BITS & BOBS

Posted on March 25, 2024 by Stan The Wine Man

I was honored to have the opportunity to interview one of Washington State’s top women winemakers; Ashley Trout. The interview is up on my YouTube channel and I’ve already watched it myself three times. She is a clever and skilled winemaker. Her winery is Brook & Bull, located in Walla Walla WA. In the interview, she talks about her rise in the wine world and her thoughts on winemaking and her desire to help immigrant workers obtain healthcare in WA. She started a wine label known as Vital wines in which all the proceeds go towards this cause. She started this project solo and now has many other wineries involved in the label. Check out the interview, it is very informative.

The Brook & Bull wines themselves are not inexpensive. Ashley believes in letting the fruit do it’s thing without a lot of oak intrusion. This begs the questions as to why the wine is a bit more expensive. We know that using a lot of oak drives the prices of wine up, simply because oak barrels are not cheap. However, there are many other reasons why wines can be higher in price. Quality is one of the main reasons. Brook & Bull is a low production winery that produces some of the best wines I’ve tasted out of Washington State. They do not own their vineyards which means they have to buy the fruit they use to make the wines. Ashley sources the grapes she uses from some of the best vineyards in the state. This means she pays more for that fruit. Low production and quality fruit equals more money to produce the wines, which means higher prices. When I say higher prices, I’m not implying outrageous prices. The Brook & Bull wines are priced fairly for what you get. In fact if these wines were from Napa California, they would be anywhere from twenty to thirty dollars more per bottle. We are very fortunate to live in a state where we are able to purchase great wines at bargain prices.

My wife is getting ready to take off to her homeland to spend time with her friends and soak in a little culture. I’m excited for her but will miss her when she’s gone. This means I will be getting things done around the house while she’s away. I always have lofty goals that rarely come to fruition. If I can get half the things done on the list, I will be a happy man!

I am now only forty-two subscribers away from one thousand on my YouTube channel. This is a goal I’ve wanted to reach for a long time and it looks like I’ll get there soon. I’m honored to have so many people who are enjoying the content on my channel. I’ve put out five episodes in March on Washington wines, celebrating Washington Wine Month. Today I will air my latest featuring Syrah, one of my favorite varietals. Check them out and consider subscribing to my channel so you can see what is coming next. I still have improvements to make, but I am happy with the content I have been putting out there.

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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BITS & BOBS

Posted on March 18, 2024 by Stan The Wine Man

I am very happy to have been able to go to Taste Washington this past Saturday in Seattle. It’s an event that anyone who is deeply involved in the wine industry should go to. Of course, even if you’re not, it is an opportunity to taste a whole bunch of wines from over seven hundred wineries that had booths there. Along with the wineries, were booths where local restaurants and food establishments from throughout the state were sampling their products. I have to say that the food they were sampling was excellent.

I stopped by and visited with many of my friends from the wineries. It was nice to visit with Rob Griffin’s daughter Meagan, who is starting to take over the duties of winemaking at Barnard Griffin. I met Mary from Damsel Winery, one of my favorites and we set up a time for her to come to the island and present her wines to our wine group. I was very surprised to see Kyle MacLachlan standing at the booth representing his winery Pursued By Bear. He’s a fairly well-known actor. I told him I was surprised to see him there and he simply said he wouldn’t miss the opportunity. Super nice guy. I ran into Trey Busch from Sleight Of Hand Cellars and many others. It was good to see Craig Katz whom I have not been able to talk to in a while. He worked for Chateau Ste Michelle for a long time and that’s where I got to know him. He left them and went to work for an importer. It was nice to catch up a bit. Lots of handshaking and introductions that will be beneficial in the future.

Spring is just around the corner and it’s so good to feel the warmth of the sun once again. Of course, this means yard work is going to intensify. It’s always tough time of the yea for me, because it starts making it harder to get my YouTube episodes shot and published. I love a well-kept yard so I have to prioritize my time. Speaking of YouTube episodes, I have a doozy coming up with Ashley Trout. Ashley is the owner and winemaker at Brook & Bull Winery, located in Walla Walla Washington. She is one of the top women winemakers in Washington if not the west coast and I had the pleasure of being able to interview her for my channel. I’m working on the editing now and should have it aired soon. We had a lot to talk about but there is some trimming that is necessary. Speaking of my YouTube channel, I now have nine-hundred and fifty-four subscribers. That’s only forty-six away from one thousand. I’m getting close to what I consider a milestone. If you haven’t subscribed yet, consider doing so. I believe the content is both educational and entertaining. I’ve just aired my latest episode featuring Merlot from Washington State. Check it out. This is my fourth episode of the month focusing on Washington wines. I hope to do a blind challenge like WA vs. CA or WA vs. Old World wines. If I can just keep a balance between a nice yard and my YouTubing, I will be a happy man.

