Check out this entertaining yet instructive article on the differences between locals and tourists in Paris. The less we stand out when we travel the more you will enjoy the trip, and the safer you will be.
http://matadornetwork.com/trips/24-differences-locals-tourists-paris/
For centuries, wine cellars have been dark, windowless spaces with bottles stuffed into cubbies, more function than form. But that doesn’t suit a new generation, for whom wine collecting is as much a social hobby as an investment strategy.
For these collectors, the cellar needs to be a showpiece, maybe with single-paned glass, LED lights and clear sleeves that put labels on display. And befitting their elevated status, sometimes these spaces aren’t in the basement at all. “They’re not wine cellars anymore,” said Robert Bass, president of Greenville, S.C.-based Kessick Wine Cellars. “They’re wine rooms.”
So wrote Lisa Selin Davis in an article for The Wall Street Journal on October 16, 2014.
This is one of the cellars featured in her article, yet this is not what theWinesketcer’s cellar looks like. 
One contractor, quoted in the article, said his custom cellars start at $10,000; some were well into 6 figures, a bit beyond my budget, even if I did have a house with the square footage for such a wine cellar. OK, I will admit a bit of envy, they are beautiful. Thankfully you do not have to have an air-conditioned, custom designed wine museum to enjoy your wine to the fullest.
So what about the rest of us? There are many varietals of wine drinkers. Most wine is drank within a day or two of being purchased; no real need to think about how to store needed. Then there are those who like to accumulate wine. It could be a few bottles of a favorite label picked up on a visit to a winery, shipments from a wine club, or just the convenience of having wine on hand to pick from. Once the wine bug bites you will find that you buy an occasional bottle that deserves to be aged or at least saved for a special occasion.
Those who invest the big bucks to create these wonderful cellars have taken wine to a different level; wine becomes a collector’s item or an investment. They spend far more for bottles of wine than the other 80-90% of wine drinkers, and it justifies having a cellar that matches that investment. It is easy to see the attraction, but most of us can enjoy the pleasure of wine without the intensity. We may be “new generation” yet “function and form” may be just fine.
When you have more than a bottle or two to keep, a few simple concepts will serve your wine well. First, if you are going to drink it in the next 3 or 4 days you don’t have to be overly concerned, just away from heat and you will most likely be fine.
Secondly, know that most decorative wine racks are not great places to store wine for more than a day or two. The tops of refrigerators are frequently adorned with some wood or wrought-iron wine rack holding a half a dozen bottles. This is about as bad as it gets. It is too hot, probably too much light, and then there is the vibration of the refrigerator, which just irritates the wine, and it rebels by breaking down into an inferior beverage.
Furniture and kitchen designers make some beautiful wine cabinets and racks, the problem is, you will want to keep them on display, they are furniture. That means they will most likely be located in a part of the house that is too warm for wine to thrive.
Wherever your wine ends up being stored the important considerations:
Basements, or closets in a spare room (that is not always heated) work great.
Here is a portion of my cellar; it is in a basement room, actually the whole double closet. The wooden racks, work well and are affordable, the wrought-iron rack is for bottles that are bigger in diameter. (There is also an experimental rose fermenting there from some grapes in our garden.)
Do you need a wine refrigerator? Maybe. My daughter lived in an apartment with no air-conditioning, it was hot in the summer, no place cool enough for happy wine. So she needed a small wine refrigerator. If you start to explore some higher end wines that you plan to keep longer, or are just worth extra protection, then a wine refrigerator for those makes good sense.
Wine responds to just a bit of care by giving us great enjoyment. Set up your own cellar, whether 10 bottles or a 100, then when the urge for a bit of cheese and a glass of wine hits, you are ready.
A long snowy drive over the pass was adequately rewarded with a visit to Reflection Vineyards. Holly was as entertaining as ever. The biggest revelation was that their reds are about as good or better than anything we have ever tasted; the Viognier that first attracted me last summer was just as good. There are a couple of our other wine clubs, yes we joined Reflection, that may not make the cut.
