Study Time?

As a college student I spent a lot of time in the library. I would pack up all my books and notes and meet up with my friends to “study”. Oregon State University was awesome and had private study rooms at the library, where you didn’t have to worry about the rules of keeping quiet. So we would put our name on the list and hope to score one of those. When we did get one of the rooms we would go in, spread our books out over the table and then proceed to talk and gossip for the 3 hours we were allowed. Then, we’d pack everything up and head out into the night. I remember those nights fondly. Nights with my friends and not using the library room as it was intended. Sometimes we’d munch on pitas from Pita Pit if someone was willing to run across campus to pick them up. Sometimes we’d listen to music when one of us would bring in a cd player and speakers. All too often, though, I wouldn’t study one word while in the library rooms. So these memories are what I think of when I hear the word ‘library’. Fortunately for us in the wine world, it also means a collection of really nice older wines! Which brings me to our newest building at Woodward Canyon – our Reserve House.

We first broke ground for the Reserve House back in August of 2007 and the project wasn’t complete until this May – well, we are actually still doing the finishing touches on it but we can use it. One of the reasons it took so long was the full sized cellar we built below ground for our wine library. A good 8 feet below the ground, it is the first cellar Rick has had since he bonded the winery in 1981. Thomas, Rafa, Kiko and Manuel worked for almost two weeks to move all the library wines into it and it looks great. The only scary part is most of the cellar is already filled up. I’m not sure where we are going to put any future releases. Guess we’ll have to start drinking some of the older vintages now. What a rough job that would be!

The finishing of the Reserve House and the cellar came just in time for Vintage Walla Walla weekend. We were able to use the building to host a wine dinner after the Vintage Pour. It is a fun two-day weekend filled with educational classes, library wines, a silent auction and of course more wines! Friday night kicked off the weekend with the Library Pour at the Reid Center at Whitman College, where 20-plus wineries came in and poured wines from their libraries from 2002 and older. Kevin Mott, our winemaker, poured the 1996 “Artist Series” Cabernet at the event.

Attendees had the option of doing a wine dinner and as mentioned, we were one of the participating wineries. Rick and Darcey were out of town for the evening, so Thomas (National Sales), Marlene (Marketing and Web), Jordan and myself (Shari, Guest Services) took care of the dinner and the guests. The dinner went smoothly and the guests seemed to enjoy themselves, especially when we pulled out a magnum of 1999 “Special Selection”!

We had a great group of people for our Vintage Dinner. The evening started with appetizers on the back patio - Vietnamese spring rolls and grilled pita with baba ganoush, paired with the 2007 Estate Sauvignon Blanc (which we are now sold out of here at the winery, check back for details on the 2008 release).

From there it was time to walk down into the cellar and grab a glass of the 1999 “Special Selection” Red Wine out of a magnum. WOW, if you haven’t had a chance to taste some of Rick and Kevin’s “Special Selection” then you are missing out. It is absolutely delicious! The “Special Selection” is one of those wines that we only make when we’ve had an exceptional vintage. In the entire time that Woodward Canyon has been producing wines, there have only been four vintages of the “Special Selection” - the 1988, 1993, 1999 and the 2005. Don’t worry – you haven’t missed the 2005 yet! It is due out later this year. We only produced about 157 cases of the 750ml and 30 cases of the magnums so if you want some please contact us at getthedirt@woodwardcanyon.com so we can make sure you receive the release email. It is made up of 69.5% cabernet sauvignon, 25.7% merlot and 4.8% cabernet franc.

After trading white wine glasses for red wine glasses and grabbing their taste of the “Special Selection", the guests headed upstairs where the meal started off with a light salad made from local greens and fresh herbs from the Woodward Canyon herb garden. This was paired with the 2007 Washington State Chardonnay (also recently sold out). Moving onto the main course, guests enjoyed a top sirloin roast grilled outside on the wood-fired grill with roasted red potatoes. The dinner was paired with both the 2005 Charbonneau Red and the 2006 “Old Vines” Cabernet. Dessert was light and fresh - we simply topped lemon curd with hand picked strawberries (picked by myself earlier that morning) and freshly whipped cream and a sprig of mint. Everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves, the dinner and the wines. It is great to know everyone who works at Woodward is a self-proclaimed foodie – which makes it so much fun to cook together!

Thanks for reading!

Shari, Guest Services

Perks of the Job!

I have this really good friend who I’ve known for years. We both went to high school together and then we followed each other to college as well. We even went so far as to having our college graduation party together because we had so many of the same friends and our families knew each other well. Over the years I’ve become friends with his wife, who I also went to high school with, and have fallen in love with their two boys. So I always try to do something special for his birthday. Last year, I did a mini vertical of Walla Walla cabernets from 2000-2004. Not something I would recommend for three people, but it was a lot of fun and the wines were amazing. So this year I decided that I needed to do something even more special. After racking my brain I came across a 1998 “Old Vines” Cabernet from Woodward Canyon and decided that was just what I was looking for.

