Judges find gold amid reds at Great NW Wine Competition

  • By Eric Degerman and Andy Perdue Special to The Herald
  • Friday, April 17, 2015 4:09pm
  • LifeHops and Sips

More than 100 red wines earned gold medals at the third annual Great Northwest Wine Competition, which took place in late March at the historic Columbia Gorge Hotel in Hood River, Oregon.

Wine professionals from throughout the Northwest judged the wines under blind conditions (they didn’t know the producer or the price, though they did know the kind of wine they were tasting.)

Here are a few of the top red wines from the competition. Ask for them at your favorite wine merchant or call the wineries directly.

Cinder Wines 2013 Syrah, Snake River Valley, $28: Melanie Krause has established herself and Cinder Wines as one of the top wineries in Idaho, and the quality of her work is helping to elevate winemaking across the state. This superb Syrah offers aromas and flavors of fresh blackberry, blueberry and vanilla. It is dense, juicy and plush. (14.1 percent)

Estrin Estates 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, Wahluke Slope, $30: Software developer-turned-winemaker Rich Estrin launched his winery in Issaquah, in 2009 and is off to a remarkable start. This Cab reveals aromas and flavors of black pepper, French press coffee, roasted meat and ripe plum. (14.7 percent)

Skylite Cellars 2012 River Rock Vineyard Syrah, Walla Walla Valley, $30: Skylite Cellars winemaker Greg Matiko is helping to continue to take this Walla Walla winery to new heights of quality. This Syrah shows off aromas and flavors of blackberry, Graham cracker crust and vanilla bean, along with a minerally note. (13.8 percent)

DeLille Cellars 2012 D2, Columbia Valley, $45: This red blend opens with black currant, Bing cherry, Montana huckleberry jam, sweet tobacco and spearmint aromas that lead into flavors of Marionberry, plump cherry and currant. (14.3 percent)

Eagle Harbor Wine Co. 2012 Dwelley Vineyard Founders Merlot, Walla Walla Valley, $40: This Bainbridge Island winery uses grapes from a top Walla Walla vineyard for a red that shows off lush and penetrating flavors of chocolate-covered blueberry and vanilla extract. (15.5 percent)

Jones of Washington 2011 Barrel Select Red Blend, Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley, $25: Victor Palencia continues to make his mark for Jones of Washington in Washington’s Columbia Basin town of Quincy. This bottle is long on notes of black currant, blueberry, bittersweet chocolate and tobacco leaf notes. (14.8 percent)

Latah Creek Wine Cellars 2012 Monarch Primitivo, Horse Heaven Hills, $30: Primitivo is a clone of Zinfandel, and the grapes for this wine are grown at Zephyr Ridge. This Spokane winery has a winner, thanks to aromas of rich, dark fruit and cocoa powder and flavors of ripe black cherry and dark plum. (13.5 percent)

Maryhill Winery 2013 Winemaker’s Red Columbia Valley, $12: Wine Press Northwest’s 2015 Pacific Northwest Winery of the Year produces award-winning results across many price points, and this ranked among the least expensive wines of the Great Northwest Wine Competition. Crushed sweet herbs, black currant, plum sauce and roasted red pepper aromas and flavors make this worthy of any dinner table on every night of the week. (13.9 percent)

Plain Cellars 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Mountain, $35: This small producer in the North Cascades town of Plain, brought in grapes from Red Mountain for this superb Cab. It opens with aromas of espresso beans, sweet oak and ripe dark fruit. On the palate, it shows off flavors of black licorice, cola, ripe dark plum and Saskatoon berry. (14.5 percent)

Thurston Wolfe 2012 Howling Wolfe Zinfandel, Horse Heaven Hills, $20: Veteran Yakima Valley winemaker Wade Wolfe has been crafting Zinfandel for more than a dozen years, giving him veteran status with the grape in the Pacific Northwest. It opens with hints of cherry pipe tobacco, black cherry and cocoa powder. On the palate, this gorgeous red explodes with flavors of ripe raspberry and pomegranate. (15 percent)

Eric Degerman and Andy Perdue run Great Northwest Wine, a news and information company. Listen to their weekly podcast on iTunes or at www.greatnorthwestwine.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

The Moonlight Swing Orchestra will play classic sounds of the Big Band Era on April 21 in Everett. (submitted photo)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Relive the Big Band Era at the Port Gardner Music Society’s final concert of the season in Everett.

2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD (Honda)
2024 Honda Ridgeline TrailSport AWD

Honda cedes big boy pickup trucks to the likes of Ford, Dodge… Continue reading

Would you want to give something as elaborate as this a name as mundane as “bread box”? A French Provincial piece practically demands the French name panetiere.
A panetiere isn’t your modern bread box. It’s a treasure of French culture

This elaborately carved French antique may be old, but it’s still capable of keeping its leavened contents perfectly fresh.

(Judy Newton / Great Plant Picks)
Great Plant Pick: Mouse plant

What: Arisarum proboscideum, also known as mouse plant, is an herbaceous woodland… Continue reading

Bright green Japanese maple leaves are illuminated by spring sunlight. (Getty Images)
Confessions of a ‘plantophile’: I’m a bit of a junky for Japanese maples

In fact, my addiction to these glorious, all-season specimens seems to be contagious. Fortunately, there’s no known cure.

2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited (Hyundai)
2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited

The 2024 Hyundai IONIQ 6 Limited is a sporty, all-electric, all-wheel drive sedan that will quickly win your heart.

The 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T hybrid’s face has the twin red lines signifying the brand’s focus on performance. (Dodge)
2024 Hornet R/T is first electrified performance vehicle from Dodge

The all-new compact SUV travels 32 miles on pure electric power, and up to 360 miles in hybrid mode.

Don’t blow a bundle on glass supposedly made by the Henry William Stiegel

Why? Faked signatures, reused molds and imitated styles can make it unclear who actually made any given piece of glass.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.