BITS & BOBS

Posted on March 15, 2021 by Stan The Wine Man

My wine group had a great time with James & Poppie Mantone, owners of Syncline Cellars. James is their winemaker and he has a wealth of knowledge that he shared with us. Syncline is located near Lyle in southern Washington State. The wines were amazing, and by the time he was finished speaking via Zoom, I think most of us left knowing a lot more about some of the vineyards in Washington State, winemaking techniques and why James and Poppie chose the Gorge as a spot to grow grapes and make wine. James makes an amazing sparkling Rose’ and they were kind enough to release some to our group. They usually sell it only from the winery. The biggest surprise for me was the Gamay Noir. It has amazing complexity and flavor. It’s not cheap, but it’s worth the price. If you’re not familiar with this winery, here is a link to their very cool website.

I am continuing my celebration of the original Washington Wine Month (March) on my YouTube Channel. Malbec was the subject of last Thursday’s episode, and today (Monday) I will delve into Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s very interesting for me, to focus on specific varietals from Washington. As I’ve pointed out, Washington is able to grow and produce many different varietals very well. This is both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is obvious. A lot of great wine comes out of this state. The curse? Washington has an identity crisis. For instance, Napa is known for Cab, Lodi for Zin, Oregon for Pinot Noir… You get the point. What is Washington Known for? Just about everything. At one time, Merlot was going to be Washington’s signature grape. Well, Merlot took a nose-dive after the movie Sideways. Then Syrah became the focus of many Washington State wineries and it took a nose-dive in sales as well. I feel both Syrah and Merlot are still some of the best wines out of our state. As both varietals strengthen in the market once again, wine buyers will appreciate what Washington can do with both Syrah and Merlot. Either way, I feel that there will always be an identity crisis because winemakers from Washington will continue to experiment and produce many different varietals very well because they simply can.

Once again, I will rave about my sales reps, rather than a rant. Some reps work on commission, some on both a base salary and commission and some (although rare) work on salary only. The commission sales rep is hungry (not literally) and works hard to get new products in my department, including things like my “Pick Of The Month” and featured items in my display areas. This is their paycheck. A salary-only rep might be content just writing orders and moving on to the next store. I have a young lady that sells wine to me who is salary only with some incentives thrown in. This doesn’t stop her from being an aggressive, zealous salesperson. I can count on her to present wines to me, especially new items weekly. I appreciate her hard work and passion for what she does. I have no problem with the aggressive type because they are the ones who get new wines in front of me and I appreciate that. This young lady has helped me on numerous occasions with material for my YouTube channel. Anytime there is a new canned wine in her portfolio, I get a text from her. She gets a kick out of my consistent reaction to wines in a can. I will explain that statement in next week’s article. Hat’s off to her for helping me find new wines and her interest in what I do in the wine world.

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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BITS & BOBS

Posted on March 8, 2021 by Stan The Wine Man

Sometimes I feel like I have to write something profound in this piece, which of course adds pressure on me when I’m thinking about what to put out there. I of course realize that this is meant to be random thoughts about things in my life and the wine world. There have been times where I’ve used it to rant, but that’s not the main purpose of Bits & Bobs. For instance, I forgot to mention last week that Susie and I have now been together for five years and have been married nearly two and a half of those. We’ve traveled abroad together three times. We’ve been to London, France, Dubai, South Africa and Italy. We travel well together and Susie is always supportive of my ventures to wine country, no matter where we are in the world. It’s been a fantastic five years and I’m looking forward to many more with this wonderful lady.

March is the official “Washington Wine Month”, and the only one I really care about. One wine month is enough for any state. I’m focusing on Washington wines for my YouTube channel in March. I started with a Merlot episode because I feel strongly that Washington produces some of the best Merlot in the world, next to Bordeaux and Italy. Today’s episode will feature GSM blends. GSM is an acronym for Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. This blend is most common in the southern Rhone Valley. Washington State has become known for being able to produce many types of wine very well. All three of the aforementioned varietals do very well here. One of my viewers asked about Washington State GSM blends, so I dedicated the episode to him. I have now reached over four-hundred subscribers on YouTube and I am very stoked about that. It makes my goal of seven-hundred by the end of 2021 seem reachable. If you haven’t watched my channel, please check it out. I believe the content is good and worth the time for those interested in wine and learning more about it. If you like what you see, please subscribe to my channel.

I know I have from time to time gone on a rant about things that happen to me at the store with certain sales reps. One rep suggested that I rant about every sales rep that calls on me. He is a very funny, affable character who has been a subject of my rants in the past. However, I think it is time to focus on their good qualities and what they have helped me accomplish at the store. For instance, the aforementioned rep helped me find a Chardonnay recently that was pretty damn good for next to nothing. When he told me the price, I was a bit concerned it would be inferior in quality. However, I knew the producer so I purchased some. Scott and I tried it and knew right away that we would sell a ton of it. Turns out, we sold nearly sixty-five cases of this Chard and my customers kept asking for more. It’s gone now (it was and older vintage), but if it wasn’t for this rep, taking the time to find this gem and point it out to me, we would have missed a rather large boat. He cares about his job and works hard to get wine in front of me that he feels will do well at Kings.

