Tim and his wife Nancy Rivenburgh founded Fall Line Winery in 2003. Located in South Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood, the winery was officially licensed and bonded in 2004. Both Tim and Nancy are avid skiers and the name “Fall Line” refers to the natural line of descent on a slope. Tim is a retired economics professor. For years, he balanced his day job at Seattle University with his budding wine career. He completed an Introduction to Winemaking course at the University of California-Davis in 2000 and has never looked back. Tim met many local winemakers during his time working at a wine shop in downtown Seattle that led to a two-year ‘vinternship’ with Ben Smith at Cadence Winery from 2002 to 2004. The 2003 vintage was Fall Line’s inaugural commercial release. Fall Line produces about 1,800 to 2,000 cases annually.

The core of Fall Line’s lineup is comprised of three single-vineyard wines, all classic Bordeaux-style red blends. They also produce a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Tempranillo, and another red blend called Exhibition. Fall Line partners with three of the most well-regarded vineyards in Washington State, all located in the Yakima Valley AVA, Artz Vineyard, Boushey Vineyard, and Red Willow Vineyard.

Artz Vineyard, owned by grower Fred Artz, is located on Red Mountain adjacent to the famed Klipsun Vineyard. In fact, Artz was the vineyard manager of Klipsun for 20 years. Fall Line has used fruit from Artz Vineyard since 2004.

Boushey Vineyard is located in the central Yakima Valley, which is relatively cooler than Red Mountain. Owner Dick Boushey, one of the most respected growers in Washington State, has been producing much sought after fruit for over 30 years. Fall Line has partnered with Boushey Vineyard since 2003, and Dick planted a block of Tempranillo especially for Fall Line in 2007.

Red Willow Vineyard, which sits in the northwest corner of the Yakima Valley AVA, is located on the fourth-generation family farm established by grower Mike Sauer’s grandfather-in-law in the 1920’s. The iconic Monsignor Chapel sits atop Red Willow’s highest hill, built with native stones from the farm. Fall Line has been working with Red Willow since 2008 and introduced its Red Willow Vineyard Red Wine in 2010.

If you have not yet tried any Fall Line wines, I encourage you to seek them out. Not only are they excellent, but they deliver serious bang for your buck as well. Fall Line holds an open house for its mailing list members on the third Saturday in November each year. Other than that event, the winery is open by appointment only.

Current Releases:

2011 Fall Line Winery Artz Vineyard Red Wine (Artz Vineyard, Red Mountain, Yakima Valley, Washington): 45% Cabernet Franc, 44% Merlot, and 11% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep, dark red in color. Beautiful nose with red and black fruit and cinnamon stick aromas. Black cherry, leather, and spice come through on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with crisp acidity, medium to high tannins, and a long, slightly hot, finish.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $30

2011 Fall Line Winery Boushey Vineyard Red Wine (Boushey Vineyard, Yakima Valley, Washington): 36% Cabernet Franc, 33% Merlot, 17% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 14% Petit Verdot. Deep, dark purplish red. Nice nose but a bit tight at first. Black fruit, smoked meat, and game come through on the palate. Full-bodied with lively acidity, and medium to high tannins. Well-balanced with good complexity and a very long, smooth finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $30

2011 Fall Line Winery Red Willow Vineyard Red Wine (Red Willow Vineyard, Yakima Valley, Washington): 47% Cabernet Franc, 39% Merlot, and 14% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep, dark purplish red. Gorgeous nose with blackberry, black cherry, and spice aromas. Fruit-forward with loads of cherry and spice as well as a touch of earth and herbal notes. Medium to full-bodied with crisp acidity and high tannins. Well-balanced with a long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $30

2012 Fall Line Winery Cabernet Sauvignon (Yakima Valley, Washington): 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep, dark purple in color. Nice nose with black fruit and floral notes. Blackcurrant, black cherry, leather, and smoked meat come through on the palate. Full-bodied with lively acidity and high tannins. Big and bold yet very smooth. Well-balanced with a long, lingering finish.
Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $30

2012 Fall Line Winery Exhibition Red Wine (Yakima Valley, Washington): 28% Merlot, 26% Cabernet Franc, 21% Petit Verdot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Tempranillo. Deep, dark red. Nice nose but a bit tight. Black and red fruit and a touch of spice come through on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with lively acidity, medium tannins, and a long finish. Fruit-forward and very approachable.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $22

2012 Fall Line Winery Tempranillo (Boushey Vineyard, Yakima Valley, Washington): 100% Tempranillo. Deep purplish red. Nice nose with black fruit and floral notes. Black fruit, leather, smoked meat, and a touch of black pepper come through on the palate. Full-bodied with lively acidity, and big, bold tannins.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $22

Upcoming Releases:

