Seattle Wine and Food Festival
By Peter Mika
Fulfilling my official obligations as treasurer for the Regional Board of the Enological Society, I recently spent a weekend in Seattle attending the annual board meeting. This also provided a good excuse for joining the festivities at the 27th Annual Wine & Food Festival. For those of you unfamiliar with the event, this tasting and the Tri-Cities Wine Festival in November are the premier venues for trying the latest NW winery efforts. At both of these events you pay your entrance fee and then can taste any of the offerings you want.
This year 80 wineries (49 WA, 22 OR, 5 BC, and 4 ID) offered up almost 200 wines for tasting. A number of the newer Walla Walla wineries were there: Buty, Cayuse, Reininger, Russell Creek, Three Rivers. No matter what your preference, something was there for you. As it should be, about 2/3 of the wine were red, with Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, and Syrah dominating. Pinot Gris and Chardonnay were the most common white offerings. A professional panel judges the wines: this year 130 medals were awarded (13 gold, 44 silver, and 73 bronze). Gold medal winners included:
Ch. Ste. Michelle 1998 Cold Creek Cabernet Sauvignon
Sandhill Winery 1998 Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
Ch. Ste. Michelle 1999 Cold Creek Chardonnay
Columbia Crest 1999 Grand Estates Chardonnay
Kiona Vineyards 2000 Chenin Blanc Ice Wine
L’Ecole No 41 1999 Seven Hills Merlot
Reininger Winery 1999 Walla Walla Merlot (also the Grand Prize winner)
L’Ecole No 41 1999 Seven Hills Estate Semillon
Firesteed Cellars 2000 Oregon Pinot Gris
Cooper Mountain 1998 Willamette Old Vines Reserve Pinot Noir
Rex Hill Vineyards 1999 Willamette Pinot Noir
Willamette Valley Vineyards 1998 Hoodview Pinor Noir
Kestrel Vintners 1999 Yakima Syrah
Usually the Seattle chapter publishes a list of the award winners on their website. You might check www.enosoc.org if you’re interested.
Despite arriving a little late, I was able to taste 58 wines without a great deal of effort, and even go back for seconds on my favorites—so you can see the event provides a great opportunity for comparing many of the best of the NW. As usual, a number of the wines I liked received little or no recognition. As a group, I enjoyed the meritage-style blends: Arbor Crest 1997 Dionysus, Hedges 1998 Three Vineyards, Sumac Ridge 1998 Pinnacle. I tried most of the Cabernets, enjoying most the L’Ecole No 41 1998, the Apex 1997 Columbia Valley, and the Kiona 1998 Washington. The Firesteed Pinot Gris, Kestrel Syrah, and Kiona Ice Wine mentioned above as gold medal winners were all fine efforts. For veterans of this event, the venue moved back to South Seattle Community College—in my opinion a welcome return, with much better access to winery tables. This event also includes a meal and dancing, making it a well-rounded evening.