BITS & BOBS

I have to say that this has been quite the February. Snow, snow, snow. This is the first time in our relationship that I have been Susie’s chauffeur for over a week because we can’t get her car out of the driveway due to the amount of snow. I believe we had over ten inches out at our place. It’s much better now, and we should spring her car loose soon. The snow definitely effected my YouTube action. I missed an entire week because my schedule was messed with. However, I have some good ones in the queue and can’t wait to get them recorded and aired. A blind Cabernet Franc episode and an episode featuring Washington state Rose` from the soon to be famed 2018 vintage.

2018 is being heralded as perhaps one of the best vintages Washington state has experienced in qute a few years. It is true that Washington rarely has a bad vintage. Even the wines from the tough 2011 vintage are really coming out of their shell (that is if you still have any around). In 2018, the stars aligned for Washington state and the grape growing conditions were close to perfect. Especially in September and October, the critical months when harvest decisions are being made. I plan on making a few calls to my winemaking friends and give a full report on what is anticipated to be one of the greatest vintages for our state. Rose` and the whites from this vintage will give us a peek into what we are to expect from the reds. I am very excited to give them a try.

I will have a ton to write about when we get back from our trip to Northern Italy. I regret that I didn’t write more about our recent trip to the Winelands in South Africa. If I don’t write prolifically about my adventures visiting the wineries of Piedmont and Verona, I want you to stop by the store and remind me of my commitment to reporting on my adventures in Italy. I am so excited to see the areas of Barbaresco and Barolo, I can hardly stand it. We will be finishing up our trip to Italy by staying in the famous town of Venice. Before Venice, we will be staying in Verona at the Allegrini Hotel. We are setting up a tour of the Allegrini winery where they make some of the best Amarone in Italy. We will also be stopping by Suavia on our way to Venice to visit them and tour their winery. Soave is one of Susie’s favorite whites (I happen to adore them myself), so it will be very interesting to visit one of our favorite producers. Made primarily from the Garganega grape, the wines are crisp and mineral-driven with nice complexity. The wines really express a sense of place.

Hats off to KC, my sales rep (and friend) from Youngs Market who made a solid effort to present a wine that I would find worthy to be the Pick of the Month. Even though I put it out on this blog a little late, it is doing quite nicely at the store. It is a Tuscan red that really shows what a Tuscan red should be. Many of my customers have come back for more as sales are brisk. You will see it on the front page of my blog underneath this post. The point of bringing this up, is the lack of interest many of my sales reps show in attaining this spot for the month! I put a lot into choosing the wine that will be featured for an entire month. It means a lot to me to find one that at least eighty percent of my customers will enjoy. I will not find a wine unless someone brings one by (hopefully not so cold it can’t be tasted, wink, wink) for me to try. It really makes me happy when they come by with wine specifically as a possible pick for the month. Are you hearing me out there guys and gals? If it were me, and I was selling to Stan, I would be all over it every month. Just saying.

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man