Coyote Canyon's winning whites

My parents have to good fortune of living in the heart of Washington's wine country. And it shouldn't be surprising that I get my love for wine from them. So we couldn't have been more pleased when they shipped us two bottles of white from Cayote Canyon signed by winemaker, John Gabriel at a recent tasting event. Mike Andrews, owner and winemaker of Cayote Canyon and his team have a pretty amazing Albariño.
THE STATS:
Vineyard: Coyote Canyon
Vintage: 2009
Region: Horse Heaven Hills, Washington
Kind: White
Varietal: Albariño 100%
Price: $18

THE BOUQUET:
This particular wine has the distinction of being the only Albarino grown and bottled in Washington. The nose is bountifully fruity, with peach, pear and honeydew finishing with a touch of lime and limestone.

THE PALETTE:
Mouth-feel is a dream. Silky soft and honeydew. Finish is strong with citric acids and a touch of slate.

PAIRING SUGGESTIONS:
Shellfish. We paired a cold shrimp scampi cocktail and bacon wrapped scallops. Think Manchego cheese.

THE STATS:
Vineyard: Coyote Canyon
Vintage: 2008
Region: Horse Heaven Hills, Washington
Kind: White
Varietal: Viognier 100%
Price: $15

THE BOUQUET:
Peaches and Bananas. Very old-world style. This wine evokes classic Cote-du-Rhone with its subtle tropical fruit and earthy backdrop.

THE PALETTE:
Vanilla and nectarine swirled around that old world stoniness. Vibrant lemon zest. A touch of mandarin orange surfaced for me as it warmed.

PAIRING SUGGESTIONS:
See above! We drank this after the Albarino and added some smoked cheddar.
Cold shrimp scampi cocktail paired with my homemade cocktail sauce.

Pair with lobster: K Viognier

Another treat from our Bring Your Own Lobster dinner party: K Viognier. Even the cats know it's a good choice. PS: This photos was NOT staged, thank you very much.

THE STATS:
Vineyard: K Viognier
Vintage: 2007
Region: Columbia Valley, Washington
Kind: White
Varietal: Viognier 100%Web site: KVintners.com
Price: 26.99 at Crush Wine Cellar, their website lists it at $20, but also says it is sold out.

THE BOUQUET:
Now this is a wine close to my heart. This is one of the reasons I fell in love with Viognier and continue to have an on-again off-again affair with this varietal. Playfully sassy aromas of tropical fruit within a backdrop of sweet vanilla and a flutter of lemongrass.

THE PALETTE:
Light and fun on the tongue the citrus takes the drivers seat on the palette. It finishes with a lovely vanilla note. Not to heavy and not too light Viognier continues to be the "anti-Chardonnay" for me.

PAIRING SUGGESTIONS:
Throw your own BYOL party. Or try ...Halibut or cod (fish and chips, really!) King crab or think light pasta with butter or olive oil.


As a designer, Annette loves this label.

BYOL: Bring Your Own Lobster party

Friday night we had a small dinner party, one rule: Bring your own lobster tail. A few friends joined us for butter-poached lobster, spring greens salad, sauteed asparagus, Portobello mushroom risotto, pecan-encrusted lamb, and of course, wine. Which brings us to our Wine of the Week: Wallace.THE STATS:
Vineyard: Wallace
Vintage: 2006
Region: Borossa Valley, Australia
Kind: Red
Varietal: Shiraz 80%, Grenache 20%
Web site: Glaetzer.com
Price: 17.99 at Crush Wine Cellar

THE BOUQUET:
Everything you could want from a $17 bottle. The rich, dark aroma is tobacco and leather underscored by the beautiful jamminess and black cherry cola that is Barossa Shiraz. It is brightened ever so slightly by the addition of Grenache.

THE PALETTE:
Once on the tongue it doesn't disappoint, the addition of Grenache subtly turns down the volume of a typically full bodied Shiraz, to a more toned down medium bodied blend. The cherry cola and tobacco carry all the way to the long glorious finish. The tannins are light so keep this in mind with the pairing decisions.

PAIRING SUGGESTIONS:
Any pasta with red sauce, sausage and any smokey cheese (Gouda or cheddar are my favs).


Portobello risotto and pecan-encrusted rack of lamb with port wine sauce.

Wine of the Week: Treana 2008 Central Coast

THE STATS:
Vineyard: Treana
Vintage: 2008
Region: Central Coast California
Kind: White
Varietal: Marsanne 55%, Viognier 45%
Web site: treana.com
Price: 25.00 retail

THE BOUQUET:
Rich nose with deep honey, apricot, floral perfume against a backdrop of distant slate. As the wine warms the aromas only deepen emphasizing the honey and adding a touch of butter.

THE PALETTE:
In a break from the nose the palette is light and crisp with a rich mouth-feel. The honey and a touch of the floral carry through to the pleasantly long finish. Though both Marsanne and Viogner are known to be light white wines this packs a little more body than normal due to the three-month barrel fermentation.

PAIRING SUGGESTIONS:
We paired Treana with basil Havarti, garlic French bread and other finger foods.

Cheers!

Welcome to the New Castle of the Pope. The name is the English translation to one of my husband's favorite wines ... more on that in another post. Here, we plan to combine his wine expertise, my media knowledge, and our combined love of wine and food.

We hope to discuss the intricacies of wine in a digestible, down-to-earth way. Look for wines of the week, pairing ideas, recipes, restaurant reviews, tidbits on wine history and more. We hope you find something you enjoy.

Cheers!
Annette and Joshua