After a couple of months of taking you down some exploratory paths with the wine selections we finish the year with good old fashioned, powerhouse reds. For October we start in Washington State with a couple of tremendous blends. Since these are the first New World Red Club selections from Washington State in 2025 we will take a couple paragraphs to review what makes the area so unique.
For anyone traveling to Seattle they often think that the Washington wine industry is based in Woodinville, home to Chateau St. Michelle and dozens of winery tasting rooms. While convenient for tourists and the majority of the population of the state it is not where the vineyards lie. 99% of the gapes in Washington come the eastern portion of the state primarily along the Columbia River. The prime growing area begins a hundred and fifty miles southeast of Seattle and runs to the border with Idaho. Unlike the coastal area that receives so much precipitation it is classified as a rain forest, the east side of the state is high desert. The only reason farming is possible is are deep wells and irrigation from the Columbia River Valley. The dry conditions are perfect for grape vines and the nearly 190 days of sun means growers can produce powerful red wines with little concern for rain at harvest.
While the climate is very conducive to grape growing it is the also the unique soils of the region that make Washington such a cradle for much of America’s produce. This is because the soils in eastern Washington formed after the effects of the Missoula floods that occurred at the end of the last ice age. These glacial lake outburst floods were the result of periodic sudden ruptures of the ice dam on the Clark Fork River that created Glacial Lake Missoula. After each ice dam rupture, the waters from this massive lake would rush down the Clark Fork and the Columbia River removing much of the top soil and washing it to the lower area that include the Willamette Valley of Oregon. After the rupture, the ice would reform, creating Glacial Lake Missoula again. Geologists estimate that the cycle of flooding and reformation of the lake lasted an average of 55 years and that the floods occurred several times over the 2,000 year period around 15,000 years ago. For this reason the vineyards of eastern Washington are planted on a thin layer of organically poor soil, the perfect medium for grape vines.
2022 Walla Walla Vintners Woven Fields
As the name implies our first selection comes from Walla Walla, Washington, which is tucked into the southeast corner of the state. This is a rare American AVA that crosses state borders with a high percentage of the vineyards in this region planted on the Oregon side of the border. Walla Walla Vintners is a historic property originally established by Myles Anderson & Gordy Venneri. In 1995 they turned their home winemaking passion into the 8th bonded winery in the appellation. In 2017 they sold the winery to Scott & Nici Haladay who have brought a new vision to this fantastic estate by expanding their vineyards and introducing a new winemaking team.
The Walla Walla wine region is primarily known for red wine, as red varieties makes up 95% of the plantings. Most of the appellation is planted at high elevation, ranging from 1000 to 2000 feet above sea level. At this elevation and thanks to proximity to the Blue Mountains the region enjoys a wide diurnal temperature swing during the growing season. As the hot days rapidly cool to sweater weather in the evenings the vines shut down preserving the natural acidity in the grapes. This gives the wines from Walla Walla a unique combination of great power and super freshness.
Like many estates in Washington, Walla Walla Vintners buy grapes from many different growers in the region. Woven Fields recognizes that the grapes for this wine come from six different vineyards; Weinbau, Sagemoor, Ciel du Cheval, Southwind, Gamache and Bacchus spread across the Walla Walla and Columbia Valley AVA. Longtime club members will recognize these names as all of them have been sources for other selections through the years. The blend for the 2022 is 45% Merlot, 30% Syrah, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Malbec with each variety fermented individually before blending. The composition was then aged in 15% new French oak for 22 months.
You will want to decant this wine before serving and chill to cellar temperature, 55 degrees. The power of Walla Walla fruit is immediately apparent in the nose with rich notes of cherry preserves, blackberries, cola syrup, dried sage, espresso roast coffee beans and milk chocolate. On the palate it shows a sweet core of dark fruit framed by chewy wood tannins that lead into a fairly long finish. It is very approachable now but you could also cellar until 2030. Drink with pasta Bolognese, grilled picanha steaks or try with slow roasted Italian style spare ribs.
2022 McKinley Bombing Range Red
McKinley Springs was founded by Louise and Bob Andrews, who acquired the land from her parents after World War II. At that time this land was used for wheat fields and cattle grazing but in 1980 they planted their first vines as a contract grower for Chateau St. Michelle. Since then their three children have expanded the grape plantings to 2800 acres and in 2002 established the McKinley Springs Winery. The property lies in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA, between the Columbia River and the Yakima AVA. This is one of the warmest spots in Washington State so ripeness is rarely an issue and the unique soil type adds interesting dimension to the wines.
At McKinley Springs their top soil layer is very thin, resting on a deep bed of crushed basalt, which provides amazing drainage for the grape vines. It rarely rains in this region but what little does fall quickly passes through the soil, adding extra stress to the vines. The family farms over 20 different grape varieties including several exotic examples like Nebbiolo, Cinsault and Rousanne. Our feature combines grapes classically grown in both the Rhone and Bordeaux regions of France but have found the climate and soils of Washington ideal.
The name for this wine comes from a period during WWII when the military used the land owned by the Andrews family for a bombing range. During the war the military built a network of air bases in eastern Washington that were used to train pilots. Years later, the locals speculate that the airbases were actually part of a network that were offered protection for the nearby Hanford Nuclear Reservation.
Our feature wine is a composition of 57% Syrah, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Malbec, 5% Merlot. The Syrah and Cabernet both contribute power and structure while the Malbec and Merlot offer mid-palate richness and soften the tannins. Decant this wine for a half hour before serving and chill to cellar temperature, 55 degrees. At that point the nose offers a heady combination of cooked black cherry, black licorice, orange peel and vanilla bean. The feel on the palate is rich and dry, with soft tannins framing the ample fruit into a long finish. Serve this wine with meatloaf, pot roast or hamburgers.
Italian Spare Ribs
I grew up in Pennsylvania and my paternal grandparents were 1st generation Italian-Americans. We did not eat BBQ in the traditional southern sense, ie smoked, but rather used the grill only for adding a layer of char to hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken. My grandmother’s approach to cooking ribs was in the oven, slowly at low temperature. This approach yields silky, rich meat with the flavor coming from her rub rich with fennel and rosemary. This is a great approximation of her version and it works great with both wine selections.
Ingredients
1 rack of pork ribs
1 2/3 fl oz of red wine vinegar
Rosemary Dry Rub
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp of fennel seeds
1 tbsp of flaky sea salt
1 pinch of chilli flakes
2 tbsp of rosemary leaves, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 lemon, zested
Preparation
At least 4 hours before you plan to cook the ribs, prepare the dry rub by grinding the peppercorns and fennel seeds in a pestle and mortar or spice grinder. Add the ground spices to a bowl and stir in the salt, chilli, rosemary, garlic and lemon zest. Rub evenly over every surface of the pork ribs and set aside in the fridge for 4–12 hours
Remove the ribs from the fridge 1 hour before cooking to allow them to come to room temperature
Preheat an oven to 325 degrees. Brush the ribs with some of the red wine vinegar, then place in the oven and cook for 2 hours. Brush every half hour with more vinegar to prevent the ribs from drying out. After 2 to 2.5 hours the ribs should be tender. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.