Diverse Reds for Duck Dogs and Ground Sirloin Burgers

Diverse Reds for Duck Inn Hot Dogs and Ground Sirloin Burgers

Returning from a overnight trip to Indiana, a day in Lafayette and a day in Indy, we stopped in St John to visit fellow Pour Boy Dr Dan and Linda for a impromptu dinner. Dan grilled 'Duck Dogs', produced by Duck Inn in Chicago as a tribute to the classic Chicago Hot Dog, all beef hot dogs with a small amount of duck fat, and grilled sirloin beef burgers. Both were delicious.

The Duck Inn Dog has received numerous local and national accolades, including being named Top Dog by Food Network and Best Hot Dogs in Chicago by Food & Wine magazine.

We dined at Duck Inn with the Pour Boys together back in 2021 as presented in this blogpost - Duck Inn Chicago Unique Dining Experience.

With dinner, Dan pulled from his cellar a medley of diverse reds. Putting a call out for requests, I asked if we could start with a California Pinot Noir, following our recent tastings of a flight of such wines. 

Dan served an ultra-premium Seasmoke Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir, followed by an ultra-premium Aussie Shiraz.

SeaSmoke 'Ten'  Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir 2015

This is from Sea Smoke's estate vineyard in the Santa Barbara's Santa Rita Hills AVA.

Dan is a member of their wine club and gets access to these highly allocated very popular wines.

Owner/producer Bob Davids acquired the property in 1999. They produce Pinot Noir grown exclusively on the south-facing hillsides of the estate vineyards. 

The Sta. Rita Hills AVA is the coolest, westernmost sub-region of the larger Santa Ynez Valley appellation within Santa Barbara County. It is known to have the perfect microclimate for growing world-class Pinot Noir, with crisp ocean breezes and well-drained, limestone-rich calcareous soils. The Santa Ynez River canyon funnels the cool maritime fog layer (sea "smoke") across the hillsides, slowing the ripening process and providing the extended maturation period essential to the development of top-quality Pinot Noir. The shallow clay soils are planted to French clones on vigor-reducing rootstocks, resulting in fewer grape clusters of intense flavor, ripening optimally while retaining brisk acidity and harmonious balance. 

Sea Smoke's "Ten" is named for the ten different Pinot Noir clones planted in their estate vineyard which all find their way into this bottling. 

Sea Smoke notes is "the most masculine wine of their multiple labels, brooding and intense, with firm, mature tannins and a long, velvety finish. Ten is not for the faint-of-heart and has been known, on occasion, to convert even the most fanatic Cabernet lover."

Winemaker Don Schroeder explains, “The wealth of clones at our vineyard is one of the keys to the complexity of our wines.” This bottling is made from all ten clones farmed directly from the organic- and Biodynamic-certified estate vineyard: Aged 16 months in French oak, it shows scents of chocolate syrup and baked plum pudding. A solemn Pinot, it remains extravagant with flavors of black cherry washed with rose petals and rhubarb. Tilled soil, beet root, and firm tannins prove its profundity."

 

Winemaker Notes - A brooding and intense wine. The dark fruit dominant aromas begin with notes of cola, Black Cherry and Blueberry, then some Asian spice, chocolate and a hint of Rose petals. Firm, mature tannins—evidence of Ten’s ageability—are followed by a long, velvety finish. 

The wine was aged for 16 months in 60% new French oak before bottling. 

This was rated  95 points by the Tasting Panel and 94 points by Wine Enthusiast and a Cellar Selection.

Dark garnet colored, medium full bodied, bright concentrated black cherry and black plum fruits with notes of clove spice, vanilla bean, pepper and earth.

RM 92 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2612871

https://www.seasmoke.com/

Next Dan pulled one of our favorite labels, a big hearty Aussie Shiraz.

