The story of Grande Ronde Cellars is the circle of life…wine life.  It’s the story of a caterer who struggled to find good wine, so he opened a wine shop. It’s the story of a wine shop owner who struggled to find access to quality wine, so he started a distributorship. It’s the story of a distributor who fell in love with the process and passion of wine-making and used his connections with key grape growers to secure quality fruit. In 1997 Grande Ronde Cellars was born and now the circle is complete as they are a winery that uses a distributor to sell to wine shops and ultimately to consumers and caterers. Grande Ronde is operated by partners Dave Westfall, John Mueller, and David Page.

*Dave must be a little camera shy because he kept sneaking off screen. Ahh, the dangers of filming without a camera man. My apologies, Dave!

Grande Ronde sources grapes from two prestigious Walla Walla vineyards, Seven Hills and Pepper Bridge (added in 2002). The 1200 case production has remained the same for all 13 vintages. The French style wine production shows patience as each vintage spends between 14-18 months in 100% French Oak and is bottle stored for three years before release. The current single vineyard reds are 2003 Seven Hills Cabernet (reviewed below), 2003 Pepper Bridge Cabernet and 2003 Seven Hills Merlot. Production also includes red blends, a white blend and Black Muscat, Chenin Blanc, and Chardonnay. Releases consistently score 90+ points in Wine Spectator.

Wine production occurs in the mountains north of Spokane at Mountain Dome winery. While Mountain Dome is a special place and a fine producer of Sparkling wine, Dave saw an opportunity to bring wine, food and art together in Downtown Spokane. In 2004, after lobbying the state legislature, Dave opened Washington’s second cooperative / collaborative tasting room featuring wine from five “off-site” wineries; Grande Ronde, Mountain Dome, Masset, Morrison Lane, and Emvy Cellars. The basement tasting room at 906 W. 2^nd Ave offers a fantastic opportunity to enjoy a variety of Washington wine, art, education classes and even the occasional Gonzaga Bulldog basketball game.

New for 2010 is an event facility for up to 40. Small wedding, corporate and private events can enjoy the cellar like atmosphere adjacent to the tasting room. “The Last Drop” is operated independently from the tasting room and requires a serving license to serve wine.

With 30 years in the wine business, Dave and partner Sam Lange have a wealth of knowledge from their miles of travels. 2009 marked the release of the first (in a series) Journey to Eastern Washington Wine Country.  The series is a handbook of for wine lovers as they travel across the state offering suggestions on where to eat and where to sleep as they taste their way across the state. The first book focuses on Walla Walla, Spokane, and Northern Idaho. Additional books in the series will continue the journey across the Northwest.

The Stats:

Grande Ronde Tasting Room

906 W. Second Ave

Spokane, WA 99201

Open: Wed-Saturday 11:00 am to 5:00 pm (Open later on First Friday’s)
Phone: 509-455-8161
Email: dave@granderondecellars.com

The NectarView

2003 Seven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon

• The Stuff: 100% Seven Hills Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon
• The Swirl: Very dark purple, opaque, Welch’s grape juice color
• The Sniff: Bright blueberry and cherry fruit, pretty grapey too – a wonderful spice comes up at the tail end of the sniff – good aromatic wine
• The Sip: The fruit is more subdued on the palate but presents a nice earthy blueberry and grape flavor with hints of vanilla and pepper spice. A nice acidity on the back end helps provide a medium length finish. Tannins are moderate but not harsh.
• The Score: At $30, this is a nice fruit forward Cabernet that I can score a 3+ (out of 5).

Previous 2002 Vintage scored 90 at Wine Spectator; Cellar Tracker (1 review) no score

PREVIOUSLY REVIEWED in December 2009

2005 Cellar Red

• The Stuff: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Carmenere 6% Merlot 4% Malbec
• The Swirl: Medium tone with a very nice purple jewel tone. Moderately see through
• The Sniff:  Immediate sense of clove and cinnamon spice. The berry comes through on the back-end. A slight floral element presents itself
• The Sip: Still spicy on the sip with a good interesting flavor. Dark berry fruits begin to present themselves and the finish lingers for quite some time. Tannins, alcohol and acid are not dominant. My wife noted a perfume / soap taste.
• The Score: At $20 I score this wine a 3+ (out  of 5) The wine has a wide flavor profile and gives the drinker a lot to consider. The floral components seem slightly out of balance with the clove and spice.

