Skip to main content

Syncline - 2005 Subduction Red Review

A Gorgeous Red Table Wine

The first thing you’ll notice about this bottle is the screw-cap. Not to worry, the screw cap is just a closure for this tasty bottle of wine. On first opening, you may think you have a pleasant but unassuming bottle of wine. Color is good, but the nose and body seem to be lacking. Once again, not to worry, pour a little into your glass, leave the screw-cap off and set the bottle aside for 2 hours or so. This would be a good time to start prepping for dinner. By the time dinner is ready, this wine should be ready to enjoy.



Oh yes, you will be greeted by a completely different wine two or three hours later. Subduction Red deserves to be decanted or at least let it breathe for 2 hours or so as I suggest. This is a luscious wine full of flavor and a wonderful mouth feel. So, what’s in the bottle? There is 45% Syrah, 41% Grenache, 12% Mouvedre and 2% Cinsault – 700 cases were bottled. This wine is on my “Drink me now!” list. Highly recommended – just remember not to “open and drink” – let the wine express itself with some good air time. Far too many people forget or just don’t realize that a great wine needs some decanting/breathing. I found this wine locally for $18.

Tonight we enjoyed Subduction Red with BBQ beef ribs, corn on the cob and watermelon. Ahh… I do believe I’ll have another glass.

Syncline Wine Cellars is located along the Columbia River in southern Washington State. Directly west of the vineyard and winery is a series of 300-foot cliffs rising up into the surrounding mountains straight out of the Columbia River. Locally known as the “Coyote Wall Syncline” and to geologists as the “Bingen Syncline,” this dramatic feature gives the winery its name. It is at this point that the rainy western Columbia Gorge transitions to the semi-arid eastern Gorge.

Check out their attractive and easy to navigate Web site at http://www.synclinewine.com/ and track down some of their wines to enjoy at your home.

*Some related reading:



Popular posts from this blog

Review: Sho Chiku Bai, Unfiltered Sake

Last month in Seattle, I purchased a bottle of Nigori sake at Uwajimaya. Uwajimaya is one of the largest Asian grocery retailers in the Pacific Northwest. I’ve been visiting Uwajimaya for almost 40 years. When I was much younger, I’d buy model ship and plane kits, Japanese comic books (manga) and I never left without at least one steaming Humbow in hand. Today I buy the manga for my son; while I still enjoy the tasty steamed Humbows, now I never leave without at least one bottle of Sake in hand. Uwajimaya has a terrific selection of imported sake. This most recent visit, I left with a bottle of Sho Chiku Bai Nigori sake. Nigori sake is generally the sweetest of all sakes, with a fruity nose and a mild flavor, making a great drink to complement spicy foods or as a dessert wine. Typical sake is usually filtered to remove grain solids left behind after the fermentation process; however Nigori sake remains unfiltered, resulting in a cloudier beverage. Before serving, the bottle must

Spirit Review: Ole Smokey Tennessee Moonshine White Lightnin' @OleSmoky

Today I have crossed the line from wine to spirits. At 100 proof the Ole Smokey Tennessee Moonshine is definitely turning up the volume (ABV 50%). "Moonshine, white lightning, mountain dew, hooch, and Tennessee white whiskey are terms used to describe high-proof distilled spirits, generally produced illicitly...The word "moonshine" is believed to derive from the term "moonrakers" used for early English smugglers and the clandestine (i.e., by the light of the moon) nature of the operations of illegal Appalachian distillers who produced and distributed whiskey." Source Wikipedia My family is no stranger to Moonshine.  That is, my great-grandfather and grandfather were not strangers. Evidently the family occasionally produced their own spirits on their Oregon ranch. My grandfather told me about his younger brother getting into his dads stash with predictable results. Grandmother also told me stories about midnight runs and secretive deliveries d

Col Solare Cabernet Sauvignon. The style has changed.

“There is something special going on at Col Solare." In mid-June 2022, I began working for Col Solare winery on the Red Mountain AVA in Washington state. The Red Mountain AVA and Col Solare are famous for stunning Cabernet Sauvignon. That I knew going in.  We are not here to make more wine... We are here to showcase place. At the end of June 2022, Col Solare winemaker Darel Allwine retired. Darel had been winemaker since 2013. Prior, he had been Col Solare assistant winemaker for Marcus Notaro. Marcus had been Col Solare winemaker when the Red Mountain facility opened and was winemaker before we had our Red Mountain facility.  On July 1, 2022, Col Solare assistant winemaker, Stephanie Cohen, was promoted to Col Solare winemaker. I was present for this change. It was the end of one chapter and the beginning of a new one. Col Solare is the third winery I have worked for. I chose well.  Often, I am asked by Col Solare guests, as I was last week, “Tell me about Col Solare. Who are you