Washington Wine Month Featuring L'Ecole and Luke Wines

The months of March and August annually are Washington wine months so I enjoy the opportunity to taste through some more wines from the state.  Washington state features 1,000 wineries located across 19 AVA’s.  I tasted through some different wines from Washington over the past week and am featuring some from L’Ecole Winery and Luke Wines. 

The Wineries 

Luke Wines are new to me so I enjoyed tasting through a few of their many selections.  Luke Wines are located in the Columbia Valley AVA in a sub-appellation AVA called Wahluke Slope created in 2006.  The Columbia Valley is located in the southeastern part of Washington state and the Wahluke Slope is one of the dry and warmest microclimates in the AVA.   You can find the Wahluke Slope located between the Columbia River in the south and west along with the Saddle Mountains to the north.  It produces about 20% of the Washington’s wine production and about 9,000 acres are planted to vines over 80,000 acres.  Primarily the grapes are red based and are grown in more gravelly, rocky soils.  

Luke Wines was started in 2012 by a husband and wife team, Thomas and Kristin Vogele.  The name is pulled from the name Wahluke, which is derived from the Native American word meaning “watering place”.  The Wanapum were original settles of the land.  From what I read this area seems to remind folks of the wild west and would be my assumption as to why the labels are depicted that way.  Their aim is to produce ripe, fuller bodied wines from distinct vineyards and I can attest that these wines were indeed full bodied, more fruit forward and jammy.   

The Washington wine AVA's ~ Copyright of Washingtonwine.org

Also, if you've been following along this year I've been an ambassador in 2021, along with a variety of other wine writers, to the L'Ecole Winery and have been enjoying quite the array of wines.  Although the year isn't complete, I feel the 2018 Syrah I tasted this week is my favorite red of theirs so far. You can read more about L'Ecole in my previous blog posts, "Summer is here with these Refreshing Pleasures from L'Ecole" and "Warm up with a Merlot and Pot Roast Pairing".

The Wines 

My top favorites were the 2018 L’Ecole Syrah Columbia Valley and the 2018 Luke Cabernet Sauvignon Wahluke Slope Columbia Valley with the 2018 Luke Merlot taking 3rd place.   

Syrah is the 3rd most planted grape in Washington state and as Marcus Rafanelli, winemaker at L’Ecole states, the 2018 vintage was a “unicorn vintage” with a great growing season.  The 2018 L’Ecole Syrah Columbia Valley is made from 80% Syrah along with 18% Grenache and 2% Mourvedre from four different vineyards, Stone Tree, Candy Mountain, Seven Hills and Summit View.  

This wine showed big dark fruits on the nose.  Big, juicy acidity on the palate up front combined with rich dark fruits, mostly blackberries, with a spicy note.  Rather complex with tannins becoming silky on the lengthy finish.  SRP $25, ABV 15%  Marcus highly recommend bacon with Syrah along with garlic, thyme, oregano, rosemary rub.  Luckily I just had some homemade cheddar bacon cheeseburgers made by chef cousin this past weekend that couldn’t have been a better compliment to these wines along with BBQ ribs and panko crusted zucchini from the garden.

The 2018 Luke Cabernet Sauvignon is made of 96% Cabernet Sauvignon, 3% Malbec and 1% Petit Verdot grown in multiple vineyards as well: Weinbau, Obelisco, Southwine, Seven Hills and Ravenscliff.  The Luke wines I picked up a lot of black cherry including this wine along with some ripe raspberries, vanilla and herbal notes with a hint of chocolate.  Deep flavors of ripe fruits on the palate, fruit forward with tannins showing on the persistent finish.  SRP $25, ABV 14.4% 

 I also enjoyed their 2018 Luke Merlot with ripe raspberries, black cherry and some spice on the nose.  A well balanced wine full of ripe fruit and good acidity with a lingering finish.  The grapes come from the Stone Tree, Weinbau, Southwine, King Fuji and Ravenscliff vineyards.  SRP $25, ABV 14.7% 

I’ve yet to visit the state of Washington, but I’d love to hear from my readers on some of your favorite wines from Washington state.  Leave a comment.