What is the carbon footprint of your wine? At first glance, Y+B Wines may cause a double take. The 1L box wine is a departure from the glass wine bottle. If you’re of the mindset that there is something romantic about popping the cork on a wine, then you may have a difficult time adjusting. If you have greater concern for our planet and are interested in what’s inside the container, then Y+B Wines may be a perfect combination. While Y+B may have stereotypes and hundreds of years of tradition to overcome, they are certainly making a strong case for quality, sustainable, eco-friendly packaging.

Wine Blogger Dr. Vino used a carbon footprint calculator he created for the wine business to determine that Y+B Wines have a carbon footprint about 54% less than traditional packaging.

 “Consider: A case of wine in glass weighs 40 pounds and holds 9 liters of wine — close to 50% wine and 50% packaging. A case of Yellow+Blue weighs 26 pounds and holds 12 liters of certified organic wine. That’s 93% wine and 7% packaging.” – From the Y+B Web Site

As you continue your review of the Y+B company (not even thinking about wine), you notice a company committed to doing right by people and the planet. Grapes are grown 100% organic and sustainable, the company offsets it’s carbon footprint by purchasing carbon offsets, and 1% of proceeds go to www.kiva.org (a person to person micro-lending web site)

So, how’s the wine? Yellow plus blue may equal green for the planet, but can they make purple (and gold…oh, and Rose too)?

Y+B’s current line-up includes a Sauvignon Blanc from Chile, Rose from Spain, Malbec and Torrontes from Argentina. Below are reviews for Sauvignon Blanc and Malbec.

2009 Sauvignon Blanc

• The Stuff: 100% Sauvignon Blanc from Central Valley of Chile farmed organically and sustainably  
• The Swirl: Very pale, not even qualify as yellow or gold, maybe wheat almost ready for harvest
• The Sniff: Bright citric fruit with emphasis on lemon and mandarin orange
• The Sip: Again very bright citric of lemon, lime and a little tart. Throw slightly off balance with a little steeliness. The acidity is mild and the finish trails off quickly
• The Score: At only $12 for 1L this is a fantastic value for every day drinking Sauv Blanc – I score it a 3 (lowered slightly due to the off balance steeliness)

2008 Malbec

• The Stuff: 100% Malbec from San Juan Argentina farmed organically and sustainably
• The Swirl: Very dark purple borderline plum and black
• The Sniff: A woody earthy berry that seems not quite ripe
• The Sip: Nice red berry (maybe cherry) with some tree components. The finish was moderately tart
• The Score: At only $12 for 1L, I score this a 3 (out of 5). This is not a smooth drinking wine but more a food hearty drinker with decent characteristics

The overall impression is that these are not your typical box wines (think cube). They offer good quality as well as portability that bottles may not offer (camping, picnics, etc). One note about the Tetra-Pak spout – on both bottles the spout came slightly disconnected from the box upon opening causing a party foul dribble pour. Creative pouring ensued.

The Verdict: Look beyond the packaging and examine the product inside. If you like the wine, the earth friendly packaging and socially conscience business model adds to the value!

*These wines were provided as an industry sample with the intention to review

Black Star Farms on Twitter     Black Star Farms on Facebook

The goal of this series is to connect with wineries and wine business that use Social Media (Twitter and Facebook) effectively. These interviews can serve as a catalyst to help other wineries and wine businesses to see the benefits (and pitfalls) of joining the social revolution.

How long have you been using Twitter?

Black Star Farms has been using Twitter since July of 2009.

What prompted you to dive in?

