The Corporate and Continuing Education programs at Clark College are taking advantage of the newest addition to their campus, a full kitchen at their new hi-tech Columbia Tech Center campus in East Vancouver.  The Cooking and Wine School programs include a wide range of inexpensive ways to enhance your knowledge repertoir.

Wine 101 is a fun 2-hour class that will demonstrate the different components of wine, 6 different grapes, different glasses, and the information that ties them all together.  How to describe flavors, how to pair wines with food, what stemware to use, and how to serve & store wines will all be covered in this informative session.  It’s only $45 per person, including wine!  Sign up today!

The Sommelier Series

In addition to Wine 101, I’ll be complimenting the coursework with three additional Sommelier Series classes for enhanced wine expertise.  These classes will extend focus on an array of grapes and regions.  Wine afficianados, restaurant and grocery store stewards, hobbyists and winery employees can earn Continuing Education Credit certificates for this trio of courses to enhance their resume and skills.   Each class features sampling of an array of 8 wines and 2 hours of instruction.

The Sommelier Series classes start with Advanced Wine Expertise on March 17th.  Each of 8 different major grapes is featured as a representation for 8 different important aspects of fine wine production such as grape clones, oak barrels, blending, geography and more.

Next up on March 24th is New World Wine Regions including the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and South America.  In this class, each region’s recent history will be featured along with the most important wines of that area.

Finally, the trio is capped on June 6th with a brand new class on Old World Wine Regions including a tour of European wines.  Experience wines from France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Portugal. 

The Sommelier Series trio is offered as a combo for just $110 for all three 2-hour sessions.

For more information:

• Visit the Clark College Corporate and Continuing Education site for complete class info and online registration.
• See more information about Wine 101
• Explore the Columba Tech Center campus online

John Platter writes the foremost guide annually about South African wines.  It’s in the Platter’s Guide where you’ll find the glowing, multiple-year reviews of one of South Africa’s most noteworthy, almost cult-worthy wines – the Mulderbosch Sauvignon Blanc.

It hasn’t been an easy road for either South African wines nor the Mulderbosch estate.  The Dutch originally colonized the area as a provisions stop at the Cape of Good Hope and established some vineyards.  But centuries later the South African country was still embroiled in political turmoil and the international wine market had not yet developed substantially.

So when Larry Jacobs bought his vineyard land that had laid fallow for a century, and hired winemaker Mike Dubrovic to build some great wines, they had no idea that 20 years later they would both be known as the creators of South Africa’s best white wine.

This racy bottling single-handedly put South Africa on the map as a source of world class Sauvignon Blanc. One of the Cape’s most heralded and sought-after wines, it garners 90+ scores vintage after vintage. Vivid tropical fruit aromas give way to succulent, mouth-filling flavors of guava, lychee, gooseberry, lime, and fresh cut grass, supported by a bracing jolt of acidity. — 90 Points, Steven Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar

This wine has a strength not present in the mineral-laden Loire Valley examples.  It has a broad and dynamic personality not found in the more sedate California Sauv Blancs.  The fruit is more tempered and mature than the Northwest entries.  It compares closely with the intensity of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc wines, but you’ll discover a vein of spice hiding out.  It all combines into a wine that will dance with seafood and shellfish dishes.

This wine is regularly sold for $21.99

• Visit the Mulderbosch winery website
• Explore the WOSA site (Wines of South Africa!)
• A great history of South Africa wines is available at Vineyard Varieties online.
• Or find a complete history of South Africa at sahistory.org
• Find plenty of South African Wine information at Wikipedia
• Read the Salut profile of the Loire Valley, where much of the best Sauvignon Blanc in the world is produced.

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.

Many wineries in Walla Walla lay claim to award-winning and microsopically brief histories, including Spring Valley Vineyards.  Their first marketed vintage was in 1999, and they’ve already carved a wide swath of 90+ point scores for their six estate-only wines.  After the loss of the owners’ son and original winemaker Devin Derby in 2004, winemaker Serge Laville took the reigns and honorably maintained the top quality of this assortment. 

Named after the son of Uriah and father of owner Shari

This year the blend is 54% Cab Sauv, 27% Merlot, 10% Cab Franc, 7% Petit Verdot and 2% Malbec, a traditional Bordeaux-style blend.  The winery says:

 ”The nose is seductive and fresh with scents of licorice, cassis, and rose petal. The mouth is an explosion of summer fruit: plum, dry cherry, blackberry, and cassis. The tannins are fine grained, concentrated and soft. The acidity keeps the wine in perfect balance and showcases the terrior of Spring Valley Vineyard. Notes of roasted coffee and vanilla linger on the long finish.”

While the Uriah blend often holds the spotlight and earns favor from publications (the Uriah blend will probably age longer and exhibits a more elegant flow), it’s the Frederick that, to me, represents the more vibrant and full character that gives Washington wines a more youthful vigor and ability to be enjoyed (without quilt) a lot earlier than cellar-able California and Bordeaux examples.

Rich and chewy, with a brightness to the cherry and mulberry fruit that balances well against hints of wet earth and cedar as the finish persists expressively. There’s nice balance and length. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and others. Best from 2010 through 2016. 3,000 cases made. – Wine Spectator 92 Points

This is a well rounded and beautifully structured red, and a great represenation of the style Washington has to offer.  The more youthful and full fruit will pair with spice rubs over hearty meat cuts or roasted fowl.

