News about places to eat & drink in Phoenix, Scottsdale and throughout Arizona
Crazy night watching the numbers as we wonder who will be our 45th President. It calls for a bottle of wine or 2 or 3. How about the 2014 The Federalist paying homage to the dueling pistols of Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton back in 1804. 50% Zinfandel & 50% Syrah from Dry Creek County. Suggested retail is $17.76, get it 1776, birth of our nation. I wonder what our founding fathers would be thinking tonight.
Ever walk by a clearance shelf full of wine and wonder if it’s any good? Most of the time its wines that are past their prime or the winery made way to much that they could not sell and just severely discounted it. Much of the time it’s from wineries you never heard of so chances are you don’t want to take a chance even if it costs only $3.99. That’s been the case when I visit my local $.99 Store, wines at $3.99 that are older and often white wines that have turned darker with age as they’re meant to be drank young and fresh. On occasion you come across a wine that will catch your interest, that is the case with the 2008 Norman Vineyards Petite Sirah from Paso Robles, California.
The following video review is about my take on the wine and how to know if even at $3.99 bottle of wine is worth taking a chance on.
Honora Vera is one of the wines from the Gil family of wines that was started by Juan Gil Gimenez back in 1916 in Jumilla, Spain. The vineyards used for Honoro Vera wines are over 30 years old and planted at an elevation of over 2,300 feet. Using sustainable farming practices, this 100% Monastrell (Mourvedre) comes from vineyards known for bush vines and for producing low yields due to its low nutrient limestone soil and dry weather.
The dark color of the wine is representative of the good fruit that is expressive on the palate along with a spice & white pepper nuances. This young wine is both medium bodied and well-balanced and is at its best if drank over the next 2-3 years. This wine would go well with a variety of foods including salads, red meats and creamy cheese’s.
Honoro Vera should retail for about $15 and is an “outstanding value” according to Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar published Sept. ’12.
Tamarack Cellars tamarackcellars.com was founded in 1998 by Ron and Jamie Coleman when there were only a handful of wineries in Walla Walla, compared to over 100 today. The goal was to make elegant, balanced, delicious wines and offer them at a fair price. Years later, and now up to 20,000 cases each year, the focus remains the same.Tamarack Cellars hand-crafts consistently outstanding wines for a great price. Ron who is also the winemaker considers his wines to be “high-end value wines”, sources his wines from some of the famed vineyards including Dubrul, Bacchus and Ciel du Cheval from throughout the Columbia Valley and makes at least 1 visit a month to check on the vines and trucks his own grapes back to the winery during harvest. 
The winery is housed in an old firehouse on what was an old Army base on the outskirts of Walla Walla, which is also home to other wineries and as an incubator to young and up and coming wineries. Currently making 14 wines, Ron also enjoys experimenting with unique grapes including Counoise. 2 of Tamarack’s wines have placed in the Wine Spectator’s Top 100, the ’08 Firehouse Red was #49 in 2008 and the ’07 Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley was #39 in 2011. Along with winemaker Danny Gordon, Ron wines are old world in style made in the new world and very expressive on Washington’s terroir.
Much of the production comes from his Firehouse Red blend and the ’10 vintage is predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah w/ smaller amounts of Merlot, Malbec, Zinfandel, Petit Verdot, Carmenere, Cabernet Franc and Sangiovese. If that was not enough the ’11 also includes a bit of Grenache and the previously mentioned Counoise. Some with as little as 1% blended in Ron says “you may not taste it but you will see the difference when it’s not blended in.
Tasting the ’10 it had dried rose petals and a hint of spicy mocha in the bouquet.The mouth feel is smooth with berries then rich black coffee lingering through to a cocoa powder and blackcherry finish. It was given 89 points and a “Smart Buy” by the Wine Spectator in Nov. 2012.
Talking about 3 limited produced wines from Donkey and Goat Winery.
