Posts
September…man, where did the summer go? We know that most of you in Portland and Seattle are wondering if the summer ever arrived. Here in Eastern WA, we have seen our share of sunshine, but overall, 2010 has been a very cool growing season. The combination of an early fall freeze last year, a mild winter, and a very late bud break this spring has many winemakers on edge about the upcoming harvest. Most sites that we are working with are anywhere from 10 days to 2 weeks behind normal. For the warmer sites (Red Mtn. and the Funk Vineyard) and earlier ripening varietals (Chardonnay, Merlot, and Syrah) we should be fine, but for our cooler vineyard sites and later ripening varietals, it will be a nail biter. Crop loads are going to be super light, most varietals will be 2 tons per acre of less. Needless to say we are hoping for an Indian summer. Somehow, things always work out for us!
That being said, we really do love the fall! Walla Walla is one of the prettiest places on the planet during autumn, with our gorgeous sunsets, and the tapestry of warm colors that flood your senses…vibrant reds, blood oranges, burnt sienna, cinnamon brown. Harvest is a marker in time that will produce something we can revisit for years and years to come. Way better than photographs, don’t you think? We have been busy at the winery getting ready (code word for “cleaning”). We expect to crush about 40 tons this year and will take plenty of pictures to whet your whistle, but we also would like to invite you down to Walla Walla to see crush firsthand. We will of course put you to work if you do visit us, free of charge!
At the end of August, Wine Advocate (you know, Parkers wine rag) bestowed upon us some nice scores, 92 points for the 2007 Illusionist and 90 points for the 2007 Archimage. Nice additions to our Wine and Spirits, Wine Spectator, and Wine Enthusiast scores for both wines. We are down to less than 20 cases of each at the winery. If you haven’t opened one recently, do yourself a favor and pop one of each and judge for yourself. These wines should age beautifully for the next decade, so if you have already depleted your inventory, stock up before it’s gone, for GOOD!
Earlier this month, we bottled some seriously special wines. Along with 938 cases of the 2009 Spellbinder, we bottled 222 cases of the 2008 Archimage (50% Merlot, 33% Cab Franc, 17% Cab Sauv), 319 cases of the 2008 Illusionist (93% Cab Sauv, 7% Syrah), 96 cases of a single vineyard Syrah called “The Funkadelic” (that you may have heard about in the underground cult world of wine bloggers), and finally, 68 cases of the 2009 Enchantress Chardonnay. All of these wines will be released sometime next spring. The limited production wines will be offered to our Wine Illusionist Society members first, and if we have any left over, we will make them available to our mailing list as well. This of course is your friendly reminder as to why you should be members of the Wine Illusionist Society! Great discounts, offers on smaller production wines, use of the Magicians Lair guest house in Walla Walla, and the sense of belonging to a community of like minded people who love great wine, great music, and great friends!
For our Wine Illusionist Society members, we are getting ready to send out (or prepare for pickup) our Fall release, the 2008 Levitation Syrah. As many of you already know, last years vintage received 93 points from the Wine Spectator, along with a Double Gold from the Seattle Wine Awards. This years release is a tremendous follow up to last years award winning wine. We bottled 295 cases of this wine back in March of this year, and after opening several bottles in the tasting room over the past few weeks, we are delighted to say that it is a stunner. A blend of Les Collines Vineyard and Lewis Vineyard, it was aged in 50% new French oak, a bump up from the 2007 vintage. This years vintage is savory and smoky, like cured bacon wrapped around fresh picked plums! The Lewis Vineyard fruit (traditionally full of red raspberries and cherries) is currently secondary to the Les Collines earthiness, but is waiting to erupt from the glass. My educated guess is that a few years in bottle will see the 2 vineyards swap places and show much like the 2007 vintage is showing right now. The 2008 vintage was a bit cooler than normal, and alcohol levels across the board are lower in all of our wines. The 2008 Levitation is 13.9%, but in no way does it give up weight and density with the lower alc. We actually harvested both vineyards a week later in 2008 than in 2007, so longer hang time with great flavor development at lower sugars.
Wine Illusionist Society members, we need you all to log into your account at https://www2.ibgcheckout.com/sofhcellars/account/login.jsp and update your billing and shipping info, as well as (most importantly) your credit card info. Doing this now prevents us from having to chase you down, and during harvest we don’t have time to do that! If you have any issues getting your password, please email us and we will try to take care of it in a timely manner. If you usually have your wines shipped and want to pick up instead, or vice versa, email us and let us know. Looking forward to getting this very special wine to you.
Finally, for your listening pleasure, we wanted to give you a great list of songs and bands that should get you through the fall. Some may seem a bit melancholy, but we prefer “hauntingly beautiful” instead.