This wine is regularly sold for $49.99′

• Visit the Spring Valley Vineyard website
• Read more about Bordeaux style wines with this profile of the region

• Find 69 different spice rub recipes from Clay’s Kitchen.
• Let Emeril at the Food Network help you with Perfect Roasted Chicken

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.

It was the Dutch who drained the marshy Médoc region in the middle of the 17th century, creating the land for vineyards that would soon produce the fine wines that would give Bordeaux its reputation. The Medoc, along with the Haut-Medoc and Graves (pronounced “Grahv”) regions, lie on the “Left Bank” of the Gironde river. The warmer climate here ripens Cabernet Sauvignon to an optimal point, so much of the Left Bank Bordeaux wines will have Cabernet Sauvignon as the primary varietal in the final blend.

A (Simplified) Map of the Bordeaux Wine Region

On the “Right Bank” of the Dordogne river lies Pomerol and St. Emilion, where Merlot takes the driver’s seat due to soil composition and a climate more suited to Merlot’s growing habits.  Chateau Petrus is one of the most famous, most expensive, and one of the few 100% Merlot wines of the Right Bank.

The white grapes of Bordeaux include primarily Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon (blended together). In the Sauternes region at the south of the Left Bank, some of the world’s finest dessert wines are created from these grapes (most notably, the famous and spectacularly expensive Chateau d’Yquem)

It was the Greeks who first brought grapes to France by establishing vineyards in Marseilles, but the infestation of the Phylloxera root louse destroyed any grape vines existing before 1866. American Labrusca species rootstocks (resistant to Phylloxera) saved the day … Vinifera species vines in Europe (and in the U.S.) are now commonly grafted to them, although there are still ungrafted vineyards left dotting the landscape around the world.

French culture dictates the qualities of Bordeaux, amid a confusing mass of classification systems born in 1855, emphasizing elegance and intensity of flavor rather than massive and powerful fruit or oak. The French start drinking wine in their youth, most often with meals. The resulting need for ample wine acids for food pairing and a subdued & elegant fruit balance of flavors is a tell-tale sign of a Bordeaux wine.

For more information

• Bordeaux.com will provide a deep interactive menu of information
• See a more in-depth map of the bordeaux region at Wikipedia.
• Read about the 1855 classification system at thewinedoctor.com
• Visit Meritage.org, an association formed to market Bordeaux style blends in the rest of the world.
• Check out plenty of beautiful photos of Bordeaux at Flickr
• Find links to all of the classified Bordeaux wineries at the bottom of this Wikipedia entry.

Chateau Margaux

It was a “magical” yacht voyage and a beneficial relationship with Oregon’s David O’Rielly that allowed ZanZibar Cellars to burst onto the Willamette Valley winemaking scene a few years ago.  Winemaker Ziad Keirouz’s young-adult voyage to exotic locales ended with the realization that a life of engineering was not for him.  Meeting David while researching the benefits of a winemaker’s life afterward provided a firm sense of placement for a new career.  Thus, the ZanZibar’s Northwest wines are created with Washington State grapes in the equipment at David O’Rielly’s Owen Roe facilities.

I first encountered the wine a few years ago from several customers.  After sampling this new wine at an event, restaurant or winery, they would come to Salut! and gush praise for the “massive and exuberant” Sandra they had tasted.  When I finally had the chance to taste it for myself, I had to agree.  The flavors were bold, extraction was complete, and the lush, sexy appeal comes from a full and velvety experience.

A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Syrah from Columbia valley vineyards. Grapes are hand harvested and undergo small batch whole berry fermentation and extended maceration to ensure the development of remarkable and supple structure and body. Malolactic fermentation is completed in 100% new French oak barrels, where the wine continues to age and mature for 12 months until it is bottled. It will then be cellared for the next 12 months before it is released.

You’re going to want to drink a glass of this wine before dinner, with hearty appetizers, to appreciate its full depth.  Then, let the wine carry you into a big meal with the second glass.  Beware, however…there won’t be too many wines that can follow it willingly.  Perhaps just have a second bottle ready to go.

If you want to experience more from ZanZibar, there’s a unique “Sandra Solera” created from multiple vintages of  the Sandra blends.  Each year, a limited 2 barrels are blended with past vintages to form a unique expression of Ziad’s work.  It sells out quickly, but let me know if you want me to seek out this wine for you.

This wine is regularly sold for $48.99

• Visit the ZanZibar Cellars website
• Read a full article about the development of ZanZibar Cellars at AvalonWine.com
• Learn about the Solera system, used almost exclusively in Spain and Madeira to create blends from year to year.
• Watch Billy Joel play and sing “Zanzibar” (the motivation for naming the winery)
• Check out Owen Roe‘s website for more of our favorite wines of the Northwest.
• See our Best Wines on Planet Earth post about Owen Roe’s Ex Umbris Syrah

• Here’s an array of hearty appetizer recipes from Better Homes & Gardens
• This might be a time to try Buffalo recipes from Blue Stem Buffalo

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.