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*These wines were provided as samples, but opinions are always my own.

A Taste of Franciacorta with Ca' Del Bosco

Sometimes I attend wine tastings and select my favorite wines to share and I completely forget to get to all of them to share with my readers.  Today is the perfect opportunity to share one from the Franciacorta DOCG since our Italian Food, Wine and Travel group (#ItalianFWT) this month is featuring Lombardy wines hosted by Jeff at FoodWineClick.   

The Region ~ Franciacorta 

The Franciacorta sub-region is located in the Lombardy region of northern Italy within the province of Brescia.  Franciacorta is one the most prestigious, if not the most prestigious, producers of sparkling wines in Italy.  The name stems from the Latin word, franchae curtes, meaning the properties that were free from tax during the Middle Ages.  This area is located nearby to Lake Iseo in the south along with the rivers, Oglio and Mella.  The soil there is morainic from ancient glaciers resulting in mineral rich soil.  The area is protected from the cold north by the Alps and moderated by Lake Iseo.   

Franciacorta was originally awarded a DOC in 1967 until it was further elevated to DOCG status in 1995.  The red and white wines that originally fell under the Franciacorta DOC changed names to the CurtaFranca DOC to be segregated from the Franciacorta name that was now to be associated with sparkling wines.   

Franciacorta region, copyright of Ca' del Bosco

The Winery ~ Ca’ del Bosco 

At the tasting I had the opportunity to hear from the owner of Ca’ del Bosco, Maurizio Zanella.   Maurizio’s mother, AnnaMaria Clementi, founded the winery in 1969 when she moved to Erbusco.  She purchased a small house, named “Ca’ del Bosc”, on about 5 acres of land in an area surrounded by woods.  The name is probably derived from the Italian word, bosca, meaning forest.  At least I can feel like my years of Italian language studying have paid off.  The vineyards were first planted when she bought the estate and maintained by Antonio Gandossi from the very beginning until his passing in 2011.   

Maurizio at a young age was inspired by the environment surrounding him along with a trip that he took to the Champagne wine region.  His “quest for excellence” is demonstrated in the wines he produces today.  They have been certified organic since 2014 and are always striving to produce the highest quality with respect for the land.  In 2004 Ca’ del Bosco patented a new bottling line and “zero oxygen” degorging lines that removes the oxidative stress from the wine production and requires less of a need for added sulfites.   

The Wine 

Maurizio presented at the tasting their 2008 Ca’ del Bosco Cuvee Annamaria Clementi Franciacorta Riserva DOCG.  Quite the privledge to taste this beauty if you ask me.  The wine is named after his mother, Annamaria.  It is comprised of 55% Chardonnay, 25% Pinot Bianco and 20% Pinot Nero grapes.  They select only the best grapes from their cru vineyards and only in the best vintages.  This is the best of the best!   

The 2008 vintage was the first vintage made without added dosage.  Ca’ del Bosco has been producing the Annamaria Clementi wines since 1989.  The grapes are harvested, chilled and grapes are selected out before they go into soaking vats.  They are then crushed with fermentation taking place in small oak casks.  The wine is aged in oak for 6 months with 6 months on the lees plus 9 years in the bottle.  Yes, you read that right, 9 years!  Riserva wines under the Franciacorta DOCG require at least 60 months of aging. 

The2008 Ca’ del Bosco Annamaria Clementi Franciacrota Riserva was quite layered with much depth and structure.  Stone fruits were present on the nose with yeasty aromas.  Real nice green apple fruit on the palate with a creamy texture, probably due to the lees.  Persistent bubbles with minerality showing up on the finish.  ABV 12.5% SRP $100  

Copyright of Ca' del Bosco, but doesn't capture the 2008 vintage I tasted

Ca’ del Bosco is one of the mostly highly awarded winners of the Tre Bicchieri in Italy with over 40 awards.  Don’t just take it from me, experience for yourself not only Ca’ del Bosco, but the wines of the Franciacorta.  If you’re a Champagne lover or lover of sparkling wines  you will be in for quite the treat.   

