I was thinking about my winery of the year pick the other day. I think it’s time to begin a mid-term resurgence featuring Barnard Griffin wines. When Rob Griffin started up his winery in the early 1980s there was very few wineries to go up against. Now, Washington State boasts over a thousand wineries, all vying for the wine consumer’s attention. It’s easy for a winery like Barnard Griffin to get lost in the shuffle. I chose them as my winery of the year in 2020 because I feel Rob puts out some of the best values in Washington State wine. Even his reserves, which are outstanding, go for half the price of most reserve wines from other wineries in the state. So, it’s time for me to toot their horn once again on my blog and YouTube channel.
Speaking of my YouTube channel, I have been reviewing some very cool wines lately. In recent episodes, I have featured Muscadet (hey, hey, Muscadet) and a wine made from the grape Erbaluce. In my newest episode, I review a wine from Oregon that was produced during the Oregon wildfires in 2020, a tough year of fires in Washington, Oregon and California. The winery that produced this Pinot Noir got very creative. Check it out.
Sometimes I think I am the most disorganized person who gets a lot of things accomplished. How I do it is a mystery to me. However, it manifests itself in my blogging and YouTube world. I have missed posting my “Pick Of The Month” over the last several months. It’s frustrating when I look at the calendar and it’s already the 17th of the month and I realize I haven’t written the article featuring that wine. Every month I feature a wine at Kings Market (where I run the wine department and more) that sits in the same spot as all my picks each month at the front of the wine section. Most of my customers look for my pick each month and usually make a purchase to check it out. This month it is a cool little red from Italy made from the grapes Montepulciano and Sangiovese. Normally I go with whites in the summer. I chose this wine from Lifa Garofoli because it is a lighter style red that is perfect for grilled foods, whether it be chicken, fish, or red meat. It’s low in tannins but has complex flavors that give it nice diversity when it comes to food. If I were grilling a burger, this wine would be my choice. I would like to promise that I will do better keeping up with my blogging schedule. I hate making false promises, so I will just say that I hope to do better going forward. I have also been having a tough time keeping up with my YouTube schedule. I post episodes on Monday and Thursday. Lately, I’ve been good about the Monday posting, but have missed Thursday several times. I would love to make excuses, but as my football coach used to say, “Excuses are like bellybuttons, everybody has one.”
Cheers!
Stan The Wine Man
