Skip to main content

Powers Has a Winning Wine


Powers Cabernet-Merlot 2004 Columbia Valley

Here’s another good wine from a local Tri-City winery. Powers/Badger Mountain Winery is only a short five mile drive from my home. It's close enough and far enough away, that I often forget their label. And I haven't gone wine tasting there in 5 years. Once again my wife surprised me with a bottle of wine, “I would not have bought” the 2004 Powers Cabernet-Merlot. Wow! Have I been missing out. Amazingly I enjoyed this wine over 3 days and it was very good, ALL three days. This wine really has some life in it. You can enjoy it now or leave it in the cellar for a few more years. This wine is no longer listed on the winery web site, but it can still be found at grocers around the Tri-Cities (and reasonably priced too).

The Powers/Badger Mountain Winery tasting room is nestled on top of Badger Mountain in a residential area. When you are ready to go looking for them, don't give up hope, they are at the top of the hill, just down the road surrounded by homes. About the time you think you missed them, you'll see the sign to the winery on the right side of the road - bring your GPS just in case. Their facility has a park like area perfect for a spring/summer picnic.

www.powerswinery.com

Cheers!

Winemaker's Notes: This is always an interesting wine to put together, and 2004 was no exception. The year provided excellent, balanced fruit quality in all of the reds. The blend is 51% Cabernet Sauvignon from our Estate Vineyard, Badger Mountain, and 49% Merlot from Milbrant Vineyards in the new Wahluke Slope AVA. The Cabernet lots were fermented with Prise de Mousse yeast to emphasize fruit, and Merlot with D254 yeast to give bigger mouth feel, depth of fruit, and smooth tannin structure. The wines were in barrels (French oak, 40 % new, and American oak) for about 19 months. The blend was assembled at that point, and the wine was back in barrels for about 4 months before bottling in January of 2006. 700 cases made.

Labels:

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
Read more

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
Read more

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
Read more