2018 K Vintners, Viognier, Art Den Hoed Vineyard, Yakima Valley, Washington + Cowgirl Creamery's Mt. Tam from The Cheese Shop
We love the K Vintners, Viognier from the Art Den Hoed Vineyard from Yakima Valley, Washington. The vineyard sits in the lower part of the valley at 1300 ft above sea level—making it one of the cooler vineyards in the area. An apparently perfect spot to produce delicious, balanced, beautiful, and elegant Viognier from Charles Smith, who is widely regarded as one of Washington State's most prolific winemakers. His previous career was managing rock bands in Europe, today he is a rockstar in his own right, as a winemaker.
The first time I tasted this wine is still so fresh in my mind. We brought it along on one of our Sunset Wine Sails on the topic of wines of the Pacific Northwest. As we began to pour it, the sunset was painting the sky in brilliant colors of orange, yellow, and purple as the wine was painting a beautiful palate of its own with aromas and flavors of ripe and juicy yellow peach, apricot, orange blossom, honeysuckle, and gardenia—full-bodied and balanced with ample acidity and a long elegant and lifted finish. I am pretty sure I yelled out “Oh, my God”. The combined gorgeous wine, sunset, while sailing with a wonderful group of customers, Captain, and crew, made for a magical night. You know it’s a great wine when the first time you tasted it remains vividly in your mind.
We included this wine in a recent Wine Wise Explorer Wine Club delivery with a few food pairing suggestions. One is a ripe and rich triple-cream cheese such as Cowgirl Creamery’s Mt. Tam, (photo above with our wine) from The Cheese Shop in Portland, Maine. Who better to sell you great Cowgirl Creamery cheese than The Cheese Shop’s owners Will and Mary Sissle, who met while they were working at Cowgirl Creamery! Some pairings are meant to be.
Join our Sommelier-Curated Wine Club for Portland Maine & Surrounding Communities and get delicious wines and locally inspired food pairing suggestions delivered to your door.