I feel much better about pointing out the good qualities of those I deal with rather than the negative. I’m not saying I will never rant again, that is something I can’t honestly promise. For now, however, I will spend a bit of time in this column pointing out the positive things that happen to me in my world at the store with those who visit and sell wine to me.

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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FRIDAY’S FIVE

Posted on March 5, 2021 by Stan The Wine Man

In a week’s time, I taste a boatload of wine (seriously). A lot of my friends think I’m lucky. Well, they’re right and I wouldn’t give this job up for the world. The only thing that makes my job hard, is my feeling of responsibility to taste the samples given to me as quickly as possible and to put my reviews either in my Moleskine, on my YouTube channel (Stan The Wine Man TV), or on Stanthewineman.com. Here for your reading pleasure, are five wines that I have reviewed in my Moleskine (good or bad), this past week.

2018 Pedroncelli Mother Clone Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley, CA)

Aromas of cola, eucalyptus and currants, with a slight hit of tobacco. Bright currant notes on the palate with tobacco notes hiding in the background. A touch of petrol lingers with the currant notes and comes out on the fresh, tight, very dry finish. If you like a little jam with your zin, don’t go here. (C+/B-)

2019 Domaine Andre Vatan Sancerre “Les Charmes” (Loire Valley, France)… $29.

Grape seeds on the nose with a little grapefruit pith, white flowers and slate thrown in, Grapefruit on the palate, joined by notes of granite and slate with a kiss of lemon. Nice expansion on the mid-palate into the stainless steel-like finish where the minerality lingers. (B+/A-)

2017 Domaine Sangouard-Guyot Macon-Bussieres (Burgundy, France)… $20.

Aromas of butter, perfumed white flowers and nettles, with hints of orange peel and fig. Fig and butter notes on the palate, backed by solid acidity that gives it an edgy feel in the mouth. The fig and butter notes expand on the mid-palate into the finish where the acidity takes over. A touch out of sorts with itself, but not too bad. (C+/B-)

Bethel Heights Vineyard Estate Pinot Noir (Eola-Amity Hills, OR)… $31.

Dark cherries, chalk and chocolate on the nose with hints of black tea and Root Beer. Good balance of acidity and fruit on the palate with light tannins. Bright cherry notes front to finish with a slight kiss of Root Beer. Red flower and bark notes sneak out on the tense, tightly wound finish. This baby needs time in the cellar, 5-8 years and I believe you will be rewarded. (B+/A-)

2015 Domaine Le Galantin Bandol Rouge (Provence, France)… $25.

Cooked hamburger on the nose with a splash of bacon, blended with earth, cherries and red flowers with candied currants underneath. Currant and meat notes on the front of the palate with earth notes underneath. A hit of tobacco comes through on the mid-palate and expands on the finish, joined by notes of white and black pepper. Currant notes are the spine front to finish. Excellent balance and complexity, this baby will age easily 10-15 years. (A)

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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BITS & BOBS

Posted on March 1, 2021 by Stan The Wine Man

Today is the first day of the original “Washington Wine Month.” I will spend the month promoting Washington Wine and enlightening you, my readers on some of the things happening in the Washington Wine scene. I’m not sure exactly when they included August as a second Washington Wine Month and I’ve never really gotten behind it myself. One wine month is enough for any state, so I stick to March. It’s always good to be original. There are now over one-thousand wineries in Washington. That’s crazy! I was watching a video on the L’Ecole website and they were the third winery in Walla Walla and there were only twenty in the entire state. I believe that was 1983. What a difference today. The wines of Washington have become highly respected over the years. Gary Figgins of Leonetti and Rick Small of Woodward Canyon (both in Walla Walla) helped to put Washington wine on the map in the early days. Now, you will find Washington wine garnering some high scores in wine periodicals, right along with some serious wineries in Napa Valley. There certainly is a lot to write about this month.

Also, you may want to check out my YouTube channel where I will be focusing on Washington Wine. In each of the episodes, I will review the many varietal wines that Washington does so well. The diversity of the state is mind-boggling. Merlot, Tempranillo, Grenache, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, Syrah, Albarino, the list goes on and on. I will continue to talk about my current “Winery Of The Year” Barnard Griffin. Rob Griffin and crew are one of the pioneers in Washington wine and have continued to produce some of the best values you will find. Look for the episodes where I review their Signature wines. I have already featured their Reserves...Check it out. I love wines from all over the world, but it will be a blast to focus on my homies this month.

In my latest YouTube, I discuss starting a wine cellar. I’m not talking about an area where you stash wine for immediate consumption. The point of the two-part series is finding wines that someone may want to age for ten years or longer. It’s really fun to play with this subject. As I pointed out in last week’s article, one of the episodes that have exploded is titled, “Can You Age Inexpensive Wine?” People are interested in aging wine and you don’t need a large bankroll to do it. I talk about where you can store wine without getting carried away with a fancy cellar. If you do decide to try aging wine for later consumption, start with a case or two, maybe three. It takes patience and self-control, but the payoff is worth it. Most wines that I age are under fifty bucks and many are under twenty. Check out the episodes and learn what to look for in wines that determine their ability to age. You may get inspired to start a small cellar yourself.

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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