What a fascinating thing wine is, produced all over the world and in the US produced in all the states of that nation. Washington State has a production of 17 million cases of wine worth an estimated 2 billion dollars.
With a climate that can be like a european climate it is little surprise then that the wines from the state are so good and welcomed by the European palate.
With so much wine produced you would think that we would be able to taste such wine easily but no, the good folk of Washington State also like to drink the wine and so very little gets exported to the UK. How lucky we are then to have a Seattle born member who travels to the States on a regular basis and is willing to bring wines back for us to enjoy.
A very big THANK YOU to Greg, a great speaker, a true believer of the outstanding wines of Washington State and someone who's enthusiasm and knowlege allowed us all to try and taste wines that are simply not available in the UK.
Not only wines though, in addition to wine the food matching was very good, something of a first were the Duck Rolls to accompany the Riesling, all in all excellent for which another big THANK YOU to AMY.
As mentioned most Washington State wines are not available in the UK, but one certainly is, both from the Eynsham wine merchant and also M&S, The wine is the Kung Fu Girl.
The State produces more Riesling than any other white wine, so one can expect good things and this wine, with the amazing label will not disappoint.
The other Riesling of the evening was the Chateau Ste Michelle. Both wines were of the classic Riesling type, that hint of tarmac on the nose followed by the great Riesling taste.
The last of the whites was the Semillion, for the all the world you could be forgiven for thinking this wine came from France, but no, quite firmly from the US.
After the whites a quiz, the trivia questions were found to be more than trivia to us but great fun all the same. The usual competitive membership rose to the occasion with the winner being Mat,
Mat chose as his prize, what was for most the best red, possible the best wine of the evening, a Bordeaux blend, with promises that it could be cellared for a further 20 years, although it's hard to imagine being able to resist for that length of time such a smooth and good wine. Mellow, with great fruit tastes.
But I am ahead of myself here, the first wine was the Syrah, again a classic Syrah peppery taste, great for the BBQ.
That last wine was the most expensive but not the best to most people's opinion. The wines, broadly speaking, increased in cost as the evening progresses, the last one had the intriguing name of Ethos, a lovely wine yes, and another example of solid wine production and quality from the US.
Another great evening, we are indebted to Greg and Amy, many thanks.
The next meeting will be on the evening of September 29th. More details to follow.
