Happy Holidays

I hope this holiday season finds you warm and comfortable, safely home or safely travelling, and most importantly, enjoying a fantastic bottle of wine (or two or three) with family and friends.

I recently took a trip down to Texas/New Mexico to visit a friend. We decided to go wine tasting one day, and visited four wineries in New Mexico in the Tularosa area. I'm sorry to say that they were mostly disappointing. The one winery whose wines were actually good, Tularosa Vineyards, unfortunately sported an ignorant tasting room employee, as did another place we visited. Here are some of the things we "learned" from our esteemed friends:

- nobody ages wine in oak anymore - it takes too long (6 years or so) from start to finish, and if anyone says they are aging wine in oak barrels, it's just for show
- the vintage date is the year of bottling - we were informed that one rather young tasting 06 Cab was actually a 12 year old wine
-"there's nothing wrong with California wine that a box can't fix"
- if you blend two 14% wines, you get a 28% wine

And this takes the cake:

"If you need oak in your wine, I've got some toothpicks in the back for ya."

I'm sure you've had some atrocious tasting experiences too! Please feel free to share! :)

Needless to say, MANY excellent winemakers do indeed age their wine in oak barrels, and while it could take six years, it usually doesn't take quite that long. The vintage date is ALWAYS the year the grapes were grown and harvested. And blending two 14% wines would not double the alcohol content.

While New Mexico - at least the area we visited, I can't fairly speak for other regions of the state - was somewhat of a bust, I did discover some truly outstanding wines at Pheasant Ridge Winery in Lubbock, TX. The Pinot Noir and the '02 Cabernet were especially excellent. If you're interested in trying some nice out of state wine, I'd strongly recommend ordering some. You won't be disappointed!

I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to many more wine adventures in the new year! Stay tuned for more Whatcom Wine Club activities, and as always, email me with your comments or questions.

Happy wining!