In November, we conducted our 12th annual Platinum Judging, what we have dubbed “the best of the best in the Great Northwest.”

Last week, we shared some of the top wines from British Columbia’s Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery, which won six Platinums in the 12th competition. This week, we will look at some of the best wines from Washington, Oregon and Idaho, along with brief descriptions.

Wines are eligible to enter the Platinum if they from the Northwest and have won gold medals in any of about 35 professionally judged competitions around the world. We bring in top judges from as far away as Georgia and California (as well as the Northwest) to evaluate the wines under blind conditions, meaning the do not know the producer or the price.

Many of these wines are still available. To purchase, check with your favorite wine merchant or contact the winery directly.

Washington

Kiona Vineyards Winery 2008 Lemberger, Red Mountain, $12. A rich red wine with notes of cherries, mint and berries.

Jones of Washington 2010 Estate Viognier, Wahluke Slope, $17. A gorgeous white with aromas and flavors of citrus and tropical fruits.

Chateau Ste. Michelle 2010 Harvest Select Riesling, Columbia Valley, $9. Off-dry with ripe fruit aromas and flavors with great complexity.

L’Ecole No. 41 2010 Chenin Blanc, Columbia Valley, $14. Crisp flavors of green apples, quinces and Jolly Rancher candy.

Otis Kenyon Wine 2008 Syrah, Walla Walla Valley, $30. A classic Syrah with aromas and flavors of black pepper, blackberries and plums.

Steppe Cellars 2008 StoneTree Vineyard Malbec, Wahluke Slope, $25. A wonderfully earthy red with notes of plums, boysenberries and black licorice.

Mount Baker Vineyards & Winery 2008 Proprietor’s Limited Release Malbec, Yakima Valley, $20. Dar berries, cola, black pepper and tannin make this a winner.

Covington Cellars 2008 Cabernet Franc, Columbia Valley, $35. Delicious aromas and flavors of black cherries, boysenberries, chocolate and even oregano.

Tsillan Cellars 2008 Lakeside Vineyard Bellisima Rossa, Lake Chelan, $28. This shows off notes of black licorice, fresh dates and ripe boysenberries.

Thurston Wolfe 2008 Reserve Petite Sirah, Horse Heaven Hills, $25. Aromas of cocoa powder, boysenberries, mint and graphite lead to flavors of massive dark fruit.

Dusted Valley Vintners 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla Valley, $28. Red plums, tobacco leaf and toasty oak aromas give way to dark, ripe flavors.

Hard Row to Hoe Vineyards 2010 Sauvignon Blanc, Yakima Valley, $22. This mouthwatering wine offers notes of ripe pears and herbs.

Westport Winery 2009 Going Coastal Sparkling Gewürztraminer, Washington, $35. This delicious sparkling wine offers aromas of pears, starfruit and pear butter and flavors of yellow grapefruits.

Barnard Griffin 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, $17. This opens with aromas of black currants, blackberries and ripe dark plums, followed by flavors of ripe dark berries

Oregon

Quady North 2010 Pistoleta, Rogue Valley, $19. This white blend opens with succulent aromas of citrus and tropical fruit, including pineapples, limes and orange zest.

Sokol Blosser 2008 Pinot Noir, Dundee Hills, $38. Fascinating aromas of sweet herbs, rich earth, wet gravel and black truffles lead to flavors of ripe raspberries, violets and mushrooms.

Willamette Valley Vineyards 2008 Hannah Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley, $45. Layered aromas of spices, violets, cola and cherries lead to flavors of Dr Pepper and red fruit.

Kramer Vineyards NV Celebrate Muller-Thurgau, Yamhill-Carlton District, $15. This sparkler offers notes of minerals, Spanish almonds and pineapples.

Idaho

Sawtooth Estate Winery 2009 Riesling, Snake River Valley, $9. Aromas of apricots, limes and apples, followed by balanced flavors of grapefruits, oranges and crisp apples.