In the current edition of Wine Spectator, James Aube’s column addresses when it is time to leave a wine, time to try other tastes and vineyards. This visit to Reflection sparked that discussion for us, and then a discussion of why and how we are going to choose wine clubs in the future. We are currently members of 8 yet I anticipate that will drop a bit before the spring shipments.
So we needed a criteria to begin the sorting process:
The first point is obvious, if the wine is average then why bother, part of the reason for a club is to keep good wine on the table. There are plenty of good wines at Trader Joes and Total Wine, we buy our fair share of those and always will. Wine club wine needs to be a notch above.
Secondly, a wine club is more than just a way to make a purchase. It includes the experience of place, and people. The wine clubs that I enjoy most offer pleasant surroundings and people, along with the glass of wine. Reflection does this well. Their tasting room is a small house looking building with a patio as big as the building. It sits on a hill overlooking grassy field with a hammock, fruit trees, and vineyards. The owner and winemaker, Kent VanArnam, was easy to talk to the one time we met, and Holly’s wit makes it work; she also knows wine and what is behind the wine making.
Another benefit of club membership is having a place to visit where you get free tastings, and a place to hang out for a glass. Some wineries even have private rooms for club members, but I am learning that many of those are the larger operations that may conflict with my desire for more boutique wines. Last summer I sat on the deck at Reflection and did a quick sketch over a glass of their Viognier, a pleasant hour for sure.
Clubs are structured in various ways; do be sure that the requirements are compatible with your taste and budget. Reflection’s wine club is one of the easiest of all that we have seen, and great value for this quality of wine. (91 in Wine Spectator, American Wine Society awards)
The third criteria for selecting a wine club is availability, Reflection is only available through direct orders or their club, so if you want to drink it at home, you get it there. There is of course the feeling of exclusiveness; we have a wine that is not on every table. But more than that is the chance to expand your cellar beyond what the grocery store offers.
So we are glad that we stopped by, I am pleased that I stumbled on to Reflection in August when Dineen Vineyards was closed, I still hope one day to get there, I have missed them 3 times now. We tasted some good wine, we found a good club, and it motivated me to consider how to decide to join wine clubs in the future. Wine is a major hobby, and wine clubs are part of what makes it fun.
TheWinesketcher says, “Join the club!” If you are new to wine, find a winery you like, then join the club.
Sitting in a Quality Inn in Pasadena, California, drinking Fess Parker Chardonnay, watching Tony Bourdain on my iPad I relaize how fortunate I am. My gift in life is that I can talk, it drives some people nuts, but it has enabled me to travel the world, with someone else paying the tab. What I know is that the locals people have it right.
The Windsor Hotel in Melbourne is where the queen stays, I stayed there too. I have stayed at the Mandarin in Bangkok, and many other first class hotels. Yet, after 22 years on the road, it is the simple places I remember with the most fondness.
In South Africa people took me into their homes. I made a friend in Melbourne, that has been so special. My first night in London, at the hotel pub, a man went to his room and brought me back a pen with the Rolls Royce logo that I still use today.
One night in England, after landing at Gatwick, I took a train to South End on Sea. There was nothing nor was their anyone at the train station, and it was late in the afternoon, sunset was approaching. I walked in the direction that I thought was toward the inn I was staying at. (No GPS on cell phones in those days)
One advantage of cities in the West of the USA is that they are laid out in grids, not so in Europe. So the numbers and the streets were confusing as I pulled my roller along the uneven sidewalks. It was growing dark and I had not found the inn. A man on a bicycle stopped, I asked him if he knew the place I was looking for, unfortunately he did not. We parted and I walked on, in what I was to find was the wrong direction.
Some time later i heard a frantic bicycle bell ringing, it was the man I had met. He had found the inn I was to stay at and rode back some distance to give me directions. It was dark now, I was so grateful. I asked if I could do anything for him, he asked if I could send him a keychain from Seattle, I do hope he got it.
