Early Spring on Red Mountain...In Pictures
Spring is my favorite time of year! I love the hope and early promise that the season’s first warm days and sunshine bring. All winter long I’ve watched as our little estate vineyard has laid dormant, patiently waiting for the longer days, sunshine, and wind that spring brings to Red Mountain. 
My excitement for bud break and the 2014 season grew as the trees around our Red Mountain tasting room started to produce their first buds and blossom into gorgeous pink and white flowers! My anticipation for things to come was barely contained when on March 31st we pruned the three acres of our Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. The blue sky peeked through the clouds as I wandered around taking photos of the action; it was almost as if I was receiving a (slightly late) birthday gift from Red Mountain!
These last few days as I have traveled down Sunset Road, exploring different portions of the AVA, I noticed other vineyards had started to magically sprout small, green leaves. Each morning I would race to our vineyard to see the slightest hint of green on our beloved vines… not quite yet...
Until today!
Charlie stopped by earlier today to pick up some wine. After a quick chat, we said our goodbye’s and I went back to my tasks. As he was leaving, his well trained eyes picked up what I had previously missed! The first buds of the season on our vines!! Such a happy sight for me!
Here are a few more photos of our Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and early bud break for your viewing pleasure. I hope all of our Faithful, Loyal, and True wine family is just as excited as I am for the upcoming season.
I wish everyone a happy and hopeful Spring Season and I cannot wait to share more wine, stories, and laughter with all of you in 2014. Cheers to a fantastic Spring!
Apr 21, 2014 at 4:45 PM
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05 Party
It all started when Alissa found out that I had a bottle of 2005 Fidelitas Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon in my cellar. Since that moment, months ago, I have received a text every couple of weeks to ‘schedule our 05 party!’
So, we rounded up a few friends (Marilyn and Nedra from Red Mountain, Alissa and Dara from Woodinville) this past weekend to sample some wines from the 2005 vintage. From Fidelitas, we had 2005 Optu Red Wine, 2005 Boushey Red Wine, and 2005 Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon. There were a few other wines from other Washington wineries of note, but (and I’m only being slightly biased here) Fidelitas blew them out of the water so I won’t name names.
We tried to rank them, but each of us had a different order of favorites, which means that they were all fabulous. The Walla Walla Cabernet (which we tried first: 100% Cab from LaTour, Windrow, and Dwelley), was deep, concentrated, and full. The fruit had really softened to make something round and beautiful. Boushey Red (53% Merlot, 40% Cabernet, 7% Cabernet Franc) truly just tasted like Boushey, which is such a great wine that I’m certainly not complaining! Still earthy with red fruit and soft tannins, yet beautiful structure. The Optu Red (55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 36% Merlot, 6% Cabernet Franc, 3% Malbec) was AMAZING in that you would never guess that it was a nearly 9 year old wine. Bright fruit, balanced acidity, present yet not overpowering tannins. Truly, had I tasted it blind, I would have thought it were a much younger wine.
These wines were special for me to revisit. The 2005s were the current releases back when I started in 2008. The big, heavy bottles, vineyards, and stories brought back some great memories for me. I guess that is probably the best part of pulling things from the cellar!
Apr 9, 2014 at 2:57 PM
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