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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BITS & BOBS

Posted on March 11, 2024 by Stan The Wine Man

One event that always catches me off guard is the Oscars. Although I’m not much of a fan, it impacts wine sales. Many people on the island throw Oscar parties; of course, they need wine. I used to be more aware in the past because of a fellow employee (now retired) who talked about the Oscars weeks before the big event was aired. She was a huge movie buff and would talk it up with customers. Anyway, quite a few groups came in about an hour before the big show to grab their wine. It will be interesting to see how the sales figures turn out.

I believe I mentioned this in the last article. I’ve been using the TikTok platform to show small segments of what I do in the wine department daily. Sometimes, I record a short snapshot of a wine I’ve discovered and like quite a bit. It’s fun, and it seems as if people are interested. They are fifteen to sixty-second clips; most get over two hundred views. Of course, my handle on TikTok is, what else, Stan The Wine Man. I also post the clips on Instagram, which seems to be the most popular social media platform here in the San Juan Islands.

I’m super excited to attend the Taste Washington event this Saturday. Over seven hundred wineries will be represented, along with many booths where local restaurants will share menu items from their establishments. I know a ton of people in the wine industry. It will be fun connecting with them and tasting many of the wines from our great wine-producing state. It’s been a while since I’ve been, which surprises me as I am so involved in the local wine scene as well as the wine world in general.

Since March is the original “Washington Wine Month,” I will review Washington State wines on my YouTube channel most of March. I’m airing the third episode today, featuring Cabernet Sauvignons under twenty bucks. I found a couple of gems that you may want to seek out. We can produce some amazing wines here in Washington at very affordable prices compared to other places in the U.S. We can also make wines from several varietals very well. My second episode featured GSM blends, Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre. All three of those varietals thrive in Washington State. Check out the episodes here.

Customers still ask me if my “Pick Of The Month” is any good. Now, this is from many people who are regulars in my department. My football coach in junior high, drilled in me that there is no such thing as a stupid question. I agree with that, so when I’m asked if my pick of the month is any good, I take that as a conversation starter, rather than a question. Of course, it’s good, that’s why it’s my pick! Granted, there are times when I may steer a customer away from it because I know their palate and I am quite certain they will not appreciate it as much as most. Since my pick is based on the eighty-percent rule, I’m confident that most will enjoy it. The eighty-percent rule means that when I choose a wine for the month, I am almost certain that eighty percent of the people who purchase that wine will like it. I have a good track record and I don’t intend to go backward.

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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STAN’S PICK FOR MARCH 2024

Posted on March 4, 2024 by Stan The Wine Man

March is the first official “Washington Wine Month” and really the only one I recognize. I know somewhere along the way they included August. I haven’t researched this, but we may be the only state with two wine months. I need to check that out at some point. I think you know what I’m leading to. My pick for March is from Washington State. Washington is the second largest wine producing state in the U.S., California being the largest. The cool thing about our state (I live in Washington) is that many of the wines that score big points are much less expensive than the big scoring wines out of California. It’s true, we do have some higher priced wines, but in general, they are much less expensive than, for instance, many of the wines from top-producers out of Napa, CA.

My pick for this month is a red blend, one of the hottest categories in wine today. It’s produced from a blend of Walla Walla Valley fruit and fruit from Red Mountain, two of the most sought after places to get grapes in Washington State. Here is the gem I found to represent (partially of course) “Washington Wine Month.”

2022 Lorelle Red Blend (Columbia Valley, WA)… $15.

Aromas of red flowers, currants and blackberries. Ripe currant notes on the front of the palate, on smooth tannins. Ripe blackberry notes join in near the mid-palate with a kiss of baking spices. Ripe citrus notes loom in the background front to a long finish. Excellent structure and balance with nice complexity for the money. 40% Cabernet Sauvignon (Walla Walla Valley fruit) with 30% Cab Franc, 20% Malbec and 10% Merlot all sourced from Red Mt. (B/B+)

Cheers!

Stan The Wine Man

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