Merry Christmas!

Peace, love, joy and great wine on this day and always! 

Joyeux Noel. Mele Kalikimaka. Feliz Navidad. Merry Christmas!  

-The Woody Crew              



12 Days of Christmas - Woody style

On the first day of Christmas my true friend gave to me ... a Special Selection Red Wine. 

On the second day of Christmas my true friend gave to me ... two Holiday mags and a Special Selection Red Wine.

On the third day of Christmas my true friend gave to me ... three "Artist Series" mags, two Holiday mags and a Special Selection Red Wine.

On the fourth day of Christmas my true friend gave to me ... four Woody fleeces, three "Artist Series" mags, two Holiday mags and a Special Selection Red Wine.

On the fifth day of Christmas my true friend gave to me ... five Chardonnays, four Woody fleeces, three "Artist Series" mags, two Holiday mags and a Special Selection Red Wine.

On the sixth day of Christmas my true friend gave to me ... six etched glasses, five Chardonnays, four Woody fleeces, three "Artist Series" mags, two Holiday mags and a Special Selection Red Wine.

On the seventh day of Christmas my true friend gave to me ... seven Woody coasters, six etched glasses, five Chardonnays, four Woody fleeces, three "Artist Series" mags, two Holiday mags and a Special Selection Red Wine.

On the eight day of Christmas my true friend gave to me ... eight CV Merlots, seven Woody coasters, six etched glasses, five Chardonnays, four Woody fleeces, three "Artist Series" mags, two Holiday mags and a Special Selection Red Wine.

On the ninth day of Christmas my true friend gave to me ... nine "Artist Series" Cabs, eight CV Merlots, seven Woody coasters, six etched glasses, five Chardonnays, four Woody fleeces, three "Artist Series" mags, two Holiday mags and a Special Selection Red Wine.

On the tenth day of Christmas my true friend gave to me ... ten Estate Reds, nine "Artist Series" Cabs, eight CV Merlots, seven Woody coasters, six etched glasses, five Chardonnays, four Woody fleeces, three "Artist Series" mags, two Holiday mags and a Special Selection Red Wine.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true friend gave to me ... eleven "Old Vines" Cabs, ten Estate Reds, nine "Artist Series" Cabs, eight CV Merlots, seven Woody coasters, six etched glasses, five Chardonnays, four Woody fleeces, three "Artist Series" mags, two Holiday mags and a Special Selection Red Wine.

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true friend gave to me ... twelve Artist prints, eleven "Old Vines" Cabs, ten Estate Reds, nine "Artist Series" Cabs, eight CV Merlots, seven Woody coasters, six etched glasses, five Chardonnays, four Woody fleeces, three "Artist Series" mags, two Holiday mags and a Special Selection Red Wine.




 Happy Holidays from the Woody Crew!

Shari/Guest Services

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays!

It's beginning to look a lot like a Winter Wonderland outside and just in time for the holidays too!

Holiday Barrel Tasting is just around the corner. This year we will be releasing our 2008 "Artist Series" Cabernet and the 2009 Washington State Chardonnay. Through the month of December we will be offering the '08 "Artist Series" Cabernet at a special release pricing of $44/bottle down from $49/bottle with the additional 10% case discount still applying. Be sure to stock up now and take advantage of this great price! 

Also on special is the 2008 Nelms Road Merlot and the 2007 "Artist Series" Cabernet 1.5L. We are offering the Nelms Merlot for $15/bottle, down from $20 and the '07 "Artist Series" Cabernet 1.5L for $98/bottle, down from $109.

And our last thank you to all of our loyal customers is free ground shipping for purchases made over the phone or internet, of a case or more (2-day shipping and shipping to Alaska and Hawaii will receive a $40 credit towards the shipping charges). This special does not apply in the tasting room. If you have questions please contact Marlene Steiner, marlene@woodwardcanyon.com.

And don't forget that Lisa Snow Lady, the 2008 "Artist Series" artist, is planning on being on hand to sign prints and bottles Saturday the 4th and Sunday the 5th, weather permitting. Also, Paul Gregutt will be at the winery on Saturday the 4th from 12:30 - 2:30 signing copies of his new book, Washington Wines and Wineries: Second Edition. This would make a great present for those wine lovers in your life so stop in and pick up a copy.

