Sister and Bro-in-law Pat & Rodger came to town to join us for a rare Cubs-Yankees stand-off at our beloved Wrigley Field.
Linda prepared a surf & turf dinner with King Salmon and tomahawk ribeye beefsteak with haricot verts and baked potatoes.
Forman Napa Valley Chardonnay 2017
This is from Forman Winery and Vineyards in Napa Valley, founded by winemaker Ric Forman in 1979.
Ric got BS and MS degrees in Food Science at the notable U.C. Davis and went on to be founding winemaker and viticulturist at Sterling Vineyards, north of St Helena where he spent ten years before purchasing the Forman winery and vineyard property.
Washington Growers Bill and Andy Den Hoed Debut Den Hoed Wine Estates in Partnership with Allen Shoup and Rob Newsom
Long-time Columbia Valley grape growers, brothers Bill and Andy Den Hoed of Grandview, Wash.; Long Shadows founder, Allen Shoup; and Boudreaux Cellars owner/winemaker Rob Newsom will release their 2005 Den Hoed Marie's View red blend.The partners have quietly worked on this project since establishing a joint venture in 2005. The wines are named for the Den Hoeds' parents, Dutch immigrants who first planted grapes in the Columbia Valley in 1956.Shoup led Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates for twenty years and founded Long Shadows Vintners in 2002, a partnership of internationally acclaimed vintners. Newsom made his first ColumbiaValley wine in 1998. The Den Hoed family had considered winemaking for decades, but it wasn't until they began working closely with Shoup and his Long Shadows winemaking partners John Duval and Randy Dunn - who were buying grapes from the Den Hoeds - that the idea for Den Hoed Wine Estates took hold.Wallula Vineyard photo from Wine Business NewsIn 2008, Shoup and a group of investors formed a partnership that purchased 80% of the 750-acre Wallula Vineyard from the Den Hoeds (who kept 20% and a management contract).The Den Hoeds began carving this unique vineyard out of the "benches" of a steep, south-facing bluff in Washington State's Horse Heaven Hills in 1997. The property's elevation drops more than 1,000 feet from the top of the hillside down to the edge of the Columbia River, resulting in a vast assortment of micro-climates.Shortly after purchasing the site, Shoup renamed the property "The Benches" and saved the name "Wallula Vineyard" for the earliest planted vines and a large biodynamic vineyard planted for Randall Grahm.
https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2018/08/canlis-restaurant-seattle-extraordinary.html
Canlis Restaurant Seattle Extraordinary Wine Dine Experience
We then acquired some at auction and featured it in several posts in these pages:
Den Hoed Andreas Wallula Vineyard Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet Sauvignon 2005
As I wrote in previous posts. this is named for the patriarch founder, Andreas Den Hoed, who married Marie Den Hoed in 1956 and they planted their first vineyard on their property that year. After two years in the Army Andreas returned to the farm.
In the early years, they paid the bills growing mint. He continued to plant more vineyards as resources allowed, expanding acreage almost every year. In 1988, their two sons Bill and Andy joined the business as partners in a new project, with acreage planted to vineyards.
The father and sons team continued to expand in the Yakima Valley for the next 5-6 years. After several years of searching, in 1997, they purchased a 550 acre parcel of land bordering the Columbia River in the Wallula Gap. Since then the vineyard has earned a reputation as one of the finest in the region. It is sited in a picturesque growing location nestled high above the mighty Columbia River south of of the town of Kennewick. The wines produced from this vineyard have proven to stand the test of time and can stand up and hold their own against the best wines of the new world.
Andreas is a limited production estate wine which celebrates their family history and showcases the Wallula Vineyard. It is a robust Cabernet Sauvignon crafted by Gilles Nicault of the notable Long Shadows Vintners Collection of wines that we collect as prime members of their club. We also discovered Long Shadows during that Seattle, Woodinville Wine Weekend.
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| Canlis Lake Union night view |
So, how fitting it was that that Canlis dinner was a mini family affair as wife Linda and son Ryan joined me at this legendary family restaurant. Moreover, a subplot to the story, our niece Anna Long, married into the Van Hoed family, farmers, wine growers, viticulturists and winemakers from the famed Walula Vineyards in the central Washington wine region.
Tonight we opened another Den Hoed label, Marie's View from a vineyard so named on the Walula Slope in the Horse Heaven Hills Washington State Appellation.
The winemaker is the local well known Rob Newsom of Boudreaux Cellars.
This was a perfect complement, pairing with the grilled beefsteaks.
This vineyard is named for Marie Van Hoed, wife of founder Andreas, mother of the current generation producers.
This was awarded 92 points by Wine Enthusiast and 90 points by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.
Den Hoed wines are packaged in an extra heavy bottles with the most incredible deepest punts (that indentation in the bottle around which sediment collects).
The Den Hoed Wine Estates partnership sourced grapes from small blocks in the Wallula Vineyard section of The Benches.
The 2005 Marie’s View spent 24 months in French and American oak. A mere 136 cases were produced.
Newsom made the 2005 Marie's View, a blend of 36% Syrah, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Franc, and 12% Sangiovese.
Densely colored inky garnet purple, medium full bodied, concentrated, firmly structured, full round black berry, black currant and plum fruits with notes of creosote, cassis, cedar and hints of pepper with a vibrant acid backbone and firm tannins on a pleasurable lasting finish.
RM 92 points.
