Woodinville, WA
09/05/2007

JM Cellars is a member of WinemakersDirect.us

New Releases from JM Cellars

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Mountain – (250 cases).

All of the fruit for this wine is sourced from two noteworthy vineyards on Red Mountain – Klipsun Vineyard and Ciel du Cheval Vineyard. To this vintage of “Cab” we’ve added 9% Cabernet Franc from Ciel du Cheval, and 9% Klipsun vineyard Merlot. These wines have been aged in 70% new French oak from the Allier forest in France, which lends a subtle vanilla character on the palate. The 2005 JM Cab is probably the “biggest” cab we’ve produced; definitely cellaring well for 10+ years but is very approachable today, particularly when paired with food.

Recommended accompaniments: Filet mignon (or a juicy blue cheese hamburger!), good friends and the music of Dave Matthews.

2005 Merlot, Red Mountain – (200 cases).

Last year our 2003 Merlot was named as one of the top twelve Merlots in America by Wine and Spirits magazine. We feel the 2005 Merlot is showing even more depth and breadth of those same classic Red Mountain flavors and aromas that earned the 2003 its exceptional rating. 100% Merlot, made up of 65% Klipsun fruit and 35% Ciel du Cheval, this Red Mountain wine is sure to make those crisp fall nights a little cozier.

Recommended accompaniments: Wild salmon, butternut squash risotto and any song by Jack Johnson.

2005 Cabernet Franc, Ciel du Cheval Vineyard – (50 cases).

Sourcing Cabernet Franc from Ciel du Cheval ensures that our wine shows clean dark berry flavors, beautiful aromas, a surprisingly intense richness on the palate and a long finish. The 2005 JM Cabernet Franc is a rare gem and the only regret we have is … we wish we had more of it! This wine will be allotted exclusively to our Wine Club members in our fall release. Join Our Wine Club

Quincy, Il
09/14/2007

A grand celebration of food, wine & music showcasing 12 Illiionois wineries will be held at Clatt Adams park in Quincy, Illinois of Saturday and Sunday September 22-23.

Entrance fee of $10 includes a commemorative wine glass and 5 tasting tickets.

Seattle, WA
09/19/2007

From Allen Shoup of Long Shadows

“The 2005 vintage is likely to be remembered for decades as one of Columbia Valley’s finest. The weather was ideal from bud break through harvest and produced grapes with wonderfully concentrated flavors, extraordinary balance and excellent tannin structure. As a member of our Private Cellar, it is our pleasure to share with you a pre-release allocation of our first two red wines from this exceptional vintage:

2005 Sequel Syrah : Crafted by acclaimed winemaker John Duval, who for 15 years produced Australia’s most celebrated wine, Penfold’s Grange. Sequel is a concentrated Syrah offering dark chocolate and blackberry aromatics and flavors, backed by a balance of richness and acidity that brings the wine to life.

2005 Saggi : (Sah-jee), meaning “wisdom”, is a Super Tuscan style blend of Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon, offering rich black cherry and pomegranate flavors across a lengthy finish. Saggi is produced in partnership with Ambrogio and Giovanni Folonari, one of Italy’s oldest and most prestigious wine families.

In addition, we are excited to announce the release of the newest vintage of our Poet’s Leap Riesling (2006): Inspired by the greatest wines of Germany and crafted by Armin Diel, proprietor of the renowned Schlossgut Diel, Poet’s Leap is an off-dry Riesling with expressive aromatics of ripe pear, melon and honey.”

Long Shadows is a member of WinemakersDirect.us

Prosser, WA
09/19/2007

If you ever wanted to be a cellar rat for a day, winemaker Mike Wallace of Hinzerling Winery has an offer you should not refuse.

“For those of you that missed our Spring Bottling Party (it’s because we didn’t have one this year), we will have one this fall on Saturday September 22.

Here’s how things work. We meet between 9 and 10 a.m. for coffee and a nosh or two. Promptly at 10 a.m., or maybe a little later, we crank up our semi-automatic, digitally functioning, manually operated bottling machine with you as an integral part of the mechanism. We bottle for a while, break for a traditional Vintner’s Lunch and a glass or two, crank up again, finish bottling, break down the line, clean up (Whew) and maybe have a glass or two more.

If you always wanted to be a cellar rat, call us at 1-800-727-6702 to make a reservation- there’s a $20 Deposit to hold your reservation which will be instantly refundable when you show up.”

Hinzerling Winery is a member of www.WinemakersDirect.us

San Francisco
09/17/2007

WineSpectator.com sent this email today:

“Dear WineSpectator.com subscriber,

As you may know by now, our website is currently unavailable, due to technical difficulties.

We anticipate the site to be functional by week’s end.

We apologize for the inconvenience, and will e-mail you again when the site is up.

Sincerely,

WineSpectator.com”

Clark County, WA
09/15/2007

What is it about Italy that wine lovers find so fascinating, and why do so many of us dream of traveling there?
As winemakers, we at English Estate have been influenced over the years by the wonders and diversity of Italian wines—especially those from Tuscany. Because of the abundance of flavor, texture and color present in the wines of Tuscany, we decided that this gorgeous, storied region of Italy would be the perfect destination for our first travel program.

