaux and Rhone varietals. There’s been a good deal of press coverage about wines of this region over the past couple of years [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.alexanawinery.com For a relatively new winery to the Willamette Valley, Alexana has really started turning heads and palates towards its style of winemaking. Started by Dr. Revana of Napa-fame, this family-run business has created quite a good buzz in the hills of Dundee Oregon. Technical Data:  Appellation: Dundee Hills Vineyard Designation: [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.hopefamilywines.com I really didn’t want to like this wine and not just because it’s widely considered a “grocery store wine” by most in the trade or a “simple glass pour” at many restaurants. I wanted to not like it because, well, it’s one of those “mass-produced” California cabs that can be [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.columbiacrest.com There is no question that Columbia Crest is one of the most pivitol brands from Washington State – it’s pedigree of releasing quality wines at each respective price level is nearly unheard of – especially when you consider their reputation. A couple of vintages ago, its Reserve Cab was hailed [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: www.saviahcellars.com Price: $28 The Walla Walla Valley has really grown-up in many ways, not the least of them is its ability to churn out world-class Cabernet Sauvignon at prices that drive regions like Napa crazy. This stellar bottle of Cab comes from Saviah Cellars and is a really good example [...]

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By Duane Pemberton The word, Chablis, invokes thoughts of wonderful, lively white wines that have become a gold-standard for quality the world over. This region, located in the northernmost part of Burgundy, thrives on producing Chardonnay that many have come to think of as the best in the world so it was with a lot [...]

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By Duane Pemberton Winery website: http://www.silveroak.com Silver Oak winery has been not only the envy of California Cab lovers for decades but also a great example of how to build and preserve a solid brand-identity in such a competitive market segment like wine. This 2007 Napa Cab has gone through 25 months of barrel aging and [...]

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