On Friday, August 3^rd, we flew over the Cascade mountain range into Seattle.  From the Sea-Tac airport, we went on a VIP tour and tasting at Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery, located in Woodinville.  This is part of the Puget Sound AVA, established in 1995.  On the tour we received tank samples of all of the Chardonnays, starting with CSM Columbia Valley, Indian Wells, Cold Creek, Canoe Ridge, and ending with the Ethos, their premium Chardonay (a 50/50 blend of grapes from the Cold Creek and Canoe Ridge vineyards).

 

                 
 

They had just received 3000 new barrels from France for the 10 % rotation, done on barrels each year. 13,000 cases are bottled each day.

 

We ended the tour with lunch, an amazing pairing of wild king salmon; grilled corn, heirloom tomato, and black bean salsa; chipotle potato cake; and French green beans with the 2011 CSM Horse Heaven Sauvignon Blanc, 2009 Canoe Ridge Estate Chardonay, and the 2010 Indian Wells Red Blend.  The Red Blend was my favorite wine with the meal, as it was a mouth-filling, fruit-forward, velvety blend of seven different grapes: Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache,  Malbec, Cinsaut, and Mourvedre.

 Dessert was orange-infused olive oil cake, with fresh summer fruit and berry coulis, coupled with CSM 2006 Lake Harvest Chenin Blanc from Horse Heaven Hills. 

 We returned the next day, Saturday August 4^th, for a VIP reception and concert, where we saw Alison Krauss & Union Station, featuring Jerry Douglas, perform. 

 

 There was an endless buffet of little morsels, including lamb sliders, chipotle Terriyaki pork skewers, brie with wild mushrooms in phyllo, plus much more.  With this bountiful spread were several wines from which to choose.  I started with the Domain Ste. Michelle Blanc de Noir, made from 100 % Pinot Noir. This is practically the only time that you will see wines made from Pinot Noir in Washington.  Across the Columbia River, in Oregon, they make outstanding Pinot Noir, but it is just too hot in Washington for that grape.  Very little of it is grown and most of it goes into sparkling wines.

 





During the concert, we could make unlimited trips to the VIP tent for wine and dessert.  My favorite
wine that evening was the 2007 CSM Artist Series Meritage. 

 

It was the perfect way to end our stay in Washington – with any luck, I'll be back again next year.

 

Guest blogger Heather Hitson is the wine consultant at our Lady Lake store.