People like that man are what travel is all about. Not the resorts or cruise ships, but people from one part of the world connecting with people from another part of the world. I really am not thrilled to check some icon off my list, but am excited to talk with a local in that city.
Though I fear Rick Steves has commercialized “common travel” I must agree with him that the secret is to get out of the tourist mode and connect with the people; with their food, their wine, their culture. We are more alike than different.
So travel, talk, eat and drink, but do it always with the goal to understand the locals, wether a hundred miles or 5,000 miles from where you live.
Bunnell Family Cellar is everything I love about wine. It only takes one tasting flight to know that they make wonderful wines, I am particularly partial to three: Via, Lia, and Syrah. Yet good wine is made great by pleasant surroundings and convivial company, that is what makes Bunnell all that it is.
If you are treated to Susan and Danielle’s hospitality at Wine O’Clock, or Rochelle and Cheryl in the Woodenville tasting room you know that their terroir compliments the skill of Ron, the winemaker.
Susan is the ultimate hostess. She welcomes and makes you feel like you are special, and I truly believe she thinks you are special. We have eaten at Wine O’clock and been lavished on with tasting after tasting, she always has just one more she wants you to try. Some would do that and it would seem like high pressure sales, but with the Bunnell’s it is because they love food and wine, and they want you to enjoy them as well.
Woodenville has become a wine haven, Bunnell sits next to Kestrel, another favorite. We went in a week or two ago because I had to miss the release party. Rochelle and Cheryl gave us what amounted to a private tasting. Now that they have food, cheese and salami plates, it was a wonderful time. We laughed and sipped, they love having you there.
There are those who can write more in depth about the technicalities of the wines they make than I can, so I acquiesce to them. What I know is that I have never had a disappointing wine at Bunnell. Being a family winery, Ron will most likely be the winemaker for many years, that ensures consistency for the long run.
My criteria for a great wine experience is a decent wine, with pleasant people, in a amicable setting, and stories to tell or create. Bunnell excels at all of these. Stop by and have a glass, check out my art that they recently are showing, and tell them theWinesketcher sent you.
So thrilled! Bunnell Winery in Woodinville, WA has a display of a new acrylic on canvas of mine, and matted prints and cards for sale. Bunnell is one of my favorite wines, their Lia, Via, and Syrah are always the best. Stop by, have a sip, and take a peak.
See more sketches and art at theWinesketcher.
Dundee, Oregon is one my favorite places, it is in the center of the Yamhill Wine country. On multiple intersections there are signs encouraging those who are seeking “big bold reds” to visit some winery. At any quality retailer in Washington State the refrigerated section dedicated to domestic beer is likely to be heavily stocked with IPA’s challenging you with their hoppy bitterness, the stronger the better. Less obvious, but just as prevalent to those who are lured by good Scotch whisky, is the proclamation of peat and smoky taste.
Flavor, and taste are pleasures to be savored in all of their diversity, yet I fear that in our current propensity for competition and unisex-machismo we have turned drinking into a contact sport. “I drink white wine but have not worked my way up to reds,” is a frequent reply when I inquire if a person likes wine.
Let’s be clear, if you like wine of any color, you like wine. Some of the finest wines of Burgundy in France are from Chardonnay grapes — white. There are more Pilsners and lagers consumed in the world than ales, hoppy or not.
There is one rule about what to drink — drink what you like, with people you enjoy. Wine Spectator ratings are helpful, but only a guide; a wine in the 80’s is not vinegar, in fact it may be downright enjoyable. Yes, you often do “get what you pay for,” but price is only an indicator. I remember a $60 limited Oregon Chardonnay that we saved for a special occasion. It was good, but we both felt that the $20 label from the same vintner was just as good.
Should you try a big bold red, yes, absolutely! Because it is part of the pleasure to experience as many as you can, you may like it, but to drink it because you are supposed to, or because it is seen as some higher calling, not a good thing. TheWinesketcher loves bold reds, and hoppy brews, but for the flavor, not as a right of passage.
