Chateau Ste. Michelle white wines more than just Riesling

Chateau Ste. Michelle gets much of the credit for the resurgence of American Riesling — and properly so. The Woodinville, Wash., winery makes more Riesling than any other in the world. Riesling makes up 45 percent of all Ste. Michelle wines, and two-thirds of the production at the state’s oldest winery is white wines.

Bob Bertheau arrived in 2003 from California as Ste. Michelle’s white winemaker and a year later was promoted to head winemaker. In 2007, Wendy Stuckey arrived from Australia and now oversees white wine production. Bertheau’s focus was on Chardonnay when he arrived because he hadn’t made much Riesling in California, and Stuckey’s global reputation on Riesling made her a perfect fit with Ste. Michelle.

Bertheau takes the lead in setting the style for each wine, and Stuckey is the on-the-ground winemaker and manages the staff. The white wines are made in Woodinville, while the red wines are made at Ste. Michelle’s Canoe Ridge facility in Eastern Washington.

While the focus certainly is on the million cases of Riesling the winery produces, Bertheau and Stuckey also craft a lot of different whites, including Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer and … Continue Reading

Pacific Rim Winemakers focuses on Riesling

In the New World, a winery can get away with focusing narrowly on Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel or Syrah. But few would think about building a winery around Riesling. And perhaps only one could do it successfully.

That winery is Pacific Rim Winemakers in West Richland, Wash.

One of the wine world’s true iconoclasts, Randall Grahm, came up with Pacific Rim. The owner of famed Bonny Doon Vineyard in Santa Cruz, Calif., began Pacific Rim in 1992. He used grapes from Washington as well as Germany, a previously unheard-of combination.

By 2006, Grahm’s operation had grown greatly in size, and he didn’t necessarily care for that. So he sold his popular Cardinal Zin and Big House brands and decided to spin off his Pacific Rim wines as a standalone winery. It made sense to Grahm that he should locate his new operation in Washington, where … Continue Reading

Walla Walla Spring Release 2009

Yup, it’s here again and what can I say other than the same ol’ reminders… hydrate-hydrate-hydrate…strap on the ol’ feedbag of a breakfast- -with gravy …designated driver… yada-yada-yada…yakkity smakkity – lather, rinse, repeat…

This year I am only going to remind you of three things:

1. Review, memorize and apply the poem by Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
2. Open your mind to wine. Seriously. Don’t be turning your nose up at a member of the tasting room staff when they ask if you would like to try a Chardonnay, Riesling or a pretty pink rosé. Taste it. Who knows? You might even like it. And it’s okay for real men to drink rosés. Really.
3. Have a wonderful time in our valley and make some great memories. There is so much to do this year! And for some ideas, check out the Walla Walla Wine Alliance or with Heather at Walla Walla Wine News.

Cheers!
C~

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Gjetost with apple slices and a Riesling

Gjetost comes from Norway and sometimes contains a combination of the two major milks—goat and cow. Ekte Gjetost is all goat.

It is wonderful with fruit, especially apples and pears. In Norway, people place a container or a piece of gjetostnear the fireplace where it can warm and soften. Then they dip slices of fruit into it and enjoy the caramellytaste that compliments the fruit. People who see gjetostfor the first time often think that it is some kind of caramel or fudge. This fudginess occurs because to make gjetost whey is simmered until the moisture evaporates and the milk sugars caramelize.

Whey is the watery part of milk which is separated from the curds or the solid part of the milk in cheese making. Whey is nutricious and may be made into “whey cheese.” And there’s plenty of material to use for making it. Twenty pounds of milk will produce about two pounds of cheese and about fifteen pounds of whey. The whey may be used to create various whey cheeses like ricotta, manouri, Sérac, and the Norwegian whey cheeses, mysost, primost, flotøst, and gjetost.

Gjetost comes in a wide range of colors, consistencies, and flavors, and it is widely produced throughout Scandinavia where it is so common that, according to one of my Norwegian friends, they call it simply, “brown cheese,” brunost.

A woman named Anne Hov is believed to have made the first gjetostas it is known today. In 1864, Hovadded cream to whey to create a richer, firmer version of the ancient recipe. Hov lived in Norway’s Gubrands Valley where Gudbrandsalsost, a very highly regarded gjetost, is still made.

I like the combination of gjetost, apple and pear slices, and Riesling or a medium-dry Chardonnay, some hazel nuts, and a rye cracker or crusty rye bread.