Fistful of Mercy - Today's Crosby Stills and Nash? Maybe, but Joseph Arthur, Ben Harper, and Dhani Harrison (you know, George's kid) really nailed it with what I have heard. This link takes you to KEXP so you can watch a couple of songs live. http://blog.kexp.org/blog/2010/09/01/live-video-fistful-of-mercy/
Beach House - Whatever "Dream Pop" is, I think this is it. http://beachhousebaltimore.com/index.cfm?page=shop
School of Seven Bells - Lofty, airy, ethereal. http://www.myspace.com/schoolofsevenbells
Foals - Really gorgeous voice... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYoINidnLRQ best 7 minutes of your day right here!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Summer...finally.
Greetings and a happy summer to everyone!
With the hot weather finally here, I was feeling a bit nostalgic about summer, and what it means to me now vs., say, 1988. Summer is and always will be a time for celebration. I can close my eyes and smell the coconut oil and sand of the Florida panhandle, taste the barbeque and sweet corn, and of course, I can hear David Lee Roth** singing “California Girls” as it blares through my awesome Sony walkman cassette deck. It seems to me that each summer had at least one “summer anthem” that every radio station played, and MTV had on constant rotation. Be it Bryan Adam’s “Summer of 69” or Katrina and The Waves “Walking on Sunshine”, these songs resonate with me. The fact that I do not listen to the radio (save for KEXP of course) may show my ignorance of today’s pop music, but, thank you very much, I can do without it. I sort of feel responsible for educating the masses on the great music still being made today, but that does not get commercial radio play. So here is my top 10 list of songs for the summer (in no particular order) you may or may not have heard! Some are new, some are a few years old, but all are great!
1. The Kooks – Ooh La
2. Band of Horses – The Great Salt Lake
3. Silversun Pickups – Lazy Eye (pop genius)
4. Yo La Tengo – Take Care (At the end of Summer, or on a lazy summer evening, this song says is all)
5. The Walkman – The Rat (maybe my favorite song from 2008)
6. Pearl Jam – Oceans (OK, you didn’t think I would NOT include a PJ song here, did you?)
7. The Flaming Lips – It’s Summertime (from my favorite FL album, Yoshimi Battles the Robots)
8. The Drums – Saddest Summer
9. Bad Lieutenant – Summer Days
10. Afghan Whigs – Summer’s Kiss (Rock Genius)
(**Jerry wanted me to make sure that everyone knows, because he is from ye olden days, that the Beach Boys version of "California Girls" is WAY better than that of Mr. David Lee Roth.)
Today, summer reminds me that we are only a couple of months away from harvesting some awesome grapes! This year has seen a cool, wet spring that has recharged all of the groundwater in the Columbia Valley, and as of July 5th, some really warm, sunny days to start the ripening process for our grapes. Only time will tell the overall quality, but if it is anything like, say, the last 10 vintages, we should be OK!
Summer also screams Rose’, and as most of the mailing list for Sleight of Hand Cellars knows, we make a pretty good one. Production on this wine is always limited, and we sell out by Labor Day every year. We are blowing through it again this year and wanted to remind everyone that it is only available in the tasting room here in Walla Walla (and a few select placements in Seattle). Call us or order online. Weather permitting we will ship it out, and if it’s too hot, we’ll hold onto it in the back room until shipping weather returns. Of course, you could make a journey to wine country and pick it up yourself!
Our other amazing summertime wine is the 2009 Magician, a blend of 60% Gewurztraminer / 40% Riesling. We seem to be selling this wine twice as fast this year so be sure to order this crisp, mineral and fruit driven white wine before it is too late.
Sleight of Hand Cellars has a few events that you should put on your calander. We hope to see you at a few!
July 30 - La Porte Brune Winemakers Dinner in Seattle
July 31 - Wine in the Pines at Suncadia Lodge
August 6th - Meridian Valley CC Winemakers Dinner
August 12th - Ecco Restaurant in Atlanta GA - Winemakers Dinner
August 18th - Palisades Restaurant - Winemakers BBQ 5-8pm
August 19th-21 Auction of Washington Wines (Picnic, Winemakers Dinner, and Grand Gala Auction)
Next month we’ll be sure to update you on some awesome wines from the 2008 and 2009 vintage that are getting bottled. Until then, go and enjoy the sunshine! We’re sure you’ve earned it!
Cheers!