Koenig Vineyards 2009 Riesling Ice Wine, Snake River Valley, $20. On the nose, it reminded us of a pineapple upside-down cake, and on the palate, it was resplendent with flavors of caramel and peach crumble.

Area wineries will crack open barrels of their newest and future reds and whites Friday-Sunday for the annual Holiday Barrel Tasting. More than 70 of the Valley’s wineries will be decked-out for the holiday season.

Whether it is a locally catered spread, the “Battle of the Soups,” or local hand-crafted chocolates, each winery will offer something special for its guests. Winemakers will be on hand to introduce their new wines as well as future wines still in the barrel. Visitors can be the first to enjoy the new vintage and take home a selection of wines. A downloadable event guide is available at wallawallawine.com/submit-event/holiday-barrel-tasting.

A special tasting today at 19 N. Second Ave. kicks off a series of events that signal the start of the holiday season.

From 5 to 7 p.m., the wines of Forgeron Cellars will be poured and paired with cheeses from Cheese Louise.

Today’s wine and cheese event will be followed Thursday by “Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé,” a special tasting of a traditional French Gamay. According to Catie McIntyre Walker, who owns the downtown retail shop, France is known to erupt in massive celebration at the stroke of midnight on the third Thursday of each November. The celebration is for the unveiling of the Beaujolais Nouveau wine, which is a young — six weeks old — Gamay that comes from south of Burgundy. The light-bodied and fruity wine goes well with Thanksgiving turkey. The French government has adopted regulations delaying the wine’s release until the third week of November. It is tradition that the wine must be finished by Christmas. McIntyre Walker doesn’t plan to open at midnight. But she does plan to offer samples of the wine produced by Jean Foillard all day Thursday from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

McIntyre Walker plans to follow that up Friday with an Early Black Friday tasting of port and chocolate. Quinta do Noval and La Maison du Chocolat will be served together from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, a week ahead of the actual Black Friday. Mark Rowan from Noble Distributing will pour and be available for questions. For more information, call 529-0503.

Three Rivers Winery is getting into the spirit of the season with a Holiday Open House this week.

The Walla Walla winery, at 5641 Old Highway 12, will host an after-hours shopping event Thursday. From 5 to 8 p.m., the tasting room will be open and stocked with holiday gift items for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Linens and dinnerware for the holiday table, cookbooks, aprons, candles, cork jewelry, ornaments, confections, stocking stuffers, hostess gifts and more will be available for purchase. Brands include VIETRI, Michael Aram, Garnier Thiebaut, Couleur Nature, The Thymes, Roost, Stonewall Kitchen and Jan Barboglio.

Complimentary wine tasting will be available, as will gingerbread cupcakes from Frosted — The Cupcake Shop and charcuterie from Salumiere Cesario.

Those who attend will also receive a gift and have the chance to enter a drawing for a $50 gift certificate. A free gift will also be available to those who spend $100 or more on VIETRI holiday dishes. Guests will “draw for a discount” and receive 5 to 30 percent off purchases during the event. For more details, call 526-9463.

One of Walla Walla’s first wineries is the latest to launch a wine club.

After 15 years, Walla Walla Vintners announced last week it will introduce a wine club. Fans of the winery, 225 Vineyard Lane, may recognize the significance because Walla Walla Vintners founders Myles Anderson and Gordy Venneri have specifically held out from offering that service. Concerned a club would look like a marketing tool to push wine sales, they shied away from it.

The change of heart has apparently come from repeated requests from customers.

“It was our customers who got us to change our minds,” Venneri said in a statement. “We were constantly being asked if we had a wine club and also what were our personal favorite wines.”

Walla Walla Vintners Select Wine Club will offer a mix of new releases and old wines selected because they’re drinking particularly well. Members will receive some of the winery’s limited library wines. The wines will be chosen by the operation’s three winemakers: Anderson, Venneri and William vonMetzger. Notes will be provided on each wine. Food pairing recommendations and recipes will also be included.