Please join us in March of 2008, as English Estate Winery presents a Wine Tour of Tuscany. Our trip features Chianti and Florence, as well as several small, charming towns set amid the pastoral beauty of the Tuscan countryside.
The trip details have been thoughtfully prepared by G2 Adventures, a company specializing in small group travel programs. The trip includes all accommodations; guides who are experts in Tuscan wine, food and art; wine tastings; cooking lessons; and more. We will have private tours of wineries, enjoy the beautiful Italian countryside, and marvel at the artistic legacy of Italy, including the city of Florence.

Please join us for what we hope will be the first of many English Estate Winery trips. This tour of Tuscany promises to provide delicious fun and lifetime memories amid one of the world’s great wine regions.

Learn more. Deadline to register December 12, 2007.

Seattle, WA
09/10/2007

Long Shadows Vintners has been named “Winery of the Year” by Food & Wine magazine, a national epicurean publication. The winery was chosen by the magazine’s editors and a panel of wine experts who select the best American wines each year. A profile on Long Shadows will appear in the October 2007 issue as part of the magazine’s 10th annual American Wine Awards.

Read the Article

Spokane, WA
09/09/2007

On Friday, September 21 at 6:00 p.m. winemaker, Mike Scott, is teaming up with Chris Zarkades, Executive Chef at Brasserie Margaux to bring our Seattle friends an evening of sumptuous food paired with Lone Canary wines.

Menu includes:
Northwest Oyster Gratin with chorizo-saffron cream
2006 Sauvignon Blanc
Exotic Forest Mushroom Saute with white truffle oil balsamic reduction and potato gaufrettes
2005 Barbera
Red Wine Braised Lamb Osso Buco with orzo pasta and herloom tomato ragout
2004 Cabernet Sauvignon
Washington Apple Tarte Tatin with chantilly cream
2004 DuBrul Vineyard Reserve

For more information or to make a reservation, visit Margaux Seattle or call
206-777-1990. Reservations Required.

Lone Canary Winery is a member of www.WinemakersDirect.us

Woodinville, WA
08/30/2007

For sometime it was known that Jerry Traunfeld would be leaving The Herbfarm to open his own resturant in Seattle. The Herbfarm is one of the world’s top restaurants and its collection of US wines is widely agreed to be among if not the best in existence.

The following message went out to patrons of The Herbfarm on August 30, 2008:

The Herbfarm restaurant announces that Keith M. Luce, currently executive chef of Cosentino Winery in Yountville, Calif., will take the helm as its next executive chef effective October 1, 2007. Chef Luce replaces Chef Jerry Traunfeld, who will be leaving after 17 years to open his own restaurant in Seattle in 2008.

Luce grew up on a farm on eastern Long Island, New York. As a youngster he worked in his grandfather’s Italian restaurant in the Hamptons. Luce trained in New York at the Rainbow Room, Le Cirque, and La Côte Basque, getting A-list tutorials from the incomparable pastry chef, Jacques Torres, and the dynamic Jean-Jacques Rachou.

He moved to Europe, working for two years at Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence, Alain Ducasse at Louis XV in Monte Carlo, and Pierre Gagnaire in Paris.

At the 5-Diamond Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, Luce further honed his skills under Walter Scheib. When Scheib was called to serve in the Clinton White House, he insisted that Luce come along. As the sous chef at The White House, Luce cooked for the President and First Lady of the United States as well as a host of national and international dignitaries.
Luce left the nation’s capital to return to the restaurant world. He was the much-heralded opening chef at Spruce in Chicago. Spruce soon earned a James Beard Award for “Best New Restaurant” and was named “Restaurant of the Year” by Esquire.
In 1997, Food & Wine chose Luce as one of America’s “Top 10 Chefs.” A year later, the James Beard Foundation named him “Rising Star Chef of the Year.”

Luce then moved to the Rockies to serve as executive chef at the 5-Diamond Relais & Châteaux Little Nell in Aspen. In 1999, he furthered his experience as executive chef at PlumpJack, overseeing their restaurants across California.
After two years in the Bay Area, Luce—still just 33 despite his long résumé—opened Merenda in San Francisco. At Merenda, the pasta dishes were “beyond compare,” according to Michael Bauer, food critic of San Francisco magazine, who also enjoyed “one of the most satisfying soups” he’d ever eaten. As John Mariani stated in Esquire, “What sets Luce apart is the exceptional finesse with which he brings off his creations.”

“We are pleased and excited to have Keith Luce join our team,” says Herbfarm founder and proprietor, Ron Zimmerman. “Carrie Van Dyck, my wife and partner, and I have followed Keith’s career since his White House years. He is a long time acquaintance whom we are happy to welcome home.”

“Jerry’s years here have seen The Herbfarm come to its maturity in the family of American restaurants,” continued Zimmerman. “We’ve been through a lot together: James Beard dinners and awards in New York, national press and accolades, and, of course, our difficult struggle in the years after the Fall City restaurant burned to the ground in 1997.

“Keith will be coming out here a few times to work and tour around until he starts full time on October 1st,” says Zimmerman. “We’re introducing him to some of our unique Northwest ingredients we feature at the restaurant. We are all looking forward to a smooth as well as an exciting transition in the kitchen.”

Luce will be the fourth chef in The Herbfarm’s history, which began on a shoestring in 1986 in a converted garage on a farm in Fall City. Now in Woodinville, The Herbfarm is presently the only American AAA 5-Diamond Restaurant north of San Francisco and west of Chicago. Last year National Geographic named The Herbfarm its choice as the “No. 1 Destination Restaurant in the World.”