Set a new record

[Jenise]

With my neighborhood wine tasting last night. Poured 72 bottles of wine and smoked 60 Cornish game hens for 106 guests (who brought all the side dishes). We featured the wines of a single eastern WA winery and the winemaker and his wife came all the way here to attend. EPIC.

[David M. Bueker]

Excellent work!

and smoked 60 Cornish game hens .

How do you keep that many lit.....

Every time you post on your charity work among the masses I think better you than me. Best part must be when it is over!

Having the winery guy there would have been interesting though. Did he get to talk and if so, how many of the 106 listened?

[Jenise]

Ha! Our Clubhouse actually has two huge grills (all built out of cinder block) and a giant (8 feet tall) iron smoke box with five shelves about 40 " wide and 30" deep. And one of my regulars LOVES big meat projects. All I have to do is say "yes you can" and arrange for procurement of said beasts at a price we can afford. (I got these 60 birds for $189. Top that!) I don't know who had the foresight way back when to build this thing, but we're eternally grateful for it.

Having Paul here was great, and I made a new friend. They came in a day early and were here for dinner Thursday night. His was actually only the 13th commercial winery in this state. He grew up in Seattle. He was 26 when his parents opened a bottle of 21 year old burgundy for his 21 year old younger brother's birthday. Up to that point all he knew was Gallo Hearty Burgundy and Mateus Rose. He was stunned by that burgundy. It changed his life plan in an instant.

An entrepreneur at heart, he'd already started a chain of record stores in Seattle called Penny Lane. Growing up close by and being about the same age, you may even have known them. Anyway, he had that wine, and BOOM. It was all he could think about, so he decided to become a winemaker. Went to Sonoma and checked around there but before he made any decisions he read about some pioneer-like government inducements to settle in the Yakima area and start a business. A combination of luck and savvy learning caused him to want this 74 acre parcel he now owns today in Zillah. It's on a gentle, south-facing slope, not high up, but enough that he gets 20 more growing days than property lower down and just a few miles away. So he grows all his own fruit and makes all the wines, with a surprising breadth: PV, PN, PS, syrah, cab, cab franc, merlot, Malbec, zin, barbera, sangiovese plus a few others and blends and reserve wines. 24 in all. And he still has that European palate. I don't think there's anyone in this state like him. He brought a bottle each of the 86 and 87, his first two cabernets, to dinner on Thursday. WOW.

And yes, he got to talk, and everyone listened.

[James Roscoe]

WOW! That is amazing. Great job!

A combination of luck and savvy learning caused him to want this 74 acre parcel he now owns today in Zillah.

Located there and he avoided making the winery name a variant of the Japanese movie monster? Excessive restraint!

Will keep an eye out for his wines - what is the brand?

[Jenise]

Portteus. I should have bought more for myself, as he gave me a very healthy discount. I keep saying I'm in non-buying mode to create resistance--so I bought six instead of 36, and now of course I wish I had more. I really ache over not buying the old vines cab (I bought it for the tasting but wasn't able to taste it in the tasting room at the time of purchase. STUPID STUPID STUPID. Even before discount, it's a ridiculous value at $40.) The wines are highly gulpable but show non-interventionist restraint and decent grip without the saturation typical of Walla Walla fruit. And like a good ex-hippie, he's got them priced 'for the people'. You wouldn't believe his Rattlesnake Red--50% cab, 30-40% sangio, 10-20% zin. Can't recall the exact numbers, but anyway, it's his loss leader. Sells for $12 at the winery. The gathering practically fainted when we announced that price (did I mention, we didn't reveal prices until later.) I'll bring you a bottle.

I visited them before anyone knew who they were, on some of my old car trips. Loaded up the Jensen CV8 once and think it was the Interceptor the next time. Have 09 OV Zin and 93 Cab in the cellar. If you talk to him, ask if the cab is still kicking.....

[Jenise]

Asked him about the cab. He said he hasn't had one in a LOOOOOOOOOONG time. Isn't it about time for you to have a cellar culling party?

Isn't it about time for you to have a cellar culling party?

Will see you Friday!

[Jenise]

Indeed, see you then.

I have a couple of 'culls' from the cellar to taste!

(Sipping 1995 Domaine St. Benoit Châteauneuf-du-Pape Grande Garde at the moment)

[Jenise]

Couldn't even make it til noon?

Couldn't even make it til noon?

Opened it to see if it was OK and then set it aside until 1:00 when a friend came over to help me drink it, haven't taken to premeridian drinking quite yet.

[Jenise]

Yeah, SURE.

You can check with Coop on Friday

You can check with Coop on Friday

PS - it was quite good.

[Jenise]

Had a feeling!

Yeah - it was a syrah-ous tasting.

Holy crap! That's a big neighborhood.

[Jenise]

And now I'm in the next chapter. The winemaker when he was here said these in-person things never result in serious sales, he just does them to get off the farm and meet people. Well, that's a throwdown to someone like me. I negotiated really good pricing on the wines, turned it loose on my whole mailing list, and am about to turn in a 52 case order. The winemaker's STUNNED.

Wow, that is impressive! It sounds like you've been a bad influence on the whole town?!

[Jenise]

You're darned right--and proud of it!!!

[David M. Bueker]

There’s trouble in River City. Its name is Jenise!