2012 Fall Line Winery Artz Vineyard Red Wine (Artz Vineyard, Red Mountain, Yakima Valley, Washington): 50% Cabernet Franc, 46% Merlot, and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep, dark red. Nice nose with red and black fruit aromas. Bright fruit, especially red and black cherry, come through on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with crisp acidity and medium to high tannins. Well-balanced with a long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 4 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $35 [to be released Fall 2015]

2012 Purple Cafe Red Wine (Boushey Vineyard, Yakima Valley, Washington): Special wine produced exclusively for Purple Cafe by Fall Line Winery. 45% Merlot, 27% Petit Verdot, 25% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep, dark purple. Nice nose with black fruit aromas. Fruit-forward with bright, black cherry on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with crisp acidity, high tannins, and a long finish.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: n/a
Where to buy: Purple Cafe, $n/a [to be released Fall 2015]

2012 Fall Line Winery Red Willow Vineyard Red Wine (Red Willow Vineyard, Yakima Valley, Washington): 36% Cabernet Franc, 35% Merlot, 18% Petit Verdot, and 11% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep, dark purple in color. Gorgeous nose with luscious black fruit aromas. Black cherry, blackberry, earth, leather, spice, and a hint of black pepper come through on the palate. Full-bodied with crisp acidity and medium to high tannins. Well-balanced and smooth with good complexity, and a long, lingering finish.
Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $35 [to be released Fall 2015]

Fall Line Winery: Current and Upcoming Releases was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

Strictly red wine producers, Fielding Hills makes a Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and a red blend called Tribute. Recently, we had the opportunity to taste all five of their new releases from the 2011 vintage in a blind samples tasting. Our favorite was the 2011 Syrah, which is outstanding. The 2011 Merlot and 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon were also quite impressive. Those three wines also deliver serious bang for your buck.

If you are ever in the Wenatchee area, Fielding Hills is a stop you do not want to miss. I encourage you to give Mike and Karen a call to make an appointment to visit the winery. This fall, Fielding Hills will open a new tasting room in Lake Chelan. Regardless of whether you are able to visit or not, I encourage you to get your hands on a bottle or two of Fielding Hills wine and enjoy.

2011 Fielding Hills Syrah (RiverBend Vineyard, Wahluke Slope, Washington): 94% Syrah, 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Franc. Dark, dense purplish red in color. Gorgeous nose with blackcurrant, black cherry, and savory aromas. Fruit-forward with black fruit and savory notes on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with lively acidity and medium to high tannins. Well-balanced with good complexity, and a very long, smooth finish.
Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $38

2011 Fielding Hills Merlot (RiverBend Vineyard, Wahluke Slope, Washington): 81% Merlot, 7% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Syrah, and 5% Cabernet Franc. Dark purplish red. Beautiful nose with black plum, black cherry, and spice box aromas. More black plum and spice box come through on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with lively acidity and medium to high, smooth tannins. Well-balanced with good complexity and a long, lingering finish.
Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $36

2011 Fielding Hills Cabernet Sauvignon (RiverBend Vineyard, Wahluke Slope, Washington): 95% Cabernet Sauvignon, 2% Syrah, 2% Merlot, and 1% Cabernet Franc. Nice nose with blackcurrant, black cherry, leather, and earth aromas. More black fruit, leather, and earth come through on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with lively acidity and medium to high tannins. Well-balanced with a very long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $42

2011 Fielding Hills Cabernet Franc (RiverBend Vineyard, Wahluke Slope, Washington): 85% Cabernet Franc, 10% Syrah, and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep, dark red in color. Aromatic with black fruit, earth, and a touch of spice on the nose. Black cherry and leather come through on the palate. Medium to full-bodied with lively acidity and medium tannins. Well-balanced with a long finish.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 3 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $30

2011 Fielding Hills Tribute Red Wine (RiverBend Vineyard, Wahluke Slope, Washington): 55% Cabernet Franc, 20% Syrah, 15% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. Deep red. Aromatic with black fruit and faint floral notes on the nose and palate. Medium-bodied with lively acidity, medium tannins, and a long finish.
Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 1 bang for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $38

New Releases from Fielding Hills, 2011 Vintage was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

Our selection criteria include:

• A very good Quality rating of >=3.5 stars (out of 5)
• A price tag of <=$20
• Must be widely available

Rodney Strong founded Rodney Strong Vineyards, located in Healdsburg, California, in 1959. Current owner Tom Klein and the Klein family purchased the winery in 1989. Head winemaker Rick Sayre has been with the winery since 1979. Rodney Strong sustainably farms thirteen estate vineyards in Sonoma County.

Rodney Strong consistently offers a lineup of good quality wines that deliver serious bang for your buck in their Sonoma County line, which is available nationally.

“A deep, saturated color leads to lifted aromas of blackberry, cocoa and herby black-currant, which is followed by a rich, layered mouthfeel, loaded with juicy black cherry, cedar, and crème de cassis. This wine is also elegantly structured with fresh acidity and ripe, mature tannins. Enjoy this vibrant Cabernet Sauvignon now and over the next several years.” –Winemaker Rick Sayre

2011 