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Washington Cabs

A friend just returned to Uk from a visit to Redmond in Washington with two bottles of Chateau St Michelle that she chose at a tasting there. Chateau St Michelle Cold Creek Vinyard Cabernet Sauvignon 1995 and Chateau St Michelle Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve 1999. Although these wines come with the best recommendation available ie she tried them and liked them, I was wondering if any of you good people have tasted either or both and have any thoughts, tasting notes and opinions as to when to drink etc. The plan is to have a kind of themed evening with a menu to suit the wines etc. I can't find any washington whites here locally but I'm planning to find a california Fume blanc such as Grgich Hills which is available at my local wine merchant down here in darkest dorset. Does anyone have any suggestions as to a typical west coast USA menu that would lend itself to such an evening? I must stress that the ingredients will be obtained locally to myself and so anything unique to the west coast may prove impossible to find here.

Regards and seasons greetings,

Alex Hayne

Reply to
Alex Hayne
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Well greetings from my neighborhood in Woodinville, adjacent to Redmond. The Cold Creek Cab you've mentioned is of the producer's better vinyard designates, but I don't know the details of the year. Or the 1999 for that matter. Doesn't matter I suppose since your friend already likes and has purchased them. I would imagine they're both drinking well right now. As for what's available to you - I can't know of course but I can tell you what we do here.

Locally (in the Northwest) the whites might be paired with local seafood like sea or bay scallops, Dungeoness crab or alder smoked / planked Salmon. Crab cakes are a local favorite - especially local legend Tom Douglas'

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1?v=glance). There is a heavy Asian influence on the food here which doesn't always lend itself to heavy red wines, but you can be creative of course.

We might try a good grilled steak, accompanied with Idaho garlic mashed potatoes, or spice up a Salmon or steelhead to match the wine. Roasted or grilled whole sea bass is a passable match for a heavier wine but maybe better for a Pinot Noir. As you can tell we're heavy on the seafood. Pork loin with some local berry sauce would work here too in season - blackberries, blueberries and raspberries are prolific in the summer. Also rosemary, sage, plum and apple. Pork loin with plum sauce and one of your reds sounds pretty good to me right now actually...

If your scope is the whole West coast, you can get anything from lamb or beef in Oregon to anything you could possibly think of in California so the range can be quite wide.

Good luck,

Greg Sumner Woodinville, WA

Reply to
Greg Sumner

Alex, Greg gave you good tips about our local food, though I would probably put salmon in there somewhere as the star entree food for the Puget Sound area. The Grgich Hills doesn't really represent the Washington style of whites. Have you considered pitching in with friends to pick up a few bottles of St. Michelle Eroica online? A number of sites will ship to England.

The next time you/your friend do the Woodinville Wine Country trip go to Deville, or call ahead to JM Cellars just up the road from St. Michelle. For $24 you can get a truly fabulous red at JM.

Let us know how your dinner went!

Reply to
CuteCat

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