Clarendon Hills "Piggott Range Vineyard" Syrah McLaren Vale South Australia 2011

I wrote about this label in an earlier blogpost. "This vintage release of this label was not as big or fruit filled as the other releases I have tasted, taking on a little bit more menthol and acidity than the more complex concentrated fruit flavors of the 2004 that we paired and compared. One Cellartracker reviewer MMack gave it 92 points and compared it to a CDP (Chateauneuf du Pape). Vivino reviewer DcLaxFan also likened it to a Rhone, he wrote "From a winery founded by a biochemist, the Syrah opens with a nose of smoked meat, mulberry, tapenade, and plum. Savory mouth of prunes, brisket, cassis, and earth. A wild, smoky, meaty feel like a Rhône Vacqueyras."'

RM 91 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1953014

Dan then pulled from his cellar this surprise label. We both acquired this label as part of our wine club allocation from the producer. Linda and I actually took this label to Florida on our recent trip to enjoy but never got the chance to drink it and brought it back to have at a future occasion. Tonight, we got to try this new label bottling we've been eager to try! 

Force Majeure Walla Walla Estate Syrah 2020

This is from Force Majeure, an ultra-premium producer winery located in the Walla Walla Valley, specializing in estate-grown, single-vineyard Bordeaux and Rhône-inspired wines. Force Majeure wines are the handicraft of Todd Alexander, former winemaker for Bryant Family Vineyards and a couple of other notable Napa producers. He and his wife Carrie relocated their family to Walla Walla to take on the Force Majeure estate and brand. I featured Todd in these pages when he took on that role back in 2016 - Todd Alexander joins Force Majeure Winery.

We visited the Force Majeure Walla Walla Estate back in 2018 and wrote about that visit in this blogpost at the time - Force Majeure Vineyards Site Visit and Tasting, as part of our Walla Walla AVA Visit that provided the opportunity to visit this vibrant emerging wine region, meet some legendary winemakers on the Washington wine scene, and experience the best of Red Mountain and Walla Walla appellation wines. We walked the estate vineyards, source for this wine with the rocky soil, and thus were excited to eventually receive this release of this wine as part of our club allocation.

Force Majeure had recently acquired two new vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley. The site is within the boundaries of the The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA, just across the Oregon side of state line border. The portion of the vineyard outside The Rocks District is within the borders of the Walla Walla Valley AVA.

The Rocks District is named for the rocky deposits left by the Walla Walla River where the river exits the foothills of the Blue Mountains and enters the Walla Walla Valley. It resembles the gravelly soil of the Southern Rhone River Valley in Chateauneuf du Pape. The Rocks District of Milton Freewater is the country’s newest AVA. Wine Spectator calls this AVA “perhaps America’s most distinctive example of terroir."

The unique riverbed of cobblestones and pebbles is as much as two hundred feet deep, formed 12,000 years ago from massive floods that swept through the region caused by ruptures in the ice dam that held Montana's glacial Lake Missoula. The Rocks District is a 12-square mile alluvial fan of 3,770 acres. 

Force Majeure Walla Walla Estate Syrah 2020

The property is partially within the boundaries of the The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA, on the Oregon side of the border, and is located adjacent to the site of our new winery. The portion of the vineyard outside The Rocks District is within the borders of the Walla Walla Valley AVA. The Rocks District is an alluvial fan, and the cobbles that define the area are a result of deposits left by the Walla Walla River. 

This vineyard was planted between 1992 and 1994, and has a diverse soil profile covering the cobble stones, highest at the north end of the property and most shallow at the southern end. This gives us a lot of diversity within a small area, and the grapes will have different characteristics depending on the soil composition where they are grown. This vineyard is in an area proven to have very distinct terroir.

The unique topography and geological variants in these vineyards provide fruit characterized by stunning intensity, depth, concentration and complex flavors.

This wine was rated 20/20 points, Rand Sealey, Report on Washington Wines 

All Syrah that saw 30% stems and roughly 30% new barrels,

Inky dark purple garnet colored, medium to full bodied, bright vibrant complex black cherry with some blue fruit tones, with notes of earth, violet, pepper and herbs, with chalky minerality and tannins on the lingering finish. 

RM 93 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=4624205

https://forcemajeurevineyards.com/ 

@ForceMVineyards

Spring Valley Vineyard Derby Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

Spring Valley Vineyard Derby Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

We enjoyed Spring Valley Vineyards Frederick Red Blend for dinner the other night. When I was pulling together info to write up my blogpost I realized it was exactly a year ago that patriarch co-owner and co-producer Dean Derby passed away.

