March wine tasting at Monte Villa Farmhouse

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Select panel of tasters pick two wines
as their favorite Rhone-style blends

Evening of study of Rhone blends proves
highly educational.

Joe Truglio and Greg Riggs had an idea for a
Rhone blend of their own as tasting wound down.

Certainly beats a day at the office.

Monte Villa Farmhouse in the North Creek Valley was again the scene of a popular wine tasting for scholarships.

The selection of five Rhone-style blends proved popular with the panel assembled for a rigorous blind judging using the now-patented Oswald D. Canter scoring system. Presiding were Grace Town Vineyards officials Gustav T. Williger, proprietor and viticulturalist, and Catherine Hinken-Jones, associate viticulturalist. Ms. Hinken-Jones earned a degree in viticulture and enology at Washington State University. In her senior year, the Inglemoor High School grad, was recipient of a $2,000 scholarship sponsored by Woodinville Rotary Club -- the first year in which the club began offering scholarships in support of the burgeoning wine industry in Woodinville.

The periodic tastings are held to help raise funds for the scholarships. The offering of coveted sharing bottles of Reckonyard Gold pinot noir produced from the DeSoto Gardens block of Grace Town Vineyards also raise funds for this purpose. The Institute of Viticulture and Enology at Walla Walla Community College has also been targeted by the club for scholarship grants. Several graduates of that program are at work in the Woodinville Wine Country as well as the Puget Sound area.

Dinner prepared by the executive chef of Alexa's Catering capped the evening. Participants marveled at the staff and service attendant to the evening's program.

Wines selected were blends of primarily Grenache and syrah grapes with each winery selecting its own percentages of each as well as the addition of mourvedre, counoise or cinsault. Each Washington winery selected has since received high acclaim from Seattle Magazine in its annual announcement of awards in its April issue.

The results:

1. 2004 Zefina Seriance Red

1. 2004 McCrea Grenache

3. 2003 Brian Carter Byzance

4. 2004 Betz Family Winery Besoleil

5. 2004 Syncline Cuvee Elena

Professor O.D. Canter reported the scoring was quite close and few tasters were vocally questioning the results. Williger noted that he was pleased at the variety of comments from the panel and said he felt the selections represented the best Rhone-style blends now being produced in Washington.

No one seemed overly concerned that one of the wines that had tied for first was known quite well by Williger. Press representatives had left the event prior to this fact being revealed.

This unbiased report from PokingFun Press, UnLtd.