Join my fellow Italian wine and food lovers as they take you the Lombardia wine region.  Please join us live for a Twitter chat this Saturday @ 11am EST at #ItalianFWT. 

• A Tour of Wines of Lombardia and Toasting to Lugana by Joy of Wine
• Franciacorta is Lombardia's Challenge to Champagne by Food Wine Click!
• Getting to know Oltrepo' Pavese Wines from Lombardy by Avvinare
• Hot Summer Nights and Northern Italian White and Our Favorite Antipasto Platter by Our Good Life
• Indestructible in Valtellina - Barbacan and the Sega Family by Savor the Harvest
• Italy’s Large, Lovely Lombardia, Home to Lugana and Lambrusco by Wine Predator...Gwendolyn Alley
• Pici Alla Crema di Limone + Costaripa Valtenesi Chiaretto Rosamara 2019 by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Uccellini-Scappati and a Nebbiolo from Lombardy by A Day in the Life on the Farm

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Arneis from Tintero in a Sea of Moscato

Every July my brother hosts his annual company BBQ that I look forward to. It’s always a great time.  Great company, great food, fireworks so I thought it would be the perfect time to open a 2018 Tintero Arneis and pair it with this delicious orzo shrimp pasta salad dish my mom loves to make in the summer.  Plus, the convenience of a screw cap was perfect to bring to a party. 

The Winery ~ Azienda Agricola Tintero 

The winery was started by a Frenchman, Pierre Tintero, known to the locals as Pietrin.  It’s located in the commune of Mango within the Cuneo province.  In 1900, Pierre traveled to Piedmont in search of work.  He found a small estate where he helped a widow, Rosina Cortese, with some work.   They fell in love and 2 years later got married.  They decided to make a go at producing their own wine and bottled up their first wine in 1914 with Dolcetto grapes. 

Later, their two sons, Giovanni and Carlo, took over the business expanding the acreage of the winery.  their focus was on Moscato grapes and selling it to large negociants.  In the 1980’s Carlo’s son, Elvio, experimented with making Moscato Frizzante wines.  Today the winery is operated by the 4th generation, Elvio’s son Marco and his daughter-in-law, Cinzia.  They own about 74 acres and almost 50 of them are dedicated to the Moscato grape.  They practice sustainability across their South and Southeast facing vineyards.  I’d love to try their Moscato since this seems to be their specialty, but came across this Arneis in the store and don’t have the opportunity to try this grape often. 

The Grape ~ Arneis 

Arneis is a white grape native to the Piedmont region in northwestern Italy, more specifically the subregion of Roero.  It was an Italian grape that at one time in the 60’s faced extinction, but was rescued by Alfredo Currado of the well-known Vietti winery.   

Arneis can be a challenging grape to grow struggling at low yields and the potential to face powdery mildrew.  It has to be picked at just the right time as it can face becoming overripe and therefore has a tendency to lose acidity at higher ripeness levels.  Due to all these challenges its name in local dialect is called “little rascal”.   

Many of the producers today will produce Arneis as a single varietal bottle, but it is historically known for being blended with Nebbiolo for its floral aromatics and to help soften the big tannins of Nebbiolo.  It’s a grape that is on the drier side with medium body showing notes of pears, yellow apples, stone fruits and some nuts like almonds or hazelnuts.   

The Wine 

The 2018 Tintero Arneis Langhe DOC wine is grown on clay and limestone soil.  The juice spends 20 days fermenting in temperature-controlled tanks. The wine was brightly straw colored.  A soft, medium-bodied wine with lots of juicy pears and some yellow apple.  Not high on acidity, but rather round on the palate with a little creaminess potentially due to this wine spending 2 months on the lees.   ABV 13% SRP $16.  Imported by Kermit Lynch.    

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