It’s time to make your own wine at Bader Winery

Home winemaking isn’t a new phenomenon.  When Romans discovered the process of winemaking (by stealing it from the Greeks, who gleaned it from others) many centuries ago, they spread the knowledge throughout Europe where it became a staple life-sustaining beverage.  While commercial enterprises have taken wine to new heights in the modern age, there are still plenty of hobbyists and pioneering sorts who desire to whip up a fresh batch of vino in their own homes. 

In Canada the practice is widespread.  The taxes on alcohol, the restrictions from imported goods, and the limited ability to create well-crafted commercial wines from Canadian crops build a trifecta of reasons to vinify one’s own private bottling.  Throughout Canada you’ll find shops where quality grape juice and all the equipment and supplies to turn it into wine are available for rent or purchase, with knowledgeable winemakers on staff to assist customers through the process.

Winemaking made easy in Vancouver (USA!)

In Vancouver USA, we also have a great shop to help you through the process of creating a batch of your own private wine.  Bader Winery near the corner of Grand Blvd. and Mill Plain Blvd. has been helping area residents vinify quality batches of great wines for many years.  Owner Steve Bader offers up several levels of packaged juice plus the expert guidance to ensure quality results. 

From Australian Syrah to Italian “Super Tuscan” blends, Port & dessert to bone-dry big reds, grapes are harvested, juiced and packaged from around the world to give home winemakers a chance to create a wide range of styles to suit any palate.  Winexpert.com provides a line of high-quality products to choose from at the Bader Winery.

Kits range in price from $80 to $140, take from 4 to 8 weeks from first visit to bottling, and create about 30 bottles of great wine.  Additional supplies including bottles and labels are extra.  When finished, you can have your own private labeled cases of wine for drinking, gift-giving, or for celebrating a grand event!

For More Information

• Bader Winery is located at 711 Grand Blvd., Vancouver, WA 98661 (map) and can be reached by phone at 360-750-1551
• Try The Joy of Home Winemaking or Home-winemaking.com for more information about crafting wine at your home.

 

Six Clark County wineries to tour

The winemaking bug continues to hit more and more people north of the river, with Clark County now boasting six wineries within a quick drive from Portland.  Each winery boasts a unique tasting room, beautiful grounds, and plenty of wine to sample! 

Bethany Vineyard (map) is one of Vancouver’s oldest wineries, with lakefront grounds so beautiful that weddings are a frequent phenomenon.  You can imbibe in a large tasting room with an array of wines just off a cellar of their aging barrels. 

• Visit Bethany Vineyard online,
• call 360-887-3525
• or set the GPS to 4115 NE 259th St., Ridgefield.

Confluence Vineyards and Winery (map) is one of Ridgefield’s youngest wineries, born in 2008 and is just west of I-5 using the 179th Ave. exit.  Their first vintages include Petite Verdot, Merlot, Syrah and a Cab blend.  Plans for the winery grounds are expansive, with a small ampitheater and enlarged cellars. 

• Visit Confluence online,
• call 360-887-2343
• or head to 19111 NW 67th Ave., Ridgefield.

East Fork Cellars (map).  Use the 179th street exit to visit the East Fork tasting room as well, straight ahead just north of the exit on NE 10th Ave.  Of the six area wineries, this is the easiest to spot and visit.  A large retail building features not just this winery but a thriving local seafood business sharing the same parking lot.  Their estate, locally-grown grapes include Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. 

• Visit East Fork online,
• call 360-666-4514
• or drive to 24415 NE 10th Ave., Ridgefield.

English Estate (map) is the most established local vineyard and is located at the Northeast corner of the Cascade Park area in Vancouver.  Their stately family-run grounds have welcomed visitors for over a decade to sample a range of Pinot Noirs, white wines, and dessert offerings.  

• Visit English Estate online,
• call 360-772-5141
• or set the GPS for 17806 SE 1st St., Vancouver.