In the summer I drink less red wine than in the winter, rosé and white just work better on the sunny deck. Hoppy beers and pilsners work in the summer but when Fall arrives stouts and doppelbocks are a perfect match, along with a Barbera or a Malbec. (Oregon Pinot Noir is good year round.)
TheWinesketcher never tires of reminding the world that wine is a blessing from God, bringing people together, adding to the mystery we call taste. If you see me with my sketchpad at some winery, grab a glass of whatever you like most, sit down and join me. We may discuss taste and terroir, but I will toast whatever is in your glass and be grateful for making a new friend. Then tell me you read my blogs and I will do a sketch just for you, on the spot.
So how did this fascination of mine with wine develop? I remember the days of Annie Green Springs wine (last produced in 1977). Or Almaden jug wine, it comes in a box today; but a box would never work for a candleholder, which graced many of our tables, alongside concrete block bookshelves, and kerosene lamps, in the late 60’s. We thought Blue Nun was for special occasions. Growing up under the cloud that “good Christian boys don’t drink” added a cavalier mystic about the whole thing.
Somewhere along the way tastes and availability changed. In the late 60’s and the 70’s wine was either a cheap drink that tasted cheap, or the beverage of the hoity-toity. Us commoners drank beer; Bud or Miller, or spirits, mine was Black Velvet. We drank either for social status or for the buzz; thankfully my goal was rarely for the buzz, but I did fit in with the crowd.
Today I drink beverages for one reason, the enjoyment of taste. I drink San Pellegrino because I like the carbonation, wines of all types because of the tastes and experience, beers and whisky. The whole idea of intoxication is revolting, but the pleasure of taste is wonderful. And of course Martin Luther got it right when he said, “Beer is made by men, wine by God.”
1986-1987 marked a turning point in my life. Divorce, new job, new marriage, new city – all resulted in a new relationship to food and wine.
Pre-1986 my culinary repertoire included Hamburger Helper, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, and dehydrated Potatoes Au Gratin. Special occasions might produce steak, baked potato, and broccoli. Beverages were usually beer.
On my own, living on a houseboat at Hayden Island in Portland, I began to cook, nothing exciting but less out of a box. Sautéed mushrooms, and some experiments that turned out badly, but I have not had Hamburger Helper since.
A new lady in my life who drank wine, liked good food, and listened to jazz changed it all; add a new boss who frequented fine restaurants, ordered wine I would never have known of let alone been able to afford, produced the climate for change. I developed a taste that my mother tells me I had when I was in the 7th grade experimenting with gourmet cooking; it just needed the right environment.
Our first wine club was Sunset Magazine, a grand adventure in each shipment for one such as I who had tasted so few. The dates and times get cloudy looking back all these years, but we visited a winery one day in Dundee, Oregon; there was a trip or two to Sonoma in California, the interest was growing.
Then Trader Joe’s came to Lynnwood. Wine from all over the world, at prices we could afford. Two-Buck-Chuck (Shaw) never did work, but there were plenty of wines that did. We tried new labels, asked for advice, all the while I was attempting to act as if I knew what I was talking about. In those days we splurged on $8 bottles for special occasions.
More trips to Sonoma, returning from each one with many bottles in the trunk, we actually had extra bottles in the house, a wine cellar! So sophisticated. The final push happened when our daughter went to George Fox College in Newberg, Oregon. It is located in the heart of the Oregon wine country. We quickly became regulars at a few of the wineries and restaurants.
Torii Mor was our first winery-based club, the rest is history; many more trips to wine areas, more wine clubs, lots of reading and tasting. Wine is more than the liquid in the glass; there is a style of life, the ambiance of the tasting rooms, the beauty of the vineyards, the pleasure of fellowshipping with friends and food.
Today I am often sipping wine with pen ink and paint; sketching a winery over a glass of wine is one of life’s great pleasures. These last 27 years I have been privileged to eat some wonderful food, taste some fantastic wines, and see some incredible sites. I am grateful to God every day for the blessing of travel, taste, and friends. Sante!
