Gramercy Cellars is just plain cool. From the white subway tiles and swiveling metal stools to the plush leather couches and flat screen TV, it’s the type of place you walk in to and immediately want to stay for awhile (you don’t have to be a man to appreciate the man cave!). The best part is that it doesn’t just have a neat atmosphere, but the wines are awesome, too!
Spent two days in Walla Walla, WA this past weekend and have a worn out wallet (and palate) to prove it! This was my third time to the area, and again it did not disappoint. If you don’t know anything about Walla Walla, it’s a charming, unpretentious wine destination with award-winning wines located in the Southeastern region of Washington, about 4 hours from Seattle or Portland and less than 3 from Spokane. It’s crazy to think how much has changed since Walla Walla’s first winery was founded in the late 1970s (Leonetti Cellars). The Walla Walla American Viticultural Area (included within the larger Columbia Valley AVA) was established in 1984 and at that time there were only about 3 wineries and 60 acres of vines planted in the area…. and now there are over 100 wineries!
If you have never had the opportunity to taste a Storybook Mountain Zinfandel or other, you’re definitely missing out. The wines are refined and just plain stellar, and I was lucky to try four of their wines at a tasting on Friday night.
Cabernet Franc, not to be confused with Cabernet Sauvignon (a different grape entirely), has kept a pretty low profile until more recently. The wine tends to be big and rich (wait, isn’t that a country band?) like Cabernet, but often has softer tannins, is spicier, and has more herbaceous or vegetal aromas (think bell peppers and herbs). Primarily used as a blending grape in the past because of its lack of structure, it’s becoming more and more common to see it as a stand alone wine (which is good news to me). If you like Cab Francs, this 2010 Tamarack Cellars Cabernet would be a great one to add to the wine rack, and it’s 100% Cab Franc!
Not many people know a lot about Gewurztraminer. It’s one of those varietals that everyone knows of but has maybe written off as ‘too sweet’ or ‘too floral.’ Ha – bet you’ve said that before!
Chianti. Maybe it brings back memories of watered-down red wine out of a jug on the table of a less than stellar Italian restaurant? Yuck. For me, Chianti brings back memories of when I was studying abroad in Italy and visited the region of Chianti. It was, I think, my first real wine tasting experience! Nowadays, I typically don’t drink many Chiantis (even though I love all things Italian) because I prefer bigger reds, but tonight I made a lasagna from scratch (watch out, Giada!) and thought a Chianti would complete the meal. PS – it did, thanks to this easy-drinking guy.
Last night I had some girlfriends over for a pre-St. Patrick’s Day wine and cheese tasting. Since we’re all fans of cheese (I mean, BIG fans), I thought it’d be fun to try some cheeses that pair well with certain wines. I just really look for any excuse to get the girls together to drink wine and chat, especially when I can make it a bit educational and eat lots of cheese!
I’m a big fan of trying new wines all the time because A) I like variety, B) it’s fun to try new things and C) who doesn’t love an excuse to peruse a wine shop? Recently I wanted to kill some time before meeting up with a friend, so I wandered into a nearby wine shop to check out the selection. In the ‘$15 and under’ section, this brightly labeled bottle immediately caught my eye, obviously, so I thought I’d give it a try. Yep, sometimes I get sucked into buying a bottle based on the label (don’t we all?) but I was mostly curious how this CA Cab would taste given it’s price point. Worth a shot, right?
Since this blog is about wine and travel, what better way to start out than by sharing my most recent trip to Hawaii… or, as I like to refer to it, my seven glorious, sunset-filled and Mai Tai-laden days in Maui. For those of you living in “I cannot stand another snowy/dreary/rainy day or I will pull my hair out” land, I am truly sorry to make you jealous. Really, I am!