We attended a wine marketing conference last spring called License to Steal  where there were several sessions devoted to social media.  Twitter was the most popular topic that generated the most discussion.  At that time we were not using Twitter but we quickly realized the importance of adding it to our social media strategy for the important reasons that I have listed below:

1. Create meaningful relationships with customers as well as our vendor partners
2. Establish relationships with wine bloggers
3. Be aware of what is being said about our “brand” and wine growing region
4. Engage in conversation with our followers
5. Talk about trail events, promotions, and special offers

What type of strategy or approach do you use when posting content?  

We post content two to three times daily — usually in the morning and late afternoon.  Content varies to include what is newsworthy, educational or perhaps comical, what may generate conversation and anything that promotes our brand and region.  We do use Twitter to post promotions as well as special events but this information does not drive 100% of our content. 

What have been the benefits of using Twitter/Facebook?

The benefits of using Twitter and Facebook are increased brand awareness, a connection to our customers, and real time exposure to media and wine bloggers. Since joining the social media realm we have definitely experienced an increase in publicity on-line as well in print. 

Is there a single success story that you can point to with using Twitter/Facebook?

We are working with Shannon Casey at Michigan By the Bottle on our first virtual wine tasting to be hosted on Twitter on March 8^th. It is called Tweet and Taste Michigan (#ttmi).  The response to this event has been amazing! There are 57 confirmed participants and we are anticipating more as it gets closer.  There are daily tweets and mentions about  #ttmi on Twitter and Facebook which are leading to press coverage in several local and regional publications. For an event that has not even happened yet we are extremely pleased with the results.

What do you think is the single biggest barrier to why we don’t see more wineries actively using Social Media tools?

For the smaller wineries in our region I would have to say the reason is a perceived lack of time.  The educational process for learning how to effectively use social media tools combined with the daily maintenance can be daunting.  The employee managing the social media for a winery is usually the same employee with many other job responsibilities and the idea of adding more work to their daily plate is viewed negatively and sometimes impossible.

What advice would you give to wineries joining the stream or getting back into the stream?

Educate yourself and staff about how to use these tools correctly. There are great websites and bloggers who can teach you what you need to know – find them! Attend seminars and conferences about how to use social media. Create a plan or strategy before diving in.

Briefly tell us about your winery, a new release, or something unique about you?

Black Star Farms is a unique agricultural entity that features two winery production facilities, their adjacent tasting rooms, a distillery, Inn, and equestrian facility.  Our winery just celebrated its 10^th year anniversary and is proud to represent the viticultural diversity of the Northwest Michigan region, and its proximity to the 45^th parallel – the same parallel that runs through so many of the great wine regions of the world.  Our varietal wines are of high character, acidity, and balance. Fruit is sourced from both our own vineyards and local grower partners. This consistency allows us to obtain replicable quality across vintages.

What is your favorite rock band and why?

The Rolling Stones because almost every album is awesome and something that you can listen at anytime. Not to mention I worked at an awesome bar called Beggar’s Banquet – an experience that was life changing in many positive ways!

Ripped off and Ticked Off at Restaurant Wine Practices

There are only a few things that really ruffle my feathers, taking advantage of children, arrogance (not to be mistaken for confidence), poor customer service and blatant price gouging.  – I also dislike tweeting your Facebook status, but I’ll leave that for another discussion.

Earlier this month there was a tweet-storm over a CNN article that listed the top five “rip-offs” in America. Behind texting, movie theater popcorn, “free” credit reports, and name brand pain killers was…wait for it…RESTAURANT WINE! As a wine lover, this doesn’t just make me grumpy, it pisses me off (sorry mom). High prices at restaurants, in my opinion, have a counter effect on wine consumption.