Ironically, on the anniversary of his passing, we received our wine club allocation shipment, the 2019 release of his namesake tribute label wine, Derby Cabernet Sauvignon. Hence, we felt it only fitting to pull a bottle of Derby in tribute and remembrance of Dean, replacing the older vintage with the just arrived vintage release, as part of cellar management to drink the older bottle from our cellar collection.  

We pulled from the cellar a bottle of Derby Cabernet for dinner in a fitting tribute to Dean, whom we had the pleasure of meeting when we visited the estate vineyards a few years ago during our Spring Valley Vineyards Tasting, Estate and Vineyard Visit. That was one of the highlights of our appellation visit to the Walla Walla (Washington) wine region in 2018.

Dean Derby was a bigger than life character. He was a delightful man of faith and family. 

His family and he moved to Walla Walla in 1945 where he met Shari Corkrum in the 6th grade at Sharpstein Grade School. Upon graduation from Walla Walla High School, Shari and Dean both attended the University of Washington in Seattle. They were married in 1954.

In 1956, Dean Derby was captain of the University of Washington football team. He still holds the record for longest run from scrimmage for a touchdown at Husky Stadium (92 yards against Illinois).

Dean was drafted into the NFL as the 1st pick of the 4th round by the Los Angeles Rams, then traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers for the 1st league game in September 1957. He was named All Pro Defensive Cornerback and played four+ years with the Steelers and a bit more than a year for the Minnesota Vikings.

Back at their homestead ranch in Walla Walla, Dean and Shari's son, Devin Corkrum Derby was born in Spring Valley in 1956. 

Dean and Shari first planted wine grapes on the ranch in Spring Valley in 1993.

Devin Corkrum Derby took over management of the ranch and winery at Spring Valley in 1999. As founding winemaker he oversaw the first crush and crafted the first wine – Uriah, a Merlot-based red blend which had its inaugural release in 2001.  This was also the first vintage release of Derby Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as the Frederick, a Cabernet Sauvignon-based red blend, and Mule Skinner Merlot.

Devin also designed the labels for Spring Valley’s wines. 

 

Devin Corkrum Derby was killed in a tragic car accident in 2004 and winemaking duties were taken over by assistant winemaker Serge Laville. Serge Laville was a French winemaker who had met Devin in Walla Walla and moved from France to become assistant winemaker at Spring Valley Vineyard.

 

I've written in these pages, (as late as this week with recent postings) about the portfolio of Spring Valley wines with each label featuring a member of three generations of the Corkrum family reaching back to first generation founding producers Uriah Corkrum and his wife Nina Lee.

As I mentioned above, Dean Derby was husband of Sharilee Corkrum Derby, who is daughter of Frederick (subject of the Frederick Red Blend label consumed the other night) and grand-daughter of founder Uriah Corkrum. Each of them are featured on SVV labels as tribute to them and features of their portfolio of estate grown varietal wines and blends. 

The SVV portfolio features estate grown Bordeuax varietals, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot, as well as Left Bank and Right Bank blends, and a Shiraz/Syrah, named after Nina Lee, wife of Uriah and mother of Frederick.

This label, Derby, is the Cabernet Sauvignon offering from that collection.

Spring Valley Vineyard Derby Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

For dinner, Linda prepared a home-made pizza and this wine was a wonderful accompaniment. Some Cabernet's may be too firm or structured for such a dish, better paired with a beefsteak, but this was sufficiently round and fruit forward that it was perfect. 

This is 100% estate grown Cabernet Sauvignon from the Spring Valley Vineyard that lies twelve miles northeast of Walla Walla, amid the picturesque expansive wheat fields of southeastern Washington. 

 

Today, the ranch consists of 109 total vineyard acres of grapevines planted to Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Syrah and Malbec.

 

The vines follow the north-south slope of the hills in vertical rows that take advantage of and allow air circulation, drainage and optimal exposure to sunshine. Through meticulous and caring viticulture, every grape cluster is tended by hand, including crop thinning, leaf pulling and harvesting.