If you're planning on making a last minute trip over to the valley for Holiday Barrel there are still some rooms available at the local hotels. Check www.wallawalla.org for a complete listing of all area hotels.

We hope to see everyone this weekend! Drive safe!

Cheers!

-Shari
 

2010 Harvest

What an incredibly challenging vintage 2010 has turned out to be. From the beginning, nothing about this vintage has been easy. The year started off promising enough with some abnormally warm temperatures in January, February and March that had the valley thinking early harvest. Many vineyards showed early signs of bud break and harvest was on its way. However early spring turned into a summer no-show, where we had a few days of weather over 95 but the majority of the season was spent in the 80s. Not only were temperatures lower but we were also compounded with more rainfall than normal which lead to the possibilities of mildew and rot in the vineyards. Then to cap off the vintage with fruit ripening so slowly harvest was at least three weeks later than in previous years. We brought in the Woody sauvignon blanc, the first fruit of the harvest, on September 16^th, three weeks later than it was brought in for 2009. Everything else started to trickle in after the sauv blanc. With picking going into the last week of October it then became a rush against the freezing temperatures at night.

Here's a quick harvest note from Rick -

Typically, I remember something unique or special about almost every vintage, but yikes, I almost do not know where to begin this year.  I made my first home wine in 1976 and my first commercial wine in 1981 and in those 30 plus years I never seen a vintage like this.  Let’s see, we’ve had unseasonably cool weather, more rain than I can remember and an uneven set and yes, we are several weeks late but……………..this is agriculture people; it’s farming!  I grew up with this.  A vintage such as this doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with wine quality and yet, it has everything to do with wine quality.                                                                                                        

 Do I still have your attention?  Good, let me explain.  This year there are going to be incredible grapes grown and wines made; and there will be grapes not fit for harvest and there will be wines dumped down the drain and here’s why.  The best vineyard owners (farmers) will produce extraordinary fruit this year which will subsequently be made into extraordinary wine by the best winemakers.  The best growers did all the right things as the year progressed.  The heavy crop, surely not to ripen, was thinned back to one cluster per shoot no shoulder, laterals were removed and canopy opened allowing needed air movement to prevent rot or mold or mildew.  The best winemakers are doing the same thing in the cellar.  The correct size and shape of tank to ferment in and enough of them, the appropriate method of cap management, when to drop the tank, how much older wood to use this year and the wisdom to realize that less is more!

Did someone say cooler vintage? Great, that means more expressively bright fruit, unbelievably dark, inky color and lower alcohols.  Damn, I thought that’s what we have been trying to do for the last decade.  So let’s do it!  

 -Rick Small                              

Everyone I talk to keeps mentioned how this is going to be a difficult vintage. Not only has the farming aspect of things has been difficult but wineries are facing much lower yields than normal. So far many wineries throughout the Walla Walla Valley are commenting that production will be down about 30%. We are no different (we picked roughly 1 to 1.5 tons per acre in our Estate Vineyard) but so far it looks like the vintage has the potential to be a great one. Sugars are lower than they have been in the recent past but the acidity is still high, which in turn will lead to well balanced wines that should have the ability to age longer. Everyone keeps talking about this moving trend to high alcohol wines and how we should move away from them; well like Rick said, this just might be the perfect vintage for that. 

With the craziness of harvest behind us, we are now focusing on getting ready for Autumn Release Weekend. This year we will be pouring in the Reserve House where we'll be featuring a couple new releases, a couple additional older vintage pours and some current releases. Starting the lineup of wines will be the new releases the 2008 Charbonneau Red, the 2009 Estate Barbera and the 2009 Dry Riesling, a special pour of the 2009 Estate Reserve Chardonnay, the 2006 Columbia Valley Merlot the 2005 Estate Red Reserve, the Non-Vintage Red, and a special magnum pour of the 2006 "Artist Series" Cabernet.

Also coming up in November is 20something - the new vintage at The Fremont Studios in Seattle on November 20th from 6:00 to 10:00 pm. Join Thomas Woodley and enjoy a pour of the 2009 Estate Sauvignon Blanc. Visit http://www.thenewvintage.org for tickets and more information.