Rusty Grape Vineyards (map) is the eastern-most winery of the set.  The relatively youthful winery has an expansive and casual event space both outdoor and indoor, with weekly live music events.  Available wines include Syrah, Cabernet, Sangiovese, Pinot Noir, Merlot and berry dessert wines. 

• Visit Rusty Grape online,
• call 360-513-9338
• or head to 16712 NE 219th St., Battle Ground.

Three Brothers Vineyards and Winery (map) sits directly behind East Fork Cellars.  Their local, estate plantings of almost 15 acres include a wide range of grapes:  Tempranillo, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah, Gewurztraminer and Riesling.  An event room at the winery can accomodate events with up to 40 guests. 

• Visit Three Brothers online,
• call 360-887-2085
• or check them out in person at 2411 NE 244th St., Ridgefield. 

 

Lauribert 2007 Les Truffieres Visan

It’s time I added a French wine selection to the line up of our Best Wines on Planet Earth.  I sampled this wine a few months back and although it comes in at a value price, the quality of the blend stood out above the crowd with delicious flavors and balance, with full fruit while maintaining the character of the Rhone Valley. 

The wine is the Domaine des Lauribert 2007 “Les Truffieres” Visan of Cotes du Rhone Villages.  Thankfully, this pick coincides with a post I wrote a few weeks ago explaining the wines of the Rhone Valley.  “Cotes du Rhone Villages” refers to a section of the Rhone Valley wine map comprised of many villages, defined together as an appellation in a way that allows them to also mention the specific name of certain villages within…hence the village of Visan is mentioned in the title.

The Lauribert Visan is a traditional blend of Grenache and Syrah, revealing dry, brambly berry and a vein of pepper spice along with nuances of the minerals of the terroir and a bacon-fat lift in the mid palate.  But what also impressed me about this wine was the very approachable dark berry fruits opening up on the front palate, adding a refreshingly youthful vigor to this value release.  What a great wine to pair with spicy red meat fare!

From the importer:

Domaines de Lauribert has been in the Sourdon family for the last five generations. The fifty-four hectare estate is located on the Papal Enclave in Visan and Valréas and is planted predominantly to Grenache with lesser parts Syrah, Carignan and Cinsault. 75% of the estates production is Côte du Rhône Villages and the remainder is Côte du Rhône wine.

Robert Sourdon (the "bert" part of the Lauribert name)

Until 1997, the wines of the Lauribert estate were vinified at the local cooperative cellar. When Laurent Sourdon took over the domain, he decided that it was time to produce and bottle wine under the name Lauribert. The name Lauribert is composed from letters of the family members’ names : LAUrent, MaRIE and RoBERT.

The Sourdon family consistently produces excellent value wines that posses all the hallmark character and flavor that Rhône is so well known for.

This wine is regularly sold for $12.99 but is available only to wine club members for $11.99!

• Visit the Domaine des Lauribert winery (rather limited) website
• Read information About France’s Rhone Valley
• The complete Wikipedia entry for the Cotes du Rhone has complete information about the Cotes du Rhone area and Visan.

• Quick Vegetarian Chili
• Moroccan Beef with Coos Coos
• Chili Rubbed Pork Tenderloin

Have you tasted this wine? When you’ve had a chance to enjoy this wine, please return to this blog and leave your comments! Others will appreciate your input, unique viewpoint, and recommendations.

 

About France’s Rhone Valley

The Rhone River begins its 250 mile journey high in the Alps of Switzerland and divides the wine regions of France’s Rhone Valley before reaching the Mediterranean Sea. 

It’s in this deep valley that some of the world’s most esteemed wines are created, using to a large degree just 7 grapes 4 red and 3 white (23 total, most of them rare, are allowed but relatively obscure).   Rousanne and Marsanne join the more widely known Viognier grapes for white wines, while Grenache, Mourvedre and Cinsault join the worldwide fame of Syrah to create the wonderful Rhone reds. 