Membership will be limited to the first 150 people who join. Members can receive six or 12 bottles shipped twice a year. They will also receive first offerings of new releases, including the winery’s upcoming estate wines, and invitations to member-only events. The first club shipments will be spring 2012.

To sign up or learn more, visit wallawallavintners.com.

Allen Shoup, a pioneer of Washington’s wine industry and the founder of Walla Walla’s Long Shadows Vintners, was feted by Sunset as the magazine’s second recipient of its Lifetime Achievement Award.

Shoup and 50 other western wine figures were recognized Sept. 30 at the Sunset Western Wine Awards Gala in Pismo Beach, Calif.

Lowden winery Woodward Canyon was also recognized at the event for its 2010 chardonnay in the category of white wines between the $41 and $60 price range.

Other local wineries that were finalists for awards were Waterbrook for its 2008 merlot in the category of red wines under $15; and Gramercy Cellars for its 2009 “John Lewis” syrah in the category of red wines $61 and over.

Caleb Foster, co-owner and winemaker at Buty Winery, was among the three finalists for Winemaker of the Year.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is one Sunset began awarding just last year. The recipient is a person in the wine industry who has contributed the majority of their life to furthering the quality and reputation of wine in the west, according to the magazine’s announcement.

“Allen has been a critical force in growing the Washington wine industry, both by innovating, so that others could come behind and achieve greatness, and in serving as ambassador to the world,” Sara Schneider, Sunset’s wine editor, said in a prepared statement.

Shoup is managing partner of Walla Walla-based Long Shadows, a coterie of ultra-premium wineries run in partnership with internationally acclaimed winemakers from every major wine region in the world.

He is also managing partner of The Benches at Wallula Gap, a 650-acre vineyard in Horse Heaven Hills.

Before those ventures he spent 20 years building Chateau Ste. Michelle and its affiliate wineries. He served as CEO for that company for 17 years.

Under his leadership the small, relatively quiet winery in Woodinville grew into one of the most well known brands with wines such as Columbia Crest and Domaine Ste. Michelle. His joint ventures brought Tuscany’s Piero Antinori and Germany’s Dr. Ernst Loosen to Washington. Through these interactions came luxury wine Col Solare and Eroica, a wine credited with sparking a Riesling renaissance.

Shoup was chosen for the honor by Sunset’s editors. The Western Wine Awards winners will be featured in the November issue of Sunset magazine.

More than 40 of the nation’s leading wine buyers trekked through Walla Walla on Monday as part of the fourth annual Road Trip Washington Wine program.

The visit was part of a five-day tour of the state for a group of wholesalers, retailers and restaurateurs meeting with grape growers and winemakers at the height of the growing season, according to an announcement from the Washington State Wine Commission.

The travelers started their tour Sunday and will make their way through the Yakima Valley and into Woodinville between today and Thursday as they experience Washington Wine Country.

The tour was first introduced by the state wine commission four years ago to help educate domestic buyers on Washington’s wine industry. Since then 177 high-level buyers and decision-makers representing more than $2 billion in purchasing power have come through.

“Road Trip has quickly become one of the premier educational opportunities for the domestic wine trade”, said Robin Pollard, executive director for the Washington State Wine Commission, in a statement.

The group arrived in Walla Walla from Seattle at about 8:45 a.m. Tuesday. They began a vineyard exercise at 10 at an array of vineyards. The itinerary included lunch at Brasserie Four, a seminar about white wines at the Marcus Whitman Hotel & Conference Center, winery exercises at a cluster of wineries including Abeja, Buty, Dusted Valley Vintners, Gramercy Cellars, K Vintners, L’Ecole No 41, Northstar, Pepper Bridge Winery and Waterbrook Winery. A regional tasting and dinner also took place at K Vintners, among other events.

Wine columnist Paul Gregutt says the newest wines comprise a sizable portfolio of diverse and superbly well-crafted releases that speak to the maturity and overall excellence that characterizes the top tier of Washington wines.