Join us for a busy Holiday Barrel Tasting Weekend , December 3rd - 5th at the winery. We will be releasing the 2008 "Artist Series" Cabernet. Lisa Snow Lady, the artist for this label, will be on hand to sign prints and bottles over the weekend. Also around will be Chef Paul as he prepares small bites to pair with the wines - marinated lamb, roasted veggies, tapenades and a few other spreads are always winery staff favorites. For copies of the recipes visit our website www.woodwardcanyon.com. Rick will be baking bread once again to serve with some of Chef Paul's spreads. Also on hand, Paul Gregutt, author of Washington Wines and Wineries: 2nd Edition, will be around to sign copies on Saturday, December 4th from 12:30 to 2:30 pm.  
  
See you at the winery!
Cheers!


-Shari

Marketing Travels Abroad

Last month Rick and I spent a couple of weeks in England and Germany attending events and marketing Woody wines.

We began with a trade tasting set up by our agent, Wine Treasury, at Gordon Ramsay's Maze in London. In addition to new releases, we presented a vertical of "Old Vines" Cabernet. This was followed by a lovely trade lunch in the Maze View room where the kitchen executed some great food and wine matches.

We spent the next three days at the London International Wine & Spirits Fair which is a huge trade event, pouring wine along side other Northwest wineries from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. each day. How those women in the booth across the aisle wore stiletto heels for three days, I will never figure out! We did this same event several years ago and there was definitely more interest in Washington wines this time. However, the majority of people who stop to taste require a 101 on Washington wine starting with which Washington we are talking about and moving on to clarifying that all of the state does not have the same climate as Seattle. It is quite fun though to meet trade and other winemakers from all over the world and to help to educate people on what we are doing here in Washington.

A special treat was running into former Woody intern Timothée Boltz from Alsace who spent a crush with us in 2004. He now works as an export manager for an Alsatian winery and is getting married this summer.








One side benefit of the tasting at Maze was meeting the folks from other fine restaurants, two of which we later visited.

We first went to Goodman, a steak house in Mayfair. The General Manager, David who had recently visited Walla Walla with the Washington Wine Commission's Wine Experience, and the sommelier, Crispin, took good care of us. They have an interesting concept where they feature U.S., Scottish and Irish beef - all perfectly prepared with great side dishes as well. We waddled back to the Tube.

The next evening we dined across the street at Hibiscus at the urging of sommelier Julian. It was absolutely one of the best meals we have ever had. Sleek, calm interior that was a nice change from the hectic city streets. We chose the Spring Tasting Menu – layered flavors and textures, beautifully presented. The chef has a way of combining a myriad of flavors, yet keeping each one distinct. The fresh pea soup inspired me to come home and plant some peas in our raised beds and the tiny jellied cubes of balsamic in the strawberry dessert has got me on a new mission. A very memorable meal.

Finally we ate at the Al Sultan, a Lebanese restaurant, in the Shepherd's Market area of Mayfair which is a last night tradition for those Northwest wineries associated with Hilltop Wines in the UK. After filling up on the extensive Meze, I looked up and saw the loaded plates of the main course headed our way and recalled that last time I had told myself to remember that the Meze was just the first course…….It is a good thing that getting to and from the Tube platform involves a lot of stairs.

London is a great city and I wish we had time to partake in what it has to offer, but the next day we flew to Frankfurt, Germany, then took a train further north to Celle where brothers Bruce and Alan at Kultur Insel-Celle are beginning to bring our wines in. Celle is a charming town with the buildings in the old town center dating back to the 16th century with some 480 restored half-timber houses, a palace/museum and abundant parks and walking paths.

By day we went to the market and toured the sights. In the evenings, Bruce, Allan and Tanja arranged a tasting at wine bar in a nearby town (Buxtehude) and at their wine bar/music club in Celle where Alan plays. Tanja speaks English better and faster than any foreign speaker and most native English speakers that I know, and for me to say that is something if you know how fast Rick and I speak.

Germans are quite fascinated by the American West and steak houses with western themes are fairly common. Our Nelms Road wine is now on the list of the Apache Grill in Celle. The inside of their menu has a map of the U.S., showing the location of the various tribes and lo and behold there were the Walla Wallas!

This trip was kind of a whirlwind, but fun and an important way to make connections and to spread the word about Washington wine and Woody in particular.

Cheers!

Darcey

Travel Changes

Wine bloggers and non-bloggers alike the first section of the New Highway 12 opened this past Monday. It's a bit confusing and if you're not careful you'll miss some of our great neighbors here in the West End. Here's a great little map of the new road.

For those bloggers that are interested in finding something to do in your down time, head out to visit us for a tasting. Show us your conference badge for waived tasting fees. 