 

The final blend was aged 19 months in French oak, 20% new

Winemaker's Notes: "As usual, a very limited number of barrels were able to go under the label 100% Cabernet Sauvignon “Derby ”. Complexity and purity is the ultimate goal for this wine. Rose petal on the
nose. Flavors are focused on ripe cherry. Intense mid pallet and finish on herbal notes."

The 2018 vintage release was rated 93 points by both Jeb Dunnuck and James Suckling, and 89 points by Sean Sullivan of Wine Enthusiast.

Bright purple garnet colored, medium bodied, bright vibrant blackberry, black cherry and plum flavors accented by spice, smoke and herbs with a long smooth polished finish. 

RM 92 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=3928217

https://www.springvalleyvineyard.com/

 

Spring Valley Vineyard Frederick 2013

Spring Valley Vineyard Frederick 2013

For beginning of the week grilled beefsteak dinner with wedge salad and mashed potatoes, on the deck on a beautiful waning summer evening, I pulled from the cellar this Washington State Red wine from one of our favorite producers. 

We first discovered Spring Valley Vineyards (SVV) with their popular Uriah label, a Right Bank Bordeaux Blend wine a decade ago. 

We tasted and first acquired this wine during our visit to the tasting room and vineyards during our Spring Valley Vineyards Tasting and Vineyard Visit as part of our appellation visit to the Walla Walla (Washington) wine region in 2018. 

There we had the privilege of meeting Dean Derby, husband of Sharilee Corkrum Derby, who is daughter of Frederick (subject of this label) and grand-daughter of Uriah Corkrum who are featured on their labels. Dean passed on just a year ago this week.

I've featured in these pages the portfolio of Spring Valley wines with each label featuring a member of three generations of the Corkrum family reaching back to first generation founding producers Uriah and wife Nina Lee.

Our visit to the SVV tasting room in Walla Walla, then going out to the estate and seeing the magnificent vineyards amongst the barren expansive central Washington landscapes was a highlight of our Walla Walla Wine Experience in 2018.

I've written in these pages about the SVV portfolio of labels, each named after a member of the historic and colorful Corkrum family dating back three generations to the turn of the last century. 

 

 

Spring Valley Vineyards Walla Walla Frederick 2013

This label Frederick, is the Left Bank Bordeaux Blend (meaning a blend of Bordeaux varietals with a predominance of Cabernet Sauvignon, as is the custom of producers on the southern, western side of the Bordeaux Gironde River estuary) of SVV estate sourced fruit. 

It is named for and is a tribute to Frederick Corkrum, son of founder Uriah, husband to Nina Lee, who graces the Nina Lee Syrah label, and father of Sherilee Corkrum Derby, daughter, grand-daughter, third generation current owner, matriarch, and subject of the Sherrilee SVV Petit Verdot label. 

As part of proper cellar management, I pulled the oldest vintage of this label from the half dozen that we hold in our cellar, this nine year old. 

This 2013 release of this label is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% each of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. This release was awarded 90 points by Wine Spectator and 89 points each by Wine Enthusiast and Wine Advocate. 

At nine years of age, the fill level, foil, label, and most importantly the cork, were all in pristine condition. 

Tonight's tasting experience was consistent with the last one in May of last year. 

Dark garnet color and medium full body, firm, bright expressive black berry and black currant fruits are accented by some red fruits, herb notes and hints of black olive tapenade on a lingering moderate tannin laced finish. 

RM 90 points. 

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=2318936

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2021/05/spring-valley-2013-blends-uriah-vs.html

https://www.springvalleyvineyard.com/ 

Tribute to Dean Derby - Spring Valley Vineyard

Tribute to Dean Derby - Spring Valley Vineyard - Derby Cabernet Sauvignon

We were saddened to read the announcement from Spring Valley Vineyard of the passing of Dean Derby, patriarch owner proprietor of the family owned and operated SVV in Walla Walla, Washington.