Trey, Sandy, and Jerry
With the hot weather finally here, I was feeling a bit nostalgic about summer, and what it means to me now vs., say, 1988. Summer is and always will be a time for celebration. I can close my eyes and smell the coconut oil and sand of the Florida panhandle, taste the barbeque and sweet corn, and of course, I can hear David Lee Roth** singing “California Girls” as it blares through my awesome Sony walkman cassette deck. It seems to me that each summer had at least one “summer anthem” that every radio station played, and MTV had on constant rotation. Be it Bryan Adam’s “Summer of 69” or Katrina and The Waves “Walking on Sunshine”, these songs resonate with me. The fact that I do not listen to the radio (save for KEXP of course) may show my ignorance of today’s pop music, but, thank you very much, I can do without it. I sort of feel responsible for educating the masses on the great music still being made today, but that does not get commercial radio play. So here is my top 10 list of songs for the summer (in no particular order) you may or may not have heard! Some are new, some are a few years old, but all are great!
1. The Kooks – Ooh La
2. Band of Horses – The Great Salt Lake
3. Silversun Pickups – Lazy Eye (pop genius)
4. Yo La Tengo – Take Care (At the end of Summer, or on a lazy summer evening, this song says is all)
5. The Walkman – The Rat (maybe my favorite song from 2008)
6. Pearl Jam – Oceans (OK, you didn’t think I would NOT include a PJ song here, did you?)
7. The Flaming Lips – It’s Summertime (from my favorite FL album, Yoshimi Battles the Robots)
8. The Drums – Saddest Summer
9. Bad Lieutenant – Summer Days
10. Afghan Whigs – Summer’s Kiss (Rock Genius)
(**Jerry wanted me to make sure that everyone knows, because he is from ye olden days, that the Beach Boys version of "California Girls" is WAY better than that of Mr. David Lee Roth.)
Today, summer reminds me that we are only a couple of months away from harvesting some awesome grapes! This year has seen a cool, wet spring that has recharged all of the groundwater in the Columbia Valley, and as of July 5th, some really warm, sunny days to start the ripening process for our grapes. Only time will tell the overall quality, but if it is anything like, say, the last 10 vintages, we should be OK!
Summer also screams Rose’, and as most of the mailing list for Sleight of Hand Cellars knows, we make a pretty good one. Production on this wine is always limited, and we sell out by Labor Day every year. We are blowing through it again this year and wanted to remind everyone that it is only available in the tasting room here in Walla Walla (and a few select placements in Seattle). Call us or order online. Weather permitting we will ship it out, and if it’s too hot, we’ll hold onto it in the back room until shipping weather returns. Of course, you could make a journey to wine country and pick it up yourself!
Our other amazing summertime wine is the 2009 Magician, a blend of 60% Gewurztraminer / 40% Riesling. We seem to be selling this wine twice as fast this year so be sure to order this crisp, mineral and fruit driven white wine before it is too late.
Sleight of Hand Cellars has a few events that you should put on your calander. We hope to see you at a few!
July 30 - La Porte Brune Winemakers Dinner in Seattle
July 31 - Wine in the Pines at Suncadia Lodge
August 6th - Meridian Valley CC Winemakers Dinner
August 12th - Ecco Restaurant in Atlanta GA - Winemakers Dinner
August 18th - Palisades Restaurant - Winemakers BBQ 5-8pm
August 19th-21 Auction of Washington Wines (Picnic, Winemakers Dinner, and Grand Gala Auction)
Next month we’ll be sure to update you on some awesome wines from the 2008 and 2009 vintage that are getting bottled. Until then, go and enjoy the sunshine! We’re sure you’ve earned it!
Cheers!
Trey, Sandy, and Jerry
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Spring and Summer 2010
Spring is still here, with some crazy weather these past few weeks....rain, sun, hail, sun, snow...you name it and Walla Walla has seen it this past May. Looking forward to Summer getting here sooner than later.
Jerry and Sandy were here all of April and we started to put together the 2009 wines. The Syrah almost made itself, with a similar blend to the 2008 vintage, 7 barrels of Les Collines Syrah, and 5 barrels of Lewis Vineyard Syrah. The Funk Vineyard Syrah will simply have to be bottled on its own! It is so distinctive, and fans of Cayuse will want to make sure to try this when it is ready to go! The Archimage and Illusionist were more challenging because we have so many lots to work with. We have an idea about both wines but could not come up with a consensus, so will wait till September to finalize these 2 wines.
The 2009 Enchantress Chardonnay is tasting great and may get bottled in August, along with the 2008 Archimage and 2008 Illusionist. All 3 are great successors of their previous vintages.
The press has been very kind to Sleight of Hand Cellars these past few months. Below are the great reviews we have received from various publications!