Put yourself in the seat of an average or beginning wine drinker. You’re enjoying your beautifully made prime rib with your date. Glancing through the wine list causes you concern and great stress. What will taste good with my dinner? What will impress my date? After much deliberation you decide on the $7 glass of Bogle Zinfandel (because you remember reading that your favorite blogger, www.drinknectar.com said it was a decent value wine). You’d love to share a bottle, but the restaurant has the bottle price at $28. OK, here’s the problem – you can buy Bogle Zinfandel for $9 or less at the store…for the whole dang bottle. At the typical 30% discount, the restaurant paid just $6.30 for that bottle. That is more than a 400% mark-up! Would you stand for that kind of mark-up for your TV, your car, your toothpaste?

So, what’s the problem? How does this damage the wine industry? High prices for lower quality wines at restaurants perpetuate the thought that wine is unattainable for the average guy. Looking at restaurant prices, one would think that the entry price for a wine is $25 with most wines cost between $40-$60 per bottle. The problem is compounded when the consumer buys a $7 glass of <insert cheap name here> only to go “bleh, I’m not really a fan of wine.” Well, that’s because it either tasted like vinegar or a giant Welch’s fruit bomb.

Hey, I realize that restaurants work on razor thin margins and high overhead. I understand restaurant owners invest everything they have to pursue their dream with minimal chance of success. When did 400% profit in anything become acceptable! Did you ever think that maybe reducing the price of wine to a moderate profit would increase turn-over, drive bottle sales, increase dessert sales and even improve return traffic? What would happen if you priced that same Bogle Zinfandel for $5 per glass and just $15 per bottle? As a consumer, I’d do the math and think that the bottle sounds like a good value. Not only that, I won’t be ticked if I happen to see that bottle for $9 at the wine shop.

Restaurants are not only guilty of wine gouging – they’re guilty of wine laziness, and red-neck presentation. Wine laziness refers to the restaurant that has amazing food, beautiful preparation, quality ingredients, and a fresh atmosphere – only to have your stock distributor wine list of five reds, five whites and two sparkling wines. The wine list is a representation of mass produced, inferior juice with zero imagination and no consideration for the food pairing. The “red-neck” presentation is the restaurant that puts forth the effort in a decent wine list, has phenomenal food, and then brings 6 ounces of your $50 bottle of Napa Cabernet Sauvignon (that you splurged over $120 for) in an 8 ounce small bowl glass that amounts to nothing more than a tasting glass. You might as well serve it in a mason jar. Wine of this caliber should be served in a high quality Riedel big bowl wine glass that lets you enjoy the swirl, sniff sip experience.

Lately, I’ve been to three restaurants that seem to “get it.” Two of the restaurants have a moderate mark up from what I see at the store (between $5-$7) and they have a great selection that includes local wine, regional wine, and unique selections that show care and attention (kudos to Left Bank Wine Bar and Nikos Restaurant in Spokane). The third restaurant didn’t carry a huge selection but their bottle prices were almost exactly what I would expect to pay retail. We enjoyed an $11 bottle of Kiona Cab/Merlot that can usually be purchased at the store for $10 (kudos to Ferrantes Restaurant in Spokane).

What do you think? How do you handle restaurant price gouging? Do you confront the red-neck presentation? Do you bring your own bottle to combat the lazy wine list?

Restaurant owners – what is your response? What say you in defense of 400% price gouging?

Bloggers, wine lovers, and consumers everywhere – unite! Call out the worst offenders, praise the good guys. Do you know any restaurants that fall into the unholy trinity of wine (price gluttony, selection sloth, and glass greed)?  Let’s use the power of a unified voice to bring this crime against wine to justice.

Are you a wine blogger? Are you coming to Walla Walla, Washington for WBC10? June 25-27 nearly 300 wine bloggers will converge on South Eastern Washington for networking, education, and FUN! The best part, spending time in one of Washington’s premier wine regions with access to some of the greatest wine produced in the world! I know many of you are reading this and are planning on coming. How would YOU like a few extra expense paid days near nature, near perfect?

Spokane CVB (Visit Spokane) wants to host you. Spokane wants to share its wine with YOU! Spokane is home to one of the oldest wineries in the state and winemakers craft consistently high scoring wines. Enjoy the night at the historic Davenport Hotel, guided tour of Spokane wineries, and breakfast – lunch – and dinner! Flying into Spokane? Transportation can be arranged to Walla Walla for the conference.