According to their memo sent to wineclub members yesterday morning, "Spring Valley was built on the strong foundation of grit, authenticity, hard work, love for this land, and love for family. Papa Dean was the epitome of these values, and raised our family with the same strong foundation.' 

"Papa Dean passed away peacefully at home with family by his side Early morning on Friday, October 29. We will miss his larger than life smile (shaded by his cowboy hat), his storytelling, and so much more, but the memories we have of him will be shared forever.'

"Please raise a glass of Spring Valley with your family or friends, and cheers to my Papa Dean, a man who lived an amazing life and whose legacy will live forever!"

So, last night we opened a Derby Spring Valley Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon, namesake wine named for Dean Derby, and toasted Dean and our fond memory of meeting him.

I've written in these pages, and sent out an email to our wineclub that, one of the highlights of our trip to Walla Walla was when we had the pleasure of meeting Dean Derby during our visit to the vineyards during our Walla Walla Wine Experience in 2019. 

We ran into Dean Derby patriarch, husband to Shari Corkrum Derby, ancestor and co-owners of the family business.

As I wrote in that earlier blogpost, we drove north from Walla Walla, out Middle Waitsburg Road, around the Walla Walla airport, to Corkrum Road, aptly named for the early ancestors of the Spring Valley producer's family, to the winery and vineyard site. 

There we ran into Dean Derby patriarch, husband to Shari Corkrum Derby, ancestor and co-owners of the family business. What a treat and honor to meet Mr. Derby and what a delightful visit we had.

We encountered him on the driveway to his farm. As he approached us, I yelled out that we came out to see the site, that we were big fans of his wine. “We admire your artwork,” I said upon encountering him on the country farm. “It’s not my work, it’s the Lords!”, he exclaimed! What a delightful man, he was.

 

Linda followed up and appended my email with a note: "What an incredibly welcoming man he was. We were heading north to Spokane for a later flight and decided to go cross country near to where Rick thought was the Spring Valley Farm. It was beautiful. We were encountered by a man and his dog in a John Deere 4X4 who then engaged with his humble story of the farm not disclosing who he was nor what he did. Rick asked directly if this was his farm…the rest is now his personal eternal history as a man of God." 

Dean Derby moved to Walla Walla where he met Shari in the 6th grade at Sharpstein Grade School. Shari and Dean graduated from Walla Walla High School and attended the University of Washington in Seattle. Shari Corkrum and Dean Derby were married in 1954 and had two children, DeAnn Derby and Devin Corkrum Derby.

Dean Derby was football captain for UW. He still holds the record for longest run from scrimmage for a touchdown at Husky Stadium (92 yards against Illinois).

Dean was drafted into the NFL as the 1st pick of the 4th round by the Los Angeles Rams, then traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers for the 1st league game in September 1957. He was named All Pro Defensive Cornerback and played 4+ years with the Steelers and 1+ years for the Minnesota Vikings.

Dean and Shari planted wine grapes on the ranch in Spring Valley in 1993. The first wine – URIAH, a Merlot-based red blend was released in 2001. 

The Spring Valley Vineyards from a distance down Corkrum Road. 

The Spring Valley Vineyards adjacent to the farmstead site

 The Spring Valley Vineyards adjacent to the farmstead site

Toast to Dean, indeed. I am sure he will be missed immensely by family, friends and many of us distant followers. May he rest in peace. 

Spring Valley Vineyards Wines Portfolio
labels named for Corkrum Family Members

The Derby's devotion to family was profoundly apparent in their naming each of their wines for a member of the family. I write about their branding and the portfolio of the wines in many of my blogposts in these pages. 

We acquired one of the horizontal vintage release collections that featured a bottle of each of the labels that feature a family member. We've also had fun gifting this collectable OWC - Original Wood Case boxed set to folks on special family oriented occasions. 

Thank you, Kate Derby Raymond for thinking of us and reaching out and sharing the sad news. 

Linked referenced in this blog:

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2018/10/spring-valley-vineyards-tasting-and.html

https://unwindwine.blogspot.com/2019/11/spring-valley-vineyards-nina-syrah-2017.html

https://www.springvalleyvineyard.com/