September 2010 Newsletter

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!