Seattle lost a very good winemaker this weekend. He, his 8 months pregnant wife and 22 month old daughter were passengers on a commercial float plane that went down Sunday in Whidbey Island's Mutiny Bay.
His style's in my wheelhouse and I've bought his wines a number of times, including this summer.
From the Ross Andrew Winery website: a Seattle-area native, Ross’ path to wine production began on a 1996 fly-fishing trip with Canlis Restaurant heir, Mark Canlis. It was during this afternoon on the river where Mark asked Ross if he had any interest in learning about wine from the restaurant perspective – and he jumped at the opportunity to learn from the best in the Northwest. There are few (if any) restaurants that can match the history, class, service and knowledge about fine dining and wine like the team at Canlis. So, while working under Canlis Master Sommelier Rob Bigelow, Ross soon realized that wine was going to be his life’s journey. And it was from here that he launched into traveling the globe (Australia, South America, Europe and South Africa) to learn all he could before going to work for one of Washington’s most highly allocated and respected producers, Betz Family Winery where he spent nearly a decade helping craft some of Washington State’s most sought after wines under Master of Wine Bob Betz.
It was under the guidance and support of Bob and Cathy Betz that Ross and his family started Ross Andrew Winery in 1999. Three barrels became fifteen, then thirty and now nearly 125 barrels of red wine rest peacefully in our cellar each vintage."
He and Mark Canlis remained close friends. One of the most heartbreaking pieces of news about this tragedy was that Mark Canlis was at his cabin on Whidbey and actually saw the plane go down. He immediately launched his boat to help with the search and rescue effort--without knowing that his friend and family were among the doomed passengers.