Recently my wife and I spent 3 days in Woodinville, WA. We’re trying to make our way to all the appellations and wine meccas of WA and were excited to visit the area.

Woodinville is home to two of Washington’s largest (Chateau St. Michelle and Columbia Winery) These two building dominate the landscape, however, the shining stars can be found in the small strip malls and the industrial warehouse district. We purchased more wine on this trip than on our previous 4 trips and the winery that captured our imagination and taste was Alexandria Nicole.

I love the business of wine and pairing the experience with the flavor. When I say that ANC (@ancwine – twitter) was our favorite, it’s because the combination of the wine flavor, the employee’s personality, the building decor and the obvious passion that came across from everyone we met.

Hidden within the maze of white industrial space is the gem of Woodinville! When entering the tasting room you are greeted with simple, warm decor, and a beautiful slab granite tasting area. Beyond the main area is a fantastically decorated meeting space, wine club member area for tasting and events. The hosts were extremely informative and the love of their work came through. We tasted all they had to offer and purchased a little of each.

The other evening we were asked to bring a good wine to dinner. I really wanted to drink the Crawford Viognier and even though the pairing with Jambalaya didn’t seem quite right, I thought the Viognier would hold up well to the spice in the dish. Although I was slightly off with my pairing, I thoroughly enjoyed the wine (the dish was much more tomato based and not nearly as spicy – a Cabernet Sauvignon or even a Pinot Noir would have stood up better).

The NectarView

2008 Crawford Estate Alexandria Nicole Viognier – Columbia Valley $20

• Swirl: Very light in color, pale and clear – can tell just from the swirl that this is going to be crisp and refreshing
• Sniff: Wow, extremely potent with citrus, peach and melon, minimal floral scent (reminiscent of Hawaii)
• Sip: Tasted more of an apple crisp, like having an apple cobbler of some sort including the vanilla ice cream, extremely crisp. could drink the whole bottle by the fire on a cool September evening. Mild alcohol aftertaste but not enough to deter from the flavor. Only flaw is the flavor trails off quickly.
• The Score: At $20 I can easily score this a 4 (at the $15 range would make this easily a 5)

This wine scored 91 from Wine Spectator and definitely deserves that rating. I’m looking forward to our next trip and the next bottle in the rack.

2007 Alexandria Nicole Gravity Merlot

• The Swirl: Dark plum in the center with a light ruby at glass edge. No visible sign of legs
• The Sniff: Spicy leather and cherries jubilee with some chocolate shavings on top.
• The Sip: Good tannins but presented a mild hot alcohol on the back end. Not a typical smooth Merlot, had a big bold taste.
• The Score: At $24, I score this a 3+. It’s a well made wine but seemed a little off balance to score as a 4 or higher.

Other scores were found on Cork’d as a 91 and on Cellar Tracker as a 86.

Enjoy life with friends and DRINK.HAPPY!