Live Blogging: Walla Walla

The pressure is on: write reviews of four to five wines, from one winery, being poured within five minutes. Then post on social media. After the five minutes are up, another winery comes to your table to repeat the process. That is Live Blogging at the Wine Media Conference. I was certainly exhausted after an hour.

However, the wineries were also very busy pouring their wines quickly and explaining each of the  wines, then giving a brief description of the winery's background. After five minutes the winery representatives (sometimes the owner) go on to the next table. I think we were all frazzled after this fun hour.

I will list some of the wines tasted. This list is not meant to represent only the "best wines" although they are all very good. The wines listed are the ones that I spent some time sipping and analyzing.

Fullerton Wines. They are located in the Willamette Valley of Oregon ,so sampling a Pinot Noir was in order. For this Pinot I really enjoyed the rich minerality and the light strawberry fruit notes.

Pinot Noir

Brokenwood Wines. What I really enjoyed about the live blogging event was that wines were brought in from all over the world. This one is from Hunter Valley in Australia. The Semillon had refreshing citrus flavors and light green tints. I would have to pair this with some Puget Sound Oysters.

Semillon

Cadaretta Wines. We had many of the famous and delicious Cabernet Sauvignon wines from Walla Walla. However I wanted to sample some whites and this blend of Sauvignon and Semillon certainly was a hit. Dry with some light lemon/lime nose and light fruit taste. I would pair this was some spicy shrimp.

SBS- blend Sauvignon and Semillon

 Bodega Bouza. Another winery from the Southern Hemisphere, Uruguay. The Albariño had a lovely vanilla nose, with a light body and semi-high acid. This variety is new to me, but I will certainly look for it again. They call this the "seafood lovers wine." I think I would have this with some fish tacos.

Albariño

J.Christopher Wines. Back to some reds, and one of my favorites is the Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley, Oregon. I noticed that the Wine Specter had some very high marks on this and I would agree. Must be those volcanic red clay soils that bring out the rich taste.

Volcanique Pinot Noir 

Rodney Strong Vineyards. I want to cover at least one wine from California. So I went with the Chardonnay. In the past, Chardonnay was not in favor because so many wineries went overboard with the oak. Well, this vineyard with the cool sea breeze and volcanic soil offers a crisp taste with very light fruit taste, and finely balanced oak.

Chalk Hill Chardonnay