Great, Cheap American Wine I

Correcting a grave omission:
some excellent Washington wines under $25

Update:  This post is the first in a series.  Look for other posts of the same title for more delightful Washington wine recommendations under $25.

I recently read an interesting reflection on the difficulty of finding cheap American wines that are really good, interesting and lively. Too many cheap American wines are cookie cutter blends, tasty but bland, the author complained. Fair enough, but as I'm always a stalwart defender of Washington wines I was obviously disappointed he didn't include any in his list of goodies. I'll just chalk that up to his not having discovered them yet and see what I can do to remedy that.

A Seattle Times piece compiling a handy list of 100 of that 2008's greatest Washington wines, many of which are under $25, certainly helps. For example, the Thurston Wolfe 2004 JTW Reserve Dessert Wine ($20), Barnard Griffin 2007 White Riesling ($8), Milbrandt Vineyards 2006 Traditions Merlot ($15), Alexandria Nicole 2005 Destiny Ridge Merlot ($24) and Hedges Family 2006 Three Vineyards Red ($25) are all local favorites, to say nothing of wines in other major Washington wine areas, like Walla Walla and Woodinville.


Dr. Wolfe of Thurston Wolfe winery conducting barrel tastings.

Taste & See:  Better yet, I've been back in Washington visiting family this week & had a couple great wines lately that belong in his list:

We enjoyed the Daven Lore 2008 Rose ($13), from a new, smaller winemaker in my hometown, on the front lawn at sunset the other night, accompanied by a chevre-pasilla chili-tangerine-pomegranate dip I'd made. It was crisp and fresh, as a rose should be, with a bright cherry aroma but not overwhelmingly fruity or sweet. Very good.

I haven't had it lately, but my last trip involved tasting at Milbrandt Vineyards, where I fell in love with their Chenin Blanc ($12.99). The bad news it is available only in the tasting room; the good news is that might be enough to enduce some people to visit my charming hometown. The Chenin Blanc is a varietal that fell out of popular usage in the 1980s, a perfect example of the mass production trend the article above describes.  This wine balances notes of kiwi, apples and melon with a nice acidity. (Their charming label & website design doesn't hurt, either.)

Airfield:


Airfield's signature biplane, decked with Christmas lights

The fact that I write a food column for Airfield in no way predisposes me to like their wine . . . if anything, I agreed to write the column because I already liked the wine so much. Conventional wisdom has it that the 2007 Oaked ($20) and Unoaked Chardonnays are both absolute winners although the 2007 Unoaked is no longer available. The Oaked is creamy, with notes of peach and butterscotch. The 2008 Unoaked Chardonnay is looking promising, however, at $12 a bottle you can taste it repeatedly to watch it develop.

Personally I've really enjoyed the 2007 Lightning ($20) lately. It is a blend of Roussanne, Viognier and Chardonnay and certainly provides the complexity sought after in the aforementioned article. I made a lovely risotto with this wine recently. I seasoned the rice with salt, pepper, butter, a touch of saffron, homemade chicken broth & Lightning. Then I added seared scallops, shrimp, and asparagus touched with lime riesling grapeseed oil--all cooked separately--as well as frozen peas. Finally I melted in a bit of brie cheese, which gave a nice creamy texture. Delicious!

Finally, the Airfield 2008 Pinot Gris ($16) was a delight with grilled salmon the other night. It has a fresh, clean taste with a good fruity nose, but not at all overly sweet. The label's proclamation--notes of lychee and white peach--is dead on; there's also a mysterious hint of banana. Very enjoyable.

I know there are many more I could list but I'll never get this posted if I don't stop somewhere. But if you know of another Washington wine that combines value with a really interesting, complex taste, please don't keep it to yourself!