 One Region, Two Distinct Traditions

France's Rhone Valley Wine Regions

Although “the Rhone” can be considered one of France’s most influential and famous wine regions, it has two very separate areas split North and South.  In the slim Northern section, you’ll find only the Syrah grape creating the red wines (no blends).  White wines here are more esteemed, with Rousanne and Marsanne hailing a larger reputation than the also-ran Viognier (Vee-own-yay) grape which has recently caught favor on America’s west coast. 

Viognier is grown for a more traditional and unique reason…as a white blending grape adding complexity to the red Syrah.  It is a widespread practice to add one to three percent Viognier to Syrah releases.  This added layer of delicate floral and stone-fruit notes adds dramatic aromatics and contemplative depth.

In the more broad area of the South, blending takes on a whole new meaning, with 23 different grapes allowed in blends that, instead, are usually comprised of “GSM” wines made from Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre.

Blends Emulated Worldwide

Almost 95% of all Rhone wines come from the Southern area, which is one reason that blending Syrah with Grenache and Mourvedre is so popular worldwide.  California and Australia both take pride in Rhone-style blends vinified with a more new-world flair.  You’ll find big berry flavors bouncing from glasses of Yalumba or Rosemount G-S-M reds.  California’s “Rhone Rangers” have settled into the Sierra Foothills, Central Coast and beyond to create New World traditions of their very own, with more pronounced spice and tannin backbone to strengthen the impression on the palate.  (Even the Northwest’s Cougar Crest and Efeste wineries have joined the Rangers)

You’ll find the true, traditional French Rhone red wines full of gritty character with spicy, meaty personalities and blissfully complex aromatics.  They pair perfectly with full-flavored lean meats like venison and other game meats.  Don’t expect the full-fruit extraction of California Cabernet or Australian Syrah.  Fruit flavors will stand equally with the savory character, spices, and the minerality so important to culinary match-ups. 

Join me as I give a Wines of the Rhone Valley presentation to the local Columbia Willamette Enological Society on October 14th, 2009 in Vancouver!  I’ll be serving up an assortment of 6 wines including both whites and reds to show you in detail how the areas and wines differ throughout the region, and how you can best enjoy these great French releases.

More Places to Explore Rhone Valley Wines & Styles

• Find out more about the wines of the Rhone by visiting http://www.vins-rhone.com
• Check out the Rhone Rangers of California, dedicated to recreating French greatness in America
• And then there’s always the dependable Wikipedia entry at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rh%C3%B4ne_wine

Vineyards in the Rhone Valley

 

Quinta do Portal gets headlines, a big sale, and a new web design at Salut!

Port lovers may already be aware of the writings of Seattle wine critic, blogger and port enthusiast Roy Hersh and his site For The Love of Port.  Salut! Wine Outlet hopes to increase his audience this month and offer his readers the Best Prices on Planet Earth as we team up to bring you a great sale coinciding with his write-up of Quinta do Portal and the new Portal 2007 Vintage Port release.

We’ve been fans of the Portal ports for some time, having tasted their wines at last year’s Vancouver Wine & Jazz festival (where they presented again this year as the most popular wine booth).  The Moscatel is a stunning combination of unique, delicious, and inexpensive.  In fact, their entire line-up is priced right, and the reviews get better and better with each passing year.  This year, Wine & Spirits has awarded a 2009 Winery of the Year award.

Readers of Roy Hersh’s Quinta do Portal feature article will enjoy special sale prices on the reviewed Portal items, as will readers of this Salut! Wine Outlet blog.  Plus, you’ll get a sneak-peak at the new design changes happening at salutwine.com!

Changes are coming. Take a sneak peak!

As we add thousands of items to our site between now and the holiday season we’ll be making exciting changes to the format of the website to make shopping simpler and getting wine information easier.   We hope you enjoy the changes to be first seen at www.salutwine.com/ftlop.htm.  Keep checking back for new items and offers happening every week.