Hope to see everyone this weekend!

Shari

UPDATE ---

Here's the most current copy of the West End Winery map.  It includes directions on how to get to Skylite as well. 

Calendar of events

I’m sorry that updates have become less and less frequent. I am trying to be better at posting but things at the winery and in the tasting room have become increasingly busier in the last month or two. There are so many things going on in the month of June, that we are involved in, that I wanted to get the word out. Hope to see everyone at one or more of the events ...

·         June 3^rd – We will be joining in on the national Washington Wine (#WAWine) tweetup down at Olive Marketplace Café in Walla Walla from 5:00 to 8:00 pm. Join us and numerous other Walla Walla wineries as we all meet in one central location and collectively taste and tweet about Washington wines.

·         June 3^rd – Join Thomas Woodley, our national sales coordinator, at The Inn at Langley in Langley Washington for an amazing night of food and wine. Chef Mike Costello has put together an amazing 5-course menu and paired it with some fresh whites and vintage reds. Cost of the dinner is $170 per person which includes food, wine, tax and gratuity. Attendees of the dinner will be offered a discounted room rate to stay at the inn as well.Call the Inn for reservations (360) 221-3033.

·         June 4^th – For those that stay the night, join Thomas Woodley and Chef Costello as they dig into their award winning cellar to host a vertical tasting of vintage Woodward Canyon wines accompanied with some small bites prepared by Chef Costello. The tasting will be free to those who attended the dinner the evening before and cost $35 for anyone else.

·         June 6^th – Join Marlene and myself as we descend upon The Davenport Hotel in downtown Spokane for Taste Washington Spokane on Sunday from 5:00 to 8:30 pm. We’ll join around 100 other wineries and 25 restaurants at the event and will be pouring our 2008 Washington State Chardonnay, the 2007 “Artist Series” Cabernet and the 2008 Nelms Road Cabernet. Tickets are still available so get yours at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/107945.

·         June 13^th – Join either Thomas Woodley or Darcey Fugman-Small, our owner/general manager, at the Seattle Wine Awards hosted at the historic Rainier Club. We will be pouring our award winning wines – the 2006 Estate Red (double gold), the 2007 “Artist Series” Cabernet (gold) and the 2008 Nelms Road Cabernet (silver). Tickets for the event are still available so get your ticket here.

·         June 18^th – Visit the Walla Walla Valley and join in on the festivities of Vintage Walla Walla. Friday evening, June 18^th, join Thomas, Rick and Darcey for the bbq under the stars out at Northstar Winery from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. Tickets are available for the bbq only or as part of the Vintage WW package.

·         June 19^th – The next day, ten wineries, us included, are hosting special tasting events throughout the valley. For more information on the individual events and for reservations, please contact the Walla Walla Wine Alliance office at (509) 526-3117. Later on Saturday join participating wineries for the Vintage pour gala and silent auction that evening from 5:00 – 7:00 pm. It’s a great opportunity to taste vintage wines with the winemakers who make them. It’s also the chance to bid on amazing packages put together by wineries of the Walla Walla Valley.

·         June 25^th – 27^th – The 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference has decided on a change of scenery and is moving from Napa/Sonoma Valley, California to the Walla Walla Valley. I was able to attend the conference last year and had a blast. It is a great opportunity to meet with fellow wine bloggers and talk about wine and the importance of blogging and social media. California set the bar fairly high last year but I know that Walla Walla is up to the task. The conference is sold out however they are keeping a wait list in case there are any last minute cancellations.

And a heads up look at what is coming up in the month of July ...

·         July 1^st – Join us as we’re pouring a selection of our wines at Olive Marketplace Café at their weekly wine tasting event. For a $5 tasting fee you can taste through our line up of wines. Splurge on dinner while you are there and grab one of their fabulous flat-bread pizzas. Trust me, you won’t regret it.
 ·     July 31^st – Looking ahead, T-Maccarone's and us have paired up to do a farm-to-table dinner out in our Estate Vineyard. Final details are still to come so check back for more information or send me an email at shari@woodwardcanyon.com and I'll keep you updated.

Hope to get a real post up here soon with the happenings at the winery and a recap on Rick and Darcey’s trip over to England and Germany last month. Thanks for keeping an eye on us and hope to see you in the tasting room soon.

Cheers,

Shari