Wine Spectator
SLEIGHT OF HAND The Archimage Walla Walla Valley 2007 Score: 92 $40
Smooth and succulent, brimming with red berry and rhubarb flavors that sing sweetly against hints of lime and espresso, lingering on the refined finish. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2015. 295 cases made. —H.S.
SLEIGHT OF HAND Levitation Syrah Columbia Valley 2007 Score: 93 $40
Rich and fleshy, not heavy but beautifully focused and deftly balanced to play its fresh boysenberry and currant flavors against fine tannins and hints of licorice and pepper on the finish. Drink now through 2014. 340 cases made. –HS
Wine Enthusiast Magazine
92 Points - Cellar Selection Sleight of Hand 2007 The Illusionist Red Red Blend Columbia Valley (WA) $40
91 Points - Cellar Selection Sleight of Hand 2007 Archimage Red Red Blend Walla Walla (WA) $40
90 Points - Sleight of Hand 2008 The Magician White Blend Columbia Valley (WA) $17
Wine and Spirits Magazine
92 Points - The Archimage Red Blend Walla Walla Valley 2007 (WA) $40
92 Points - The Illusionist Red Blend Columbia Valley 2007 (WA) $40
90 Points - BEST BUY The Magician Columbia Valley 2008 (WA) $17
WINO Magazine
Nice interview here:
http://www.winomagazine.com/2010/03/bottleology-sleight-of-hand-cellars-with-trey-busch/
I have a busy summer schedule planned, lots of tastings in and around the NW, and trying to get back to Atlanta to see friends and family, while selling some wine in the process! Also plan on a few long weekends with the family. I hope to see you at one or more of the many events I have scheduled. Check out our Facebook page and fan us up! http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Sleight-of-Hand-Cellars/50521891503?ref=ts
Jerry and Sandy were here all of April and we started to put together the 2009 wines. The Syrah almost made itself, with a similar blend to the 2008 vintage, 7 barrels of Les Collines Syrah, and 5 barrels of Lewis Vineyard Syrah. The Funk Vineyard Syrah will simply have to be bottled on its own! It is so distinctive, and fans of Cayuse will want to make sure to try this when it is ready to go! The Archimage and Illusionist were more challenging because we have so many lots to work with. We have an idea about both wines but could not come up with a consensus, so will wait till September to finalize these 2 wines.
The 2009 Enchantress Chardonnay is tasting great and may get bottled in August, along with the 2008 Archimage and 2008 Illusionist. All 3 are great successors of their previous vintages.
The press has been very kind to Sleight of Hand Cellars these past few months. Below are the great reviews we have received from various publications!
Wine Spectator
SLEIGHT OF HAND The Archimage Walla Walla Valley 2007 Score: 92 $40
Smooth and succulent, brimming with red berry and rhubarb flavors that sing sweetly against hints of lime and espresso, lingering on the refined finish. Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2015. 295 cases made. —H.S.
SLEIGHT OF HAND Levitation Syrah Columbia Valley 2007 Score: 93 $40
Rich and fleshy, not heavy but beautifully focused and deftly balanced to play its fresh boysenberry and currant flavors against fine tannins and hints of licorice and pepper on the finish. Drink now through 2014. 340 cases made. –HS
Wine Enthusiast Magazine
92 Points - Cellar Selection Sleight of Hand 2007 The Illusionist Red Red Blend Columbia Valley (WA) $40
91 Points - Cellar Selection Sleight of Hand 2007 Archimage Red Red Blend Walla Walla (WA) $40
90 Points - Sleight of Hand 2008 The Magician White Blend Columbia Valley (WA) $17
Wine and Spirits Magazine
92 Points - The Archimage Red Blend Walla Walla Valley 2007 (WA) $40
92 Points - The Illusionist Red Blend Columbia Valley 2007 (WA) $40
90 Points - BEST BUY The Magician Columbia Valley 2008 (WA) $17
WINO Magazine
Nice interview here:
http://www.winomagazine.com/2010/03/bottleology-sleight-of-hand-cellars-with-trey-busch/
I have a busy summer schedule planned, lots of tastings in and around the NW, and trying to get back to Atlanta to see friends and family, while selling some wine in the process! Also plan on a few long weekends with the family. I hope to see you at one or more of the many events I have scheduled. Check out our Facebook page and fan us up! http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Sleight-of-Hand-Cellars/50521891503?ref=ts
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Post ML
At the beginning of February 2010, I racked all of the 2009 lots that were finished with both primary and secondary fermentation. I racked lot by lot, so no blending is done at this point. The wines are stunning, and it reinforces why I love winemaking so much. There is no greater joy for a winemaker (at least this winemaker) than filling barrels and having the winery smell like all of the great wines going back into barrel.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)