Thirty-five wineries in a one minute radius? That is where you’ll find Woodinville’s William Church Winery. Located on NE N Woodinville Way, you’ll find a wine lovers walking Mecca. In a single afternoon, you can explore all areas of the states wine growing regions and the diversity that Washington wine has to offer. Don’t forget your designated driver…all that sipping can sneak up on you.

William Church winery is the second career for Rod and Leslie Balsley. Rod left the high-tech corporate world in 2004 and he and Leslie immediately looked to expand their garage wine hobby. With the help of some friends, they jumped into the booming Woodinville wine scene in 2005. Rod and Leslie enlist the help of assistant winemaker Marcus Rafanelli to craft big bold Bordeaux style wines and Syrah. With a case production near 2000, the Balsley’s are getting some top notch recognition for their wine. It doesn’t hurt that they are WSU alums either…GO COUGS!

The NectarView

2009 William Church Winery Viognier

• The Stuff: 100% Viognier slow cold fermented in stainless steel tanks. 14.1%ABV, less than 1% residual sugar, 240 cases produced
• The Swirl: Pale yellow straw color with a thin viscosity
• The Sniff: Moderate aromas of tropical fruit and apricots. Beautiful and floral through and through
• The Sip: All aboard for a taste bud trip to the South Pacific. I love the layers and layers of tropical fruits that keep coming in waves like the ocean. Guava, melon, cantaloupe, papaya and more. A very well balanced acidity keeps everything in check.
• The Score: At $21 this is one of the better made Viognier’s that I’ve had. While you may be able to pick a good Viognier up for $15-$18, the extra few dollars here are worth it. 4+/5

2008 William Church Bishop’s Blend

• The Stuff: A proprietary blend of 39% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Malbec, 11% Syrah, 9% Merlot, 3% Cab Franc, 14.1%ABV, 750 cases produced 
• The Swirl: Big bright purple colors with a thick plum center 
• The Sniff: Blueberry vanilla pie in the nose. If you’re not careful you might sniff a blueberry up your snout.
• The Sip: The blueberry comes through on the palate with a pinch of sweet blackberry on the front of the tongue. Good fruit flavor continues on the mid-palate as a slight pencil lead settles and then opens up to finish with medium spice. The finish is rounded without having any strong tannins.
• The Score: At $20 this is a very approachable wine that will satisfy even the most discriminating palate. A slight bitterness (probably from the oak) comes through on the finish but all in all this is a very well done wine. 3+/5

2007 William Church Sur La Mer Bordeaux Blend

• The Stuff: A left bank inspired blend of 40% Cabernet, 20% Merlot, 20% Cab Franc, 10% Malbec, and 10% Petit Verdot; 18 months in a combination of French and American oak, 12 months in bottle, 14.2%ABV, 250 cases produced
• The Swirl: Dark in color with good structure out to the edge of the glass. About 90% opaque
• The Sniff: The wine is alive with aroma before you even get your nose to the glass. Big notes of dark berry fruit, violets and cassis. The alcohol comes out just a hint on a deep sniff.
• The Sip: Elegant and full of fruit and structure from the front of the palate to the end. Good layers of dark berry fruits along with deep ripe cherries. A velvet texture lines the mid-palate with a finish of medium tannin on the finish. This wine rivals some I’ve had at twice the price in complexity and depth of flavor.
• The Score: At only $28 this is a steel of a Bordeaux style blend. The marriage of fruit is well done resulting in a fantastic wine to sip or to pair with strong hardy meals. 4/5

On the Web www.williamchurchwinery.com On Twitter @wmchurchwinery and On Facebook/WilliamChurchWinery

Merry Christmas from DrinkNectar.com! This year Kimberly and I enjoyed a quiet Christmas. My sister and parents were in Phoenix, Kimberly’s family lives in Portland and her son was spending Christmas with his dad in Florida.

Christmas Eve we enjoyed a beautiful dinner at Clinkerdaggers overlooking the Spokane river. For wine we enjoyed a Cabernet Sauvignon wine flight that included Chateau St Jean (CA), Kenwood Yulupa (CA) and Chateau Ste Michelle Indian Wells (WA). Each of these wine reviews has been uploaded to www.corkd.com. The hands down favorite was Chateau Ste Michelle which had the most active nose and actually gave up the berry flavor along with the oaky tannin you would expect from a well made Cab.

Spending Christmas without our extended family is slightly sad. We missed our families terribly but managed to enjoy the day. After opening gifts we prepped dinner and headed to the new movie, “Up in the Air.” I highly recommend the movie, but it doesn’t really leave you with a happy feel good ending (but then again that’s the way life can be too).

Our holiday dinner, when we are sans child and family, is lasagna. I love Italian and lasagna is my favorite. The wines for Christmas Eve and Day were two we set aside from our Woodinville, WA trip in September. Reviewed in the video and text below are Ross Andrew  2005 Red Table Wine and Mark Ryan 2006 Long Haul. These wines were worth the wait (especially the Long Haul) and we can’t wait to get back to the Woodinville area again.

In the video I mention a Spokane winery that needs our support! Arbor Crest Winery occupies an old historic mansion on a hillside overlooking the Spokane valley. The morning of December 23, a power strip sparked a fire that gutted the interior. This amazing mansion (and surrounding grounds) is a Spokane treasure where people enjoy wine, get married, and celebrate life. Please show your support and buy this wine when you see the label. The exterior is in tact and they will work to rebuild the historic interior.

Thanks again for your support over the last six weeks of the launch of DrinkNectar.com. We were recently recognized as one of the top new food and spirit blogs in 2009 on www.drinksareonme.net. I also want to give a special shout out to The Wine Whore and Seattle Wine Gal for their amazing partnership. I look forward to a fun and wine filled 2010.

Life is meant to be enjoyed with friends. I hope this Christmas season brings you love and joy with your family along with several great bottles of wine!

DRINK.HAPPY

The NectarView

2005 Ross Andrew Red Table Wine

• The Stuff: Bordeaux Blend
• The Swirl: Dark opaque plum with strong legs
• The Sniff: Day one, this wine was very disappointing. The cork smell came through overwhelming on the nose and the flavor was strong on the alcohol and acid. Day two, the wine opened up nicely presenting oak and cherry. Was still tight on the nose.
• The Sip: Mild oak and dirt with sour dark cherry flavor. Experienced medium tannin and chalky finish. Enjoyed a glass with the lasagna which was a great pairing for the chalky finish and acid.
• The Score: At $25, and because of the challenge during the first day, I would score this wine a 3 (out of 5). I probably wouldn’t purchase it again but would certainly explore other Ross Andrew offerings.

2006 Mark Ryan Long Haul

• The Stuff: Right Bank style blend with 48% Merlot 46% Cab Franc and 6% Petit Verdot.
• The Swirl: Moderately opaque with translucent edges. Nice jewel tones
• The Sniff: Wow, this glass is alive with aroma ranging from spice to coffee to vanilla to dark cherries alive with juice.
• The Sip: An explosion of fruit with the right amount of structure balance and tannin to enjoy alone or with a big steak or red pasta dish. This is like sex in a glass. The orgasm of flavor blew me away!
• The Score: At $48 I would definitely buy this again and again as long as my credit card allowed. Taking into consideration the economy and value, this wine scores a 4+. Get it at $35 and it is a steal and a 5.

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!