Here are a few items of news in the Walla Walla Valley, where just about anything to do with wine is news.

A Broken Chair Cellars Opens a Tasting Room Downtown

A few weeks ago, Noé and Cassey Martinez opened a tasting room for their new winery. It is located on North Second Avenue across from Spring Valley Vineyard and Kerloo Cellars. Noé is a graduate of the Walla Walla Community College's Enology and Viticulture program, and Cassey is an artist whose work is displayed in the tasting room. She also designed the winery's label. The wines will be reviewed in the September issue of the Review of Washington Wines. Other recently opened tasting rooms on North Second are Maison Bleue (Jon Meuret) and Trust Cellars (Steve Brooks)

Canoe Ridge Rosé on Tap

Last Friday, I was at a tasting of Malbec wines (see below). Preceding the tasting, a bevy of Rosé wines were served. The most popular was Maison Bleue's 2012 Rosé of Mourvèdre (reviewed in the August issue), but the most interesting one was a 2012 Rosé from Canoe Ridge Vineyards whose tasting room is on 13th Avenue in Walla Walla. I stopped by there last weekend, and learned that it is produced from the Sanigiovese grape and one barrel was made. It is dispensed from a wall mounted tap. Behind the tap is deflatable container holding the wine. One can purchase the Rosé for $20 for a one liter flip-up stopper bottle. Refills are $17. Here is my review.

2012 Canoe Ridge Sangiovese Rosé ($20 per one liter bottle)

This wine displays a brilliant pink color and an attractive nose of strawberry, cherry, mulberry, orange peel and orange blossoms. The flavors are vibrant and juicy, with notes of grape skin, watermelon rind and stony minerals. The back picks up touches of rhuhbarb and orange peel on the way to a persistently bright fruit acid finish. 18/20 points.

A Malbec Tasting

Last Friday, a group got together at the home ofTed and Joyce Cox for a tasting of Malbec wines. It was more for fun than serious. The wines were brown bagged and tasted blind. Tasters scored the wines on a scale of one to ten, and Philippe Michel compiled the scores. The group favorite was a 2011 Los Alamos from Mendoza, Argentina. It was not my favorite (I scored it 7.5/10 points), but it was a pleasant, uncomplicated crowd-pleasing sort of wine. The least favorite was a 2007 Cahors from France which has a rustic, barnyard character. The 2007 Corliss and 2010 Zerba came in second and third. Here are my notes on my favorites.

2011 Isenhower A Bloc Malbec Yakima Valley - Deep purplish color. Intense nose of blackberry, blueberry, cherry, violets with loads of fruit and a dash of pepper. 9/10 points.

2008 Boudreaux Cellars Malbec, Columbia Valley, Gamache Vineyard - Garnet/ruby color. Smoky, exotic nose with thick savory flavors, balanced with ripe fruit acids. 9/10 points.

2007 Corliss Malbec, Columbia Valley - Deep garnet color. Exotic nose with scenes of orange peel and oriental spices. Expansive and mouth encompassing, with a long, complex finish. 9/10 points.

This tasting confirmed by belief that Washington State produced world-class Malbecs.

The Balboa Barn Dance

On Saturday, July 27th, Balboa Cellars and the adjacent Beresan Winery held a barn dance. The food was catered by the Bank and Grill, with Paul Freeman searing away and Jeanine Gordon serving the barbecued beef and pork loin with the famous slaw. Plenty of Balboa and Beresan wine (by winemaker Tom Glase) was poured, and guests danced their way through the evening. This fun event was the brainchild of Michael Mettler of Acheiva Marketing. Kudos to Michael for this. Pictures can be seen on Beresan's Facebook page.

Veraison Beginning: An Early Harvest?

Veraison, the stage where the wine grapes start to color, has already begun in many areas of the Columbia Valley, including the Walla Walla Valley. Harvest may start as early as mid August, a month earlier than last year. Wine growers are excited about the prospects for this year's harvest and have been putting pictures of their grapes on Facebook. Stay tuned! More later!