The newest wines comprise a sizable portfolio of diverse and superbly well-crafted releases that speak to the maturity and overall excellence that characterizes the top tier of Washington wines. Rarely if ever flashy, and generally priced below comparable offerings, even from Washington, these expressive wines take careful note of the character and complexity of their various appellations and vineyards. They are particularly enjoyable for their use of old-vine fruit, and the overall elegance and polish of the blends.

 

Read more about what Gregutt has to say about L’Ecole. (Seattle Times link)

Marty Clubb and Allen Shoup discuss new L’Ecole look:

Two new eateries slated for separate downtown corridors will specialize in breakfast and other fare.

The Maple Counter Café is slated for 209 E. Alder St. in the former home of a transmission shop. Crews have been working on framing inside the building and workers Wednesday were busy pouring concrete pads outside.

Owners Kory and Rachel Nagler, transplants from the west side of the state, plan to offer breakfast and lunch, as well as beer and wine sales, according to an application filed with the Washington State Liquor Control Board. A little poking around online shows the couple have a history together in the business. The two have been part of a family tradition in breakfast spots through Oak Table Cafe Kingston, a restaurant created by Kory’s sister in the image of their parents’ own Oak Table Cafe in Sequim, Wash., according to the business’s website.

If The Maple Counter Café continues the tradition, expect an early start for employees, creating batters with fresh ingredients and a focus on quality across the board.

While work continues on that project, downtown patrons can get to know Kory Nagler through his music, described as fusion of rock, soul, country, folk, blues and gospel. He has an upcoming performance Sept. 16 at Sapolil Cellars, 15 E. Main St., from 9 a.m. to midnight.

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Downtown’s other upcoming breakfast hot spot is part of a gas-to-gastronomy transformation.

Bacon & Eggs is the name of the new place in the works at 503 E. Main St., the one-time site of a gas station that in recent years changed hands as a mini-mart. Construction has been under way at the property in recent weeks.

Word is owners Michelle Adams and Michelle Giannunzio have been familiar faces at other downtown restaurants. According to the Bacon & Eggs Facebook page the business will specialize in locavore breakfast and lunch, as well as breakfast cocktails, beer on tap and espresso drinks. A link to a website from Facebook indicates an expected opening this fall. Stay tuned as more details unfold.

Myles Anderson, the Walla Walla winemaker who launched the Institute for Enology and Viticulture at Walla Walla Community College will be inducted next month into the Legends of Washington Wine Hall of Fame.

The Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center will honor Anderson during an induction gala Aug. 12 in Prosser.

Legends of Washington Wine are selected for their contributions of historical and lasting significance to the community and the wine industry, according to the announcement. Nominations are received from the public, and an industry-based selection committee evaluates and scores recommendations based on specific criteria.

A distinguished winemaker, Anderson and partner Gordon Venneri founded Walla Walla’s eighth winery, Walla Walla Vintners, in 1995.

His background in education combined with his winemaking helped him develop and launch the enology and viticulture program in 2000.

Anderson earned his bachelor’s in elementary education from Bloomsburg University, a master’s in counseling and educational psychology from Bucknell University and a doctorate in counseling psychology from the University of Wyoming.

A 31-year employee of Walla Walla Community College, he served as counselor, instructor and administrator.

For the enology program, he wrote several instructional texts and developed the curriculum. More than 1,600 students have completed the coursework since the program began.

Anderson continues to consult with College Cellars and serves on the advisory committee of the Institute for Enology and Viticulture.

Legends of Washington Wine is a program of the Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center, named after the late Dr. Walter J. Clore.

The Clore Center will be a learning center that promotes Washington wine and food by engaging visitors to experience the diversity and quality of Washington’s food and wine products.

Tickets and sponsorships for the Legends Gala are available via PayPal at www.theclorecenter.org or by downloading a reservation form from the website. For more information, call 509-786-1000.