A Tribute to Summer and the September Club Releases

It’s now the last week of August, and I finally feel like summer may have come to Seattle. I have been complaining that the clothes I’ve been wearing the past few months are the same that I wear in November, and that really, there hasn’t been a night when it’s been too hot to sleep. I know that no one actually likes those nights, but I feel like we deserve at least one per summer.
So, as I look towards the 67 and raining forecast for next week and prepare for the September club releases, I am going to honor our three days of summer (August 24, 25 & 26) with a good old fashioned backyard cookout.
For our September releases, we have the 2008 Optu Red Wine and the 2009 Columbia Valley Malbec. I love both of these wines for being so delicious, yet so accommodating with a ton of foods. I got to taste both of them a few weeks back and am excited to share them with our members.
The 2008 Optu Red is a little more Cabernet-heavy than most recent vintages at 61%. The balance is 22% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc and 6% Malbec. The vineyards in here are stunning: 39% Champoux Vineyard fruit, 33% comes from Weinbau, 22% from Conner-Lee and the splash of Malbec coming from Northridge. I have had the chance to visit all of these vineyards, hear their philosophy and know that these guys are out to grow some great fruit. Beyond the technical stuff, I’ll say that this wine is just plain yummy. It’s approachable and easy to drink, yet complex and deep.
The Malbec, a perennial Fidelitas fan fave, is again 100% Malbec, but now with three vineyards: Conner Lee (44%), Northridge Milbrandt (34%), Stillwater Creek (22%). I’m loving this wine because it still shows those gorgeous plummy fruit tones but has a great pepper backing in this vintage. This wine is going to be great with anything with Southwestern flavors that will support those pepper and spice tones.
Back to the backyard cookout (wonder if I where I was heading?). As I mentioned before, these are totally delicious, yet casual wines. I am having a few buddies over tonight to see who can create the ultimate burger/hotdog and wine pairing. I’ll have a variety of stuff on the weber (beef and lamb burgers, Hebrew national dogs and some other great sausage) and a million toppings to try out. While my favorite hotdog stand toppings are the pepperoncinis and sweet chili sauce, I’ll be branching out to cilantro mayo, arugula, tomato jam, tons of cheeses, truffle butter… The list goes on.
Check back soon for the winning combo!