So the three of us made plans to get together over a nice dinner and crack open the bottle. It was fantastic! We paired the wine with a steak and potato dinner just like mom used to make. In the mouth, the wine was rich and still very powerful, with flavors of muted toasted oak and vanilla as well as raspberry, blackberry and a hint of the terroir that is typical of the Champoux Vineyard. It was well balanced and for being 10 years old it still had years of cellar time on it. The steak was hearty enough that the wine didn’t overpower it, leading to a wonderful pairing. We savored every last drop in the bottle and then wished we had three more to open.


The grapes were harvested entirely from Champoux Vineyard, planted in the 1970’s, above the Columbia River in southeastern Washington. The very warm growing season of 1998 gave incredibly ripe fruit with great richness and concentration. Champoux Vineyard consists of 170 acres of mixed varietals - cabernet sauvignon, lemburger, cabernet franc, syrah, merlot, riesling, muscat, and chardonnay. We, along with Quilceda Creek, Andrew Will, and Badger Mountain/Powers, are all partner wineries in the Champoux Vineyards along with Vineyard Manager, Paul Champoux. We primarily use Champoux fruit for our "Old Vines" Cabernet. The cabernet vines were planted in 1972, making them one of the oldest cabernet blocks in the state. The fruit produces extremely elegant and bright red cherry flavors which was evident in the 1998 vintage.

Then I gave him his “present” of the 2002 Woodward Canyon Estate Red to cellar for later. If you have not had a glass or bottle of the Estate Red you don’t know what you’re missing! This is definitely one of my favorite wines we produce here and the 2002 Estate Red is one of my favorite wines from the valley that vintage. It is a Bordeaux style blend entirely from our Estate Vineyard. This merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and petit verdot blend has a soft generous texture that transitions to a supple, balanced mouth feel with a long and layered finish. This is a wine that can lay down, with proper cellaring, for 10+ years. And even though we are out of the 2002 vintage we still have plenty of the 2003 and 2005 available, both of which are excellent.

Needless to say he was pretty excited about the wines. It was a pretty special night that I will remember for a long time. I wouldn’t give or open a bottle like that for just anyone.

So happy drinking everyone! I hope you are all enjoying something special at this moment. If you are on facebook please friend us and keep up on what's going on out at the winery. And next time you are in the valley come see me in the tasting room!

Cheers!

Shari / Woodward Canyon Winery

End of February Already?!?!?!

Hello from cold and gray Walla Walla Valley. I’m writing this bundled up inside the tasting room in a sweater and my fleece

jacket. I’m soooo ready for spring time! It’s been a long and cold winter and just seems to keep dragging on. And to think on the 2nd Punxsy Phil saw his shadow and so we’re in store for 6 more weeks of winter. But I have some reservations on this prediction. I mean this little groundhog comes out of his burrow to try to predict if we’re going to have a longer winter or an early spring. But with all the people standing around with lights and cameras and everything else it’s no wonder that he ALWAYS sees his shadow! Here’s a fun site I found on the history of Groundhog Day- visit it at www.groundhog.org if you’re interested in this little guy.

So some fun stuff coming up in the next couple of weeks that some of us here at the winery are involved in. First off is the Oregon Wine Symposium down in Eugene, Oregon. This is our first year attending so we're hoping to learn a lot. It has been years since I’ve been to Eugene. If you know of any hot spots to visit or any cool events going on for Fat Tuesday please feel free to share. I would love to get some ideas of where to visit.

Right after we return from that we’re headed out again for Taste Walla Walla in Portland, which takes place on Monday, March 2nd. This is a great event for those of you who haven't been before. Wineries from all over Walla Walla pack up and head down to Portland to pour in one big area. Great for those of you who haven’t made it over to this side of the state yet, and for those of you who would just like to taste a bit closer to home. Tickets are still available and cost is $65 a piece. There are quite a few wines available to taste so please be safe in getting home from the event. This is such a fun event for wineries and consumers alike. For more information, you can visit The Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance website. To order tickets you can either call (503) 226-0973 or visit the Portland Art Museum at Portland Art Museum. We hope to see you all there!

For those of you who haven’t heard, we have released our 2006 “Old Vines” Cabernet. This wine is gorgeous! Rick is really excited about how this wine is showing already. Here’s an excerpt from our tech sheet …

”This 2006 “Old Vines” Cabernet Sauvignon is a rich and complex red wine. It expresses the purity of fully mature cabernet sauvignon fruit that one only can get from 35 year old vines. The Sagemoor Vineyard cabernet truly expresses itself in this vintage. The color is dark red to purple and complex aromas of cherry, leather and smoke develop in the glass. Flavors of ripe black cherries and cassis married with spicy new oak and vanilla coat the mouth. The texture is soft and silky yet there are mature integrated tannins in the rich, long finish. I love the proportion this red wine displays and with proper storage, it should age for ten years easily.” -Rick Small, director of production

If you would like to order some please feel free to either call us at the winery at (509) 525-4129 or order online at www.woodwardcanyon.com.

Well I hope everyone has a wonderful Thursday! Even though this would normally be my Monday, I’m taking the weekend off to head out to a friend’s wedding. Here’s to a 10 hour drive for an outdoor wedding at the Oregon Coast. Seriously, who gets married outside at the Oregon Coast in February?!?! If, on Saturday afternoon around 3:00 while you are in your warm and toasty house and you get the urge to have a glass of vino, think of me!

Cheers!
Shari Brumbach / Woodward Canyon Winery