My first visit to Milbrandt Vineyards tasting room in Prosser, Washington was on a birthday trip in August. How was it? Well even though we have, OK had, an agreement to not sign up for any more wine clubs we are now members. The tasting room is located next to Wine-O-Clock, one of our favorite restaurants. From the moment we entered we felt welcome, Jan sent us out to the deck to find a table.
Most tastings take place standing at the bar in the tasting room, a few will come to you if you sit at a table, but Milbrandt’s weekend tastings are a bit different. Jan brought us two “Flight Carriers” holding 5 glasses each, with a descriptive tag on each glass. She checked on us often, in fact I am sure we dominated her time. We loved that we could taste at our pace. It was the Viognier that won me over. Readers here know it is my favorite white these days. I thanked Jan by doing a quick sketch for her of a topiary that is on the patio.
This last week I went back, I was in the area doing seminars and had some time. With summer coming to an end a few hours on the patio, in the sun, with a glass of wine and my sketchpad sounded like the perfect prescription. The family welcome must be part of the culture because Shelly and Angela made it wonderful; we talked about travel, art, and wine. A glass of Viognier, and I was set.
Milbrandt Vineyards is a fourth generation operation, headed now by Butch and Jerry. I have not had the pleasure of tasting all their offerings, and of course I love the Viognier. The Mourvedre is a red with just enough body to not be overpowering, and smooth, no puckering feeling in the back of the mouth. We have a bottle in the cellar. Their Petite Sirah 2010 is fruity “with juicy vibrant flavors.” Both are destined for some good food and conversation.
I have written before that the ambience of the winery is almost as important as the terroir of the vineyard for my enjoyment of a wine. Milbrandt has done that. The deck and the tasting room, and especially the staff all make for a vineyard worth checking out.
One of the great joys of wine is discovery. Today in the Rattlesnake Hills wine region of Washington, the winery I was headed for was closed, so I went exploring. An easel sign near an orchard pointed the way to Reflection Vineyards, up a gravel road through the trees, and it was open. What a find! Holly made the tasting room a pleasant experience, when she is not at Reflection she works with Ron Bunnell, another of my favorite wine makers. I knew I was in for a treat.
My primary goal was a glass of white and a place to sketch, the setting was right for sketching; now all I needed was wine. Their only white is a Viognier, and what a wine. If I could only have one white wine I would be tempted to make it a Viognier, so I was pleased.
Kent and Allison bought the 40 acres now known as Reflection Vineyards in 2007, most of the land was in cherries, but they wanted to grow grapes. Their first planting was 16 rows of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. They did however keep some of the cherries.
They practice what is known as “free run” in the production of their reds. With free run the grapes are crushed but not pressed. Most wineries crush the grapes, which extracts the best of the juice, and then press the remaining skins and pulp to extract more of the juice. While pressing produces a higher yield the juice from free run is the highest quality possible.
Free run wines tend to be fruitier, less acidic, and lower in tannins. Tannins are what give some young wines that “pucker” feeling in the back of the throat. Free run reds are easier to drink young, and the fruit is enhanced; I never forget that wine is liquid fruit first of all. Reflection Vineyards currently produces a Mélange, Cabernet, Syrah, and the Viognier. I love a winery that focuses on what they do well.
The Viognier was just right, it has more body than a Pinot Gris, which of late I have been finding too thin for my taste. I have overcome my bias, illogical of course, of Chardonnay, but these days find the Viognier more enjoyable. Viognier is less buttery than a California Chardonnay, none of the citrus of a New Zealand, yet not as heavy as some Chardonnays can be.
Reflection’s Viognier is the perfect balance in a white wine; enough fruit to make it fill the mouth, just dry enough to finish nicely, and a round enough feel to let you know you are embracing more than fruit juice. Sitting on their deck, sipping a glass, pen and paint in hand, made for a perfect afternoon.
I will be back, that is for sure, more of the reds next time. The real question is how long I can fight of the urge to sign up for another wine club, a battle I fail at too easily.
Been There, Eating This 