Sound good? All you have to do is blog about and promote your experience on your web site, Twitter and Facebook pages. Interested? Contact josh@nectarcoffeeandwine.com (or DM me @nectarwine) to discuss further. Only a few spaces are available to the most qualified bloggers (the Spokane Visitors Bureau will make the final selections).

Curious? Take a virtual Spokane Wine tour here.

Pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training this week. Why does this matter? It means spring is here, regardless of what the groundhog says, and that grilling season is right around the corner. The Mariners have added Cliff Lee to their pitching rotation and ‘game maker’ Milton Bradley to the outfield in the hopes to improve upon their winning season last year. Regardless of the outcome, one guarantee – I’ll be out on the deck with a glass of wine (and the occasional beer) rooting them on.

The under $10 wine challenge is an effort to field a team of 9 quality wines and a few bench players that YOU can trust. The budget wine category is the most precarious for wine selection. Finding a good quality made wine can be a challenge. With the help of my Social Media friends, we will field a team before the 2010 All Star break.

To date, 15 wines have tried out, been in the batting cages, and worked out with the trainer, and only two have made the starting line-up (Arbor Crest Sauvignon Blanc and Bogle Petit Sirah). Two wines are holding out in AAA ball working on their game (Dancing Bull Zinfandel and Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon)

Today’s training brings the traditionally rich Chardonnay trying out for Right Field, Riesling shooting for Second Base, and a Pinot Noir looking to gain a spot at Third Base.

For all my scouts on Twitter – I’m looking for your recommendations for Merlot, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sparking, Bordeaux Blend, and Syrah). To qualify, the wine must be widely available and under $10 (on sale counts).

The NectarView

2008 Cono Sur Pinot Noir

• The Stuff: 100% Pinot Noir from the Central Valley of Chile. Four months in 35% oak / 65% stainless; 13.4%ABV 
• The Swirl: Elegant and delicate light purple, mostly translucent but with modest jewel tones.
• The Sniff: Very green – like a Christmas tree – with strawberry and smoke. Slightly earthy.
• The Sip: Very grapey Welch’s juice with hints of green twig and strawberry
• The Score: For a $10 Pinot Noir, I score this a 3 (out of 5). This is a wine that has potential and is not embarrassing or poor.

This is the first Pinot Noir to try out for the team. I’ll send this one to AAA for the potential to be called back up. It’s missing the sweet elegance that I would expect from a Pinot.

2008 McManis Chardonnay

• The Stuff: 100% Chardonnay from the River Junction Vineyard in California; partial malolactic fermentation in stainless steel; 13.5%ABV
• The Swirl: Pale yellow but not the rich thick of a standard Chardonnay, reminiscent of a Sauvignon Blanc in color
• The Sniff: Tropical aroma of melon and pear, very faint hints of Chardonnay vanilla and butter
• The Sip: Chardonnay characteristics on the front with strong citric and melon on the back end. This is a Chardonnay trying to come out as a Sauvignon Blanc. This is a refreshing Chardonnay that has hints of sparkling wine.
• The Score: While this is not a great representation of a Chardonnay, I score it a 3+ (out of 5). It is a quality wine with a well balanced flavor for only $8

I’m looking for a Right Fielder, not a First Baseman. This wine is schizophrenic but well made. Not making the team as the Chardonnay, but will be back in my wine rack for parties.

2008 Chateau St. Michelle Riesling

• The Stuff: 100% Riesling from various Columbia Valley vineyards, 12%ABV
• The Swirl: Very light, pear in color
• The Sniff: Mild peach, citrus, and metallic aroma
• The Sip: Moderately sweet front end with a well balanced dry back end wine. This would be considered an off-dry Riesling. Hints of peach and lemon peel
• The Score: For only $6 this is a 3+ (out of 5). This is a solid wine for the money.

This is the first Riesling to try out for the team and will most certainly make the squad.

Cheers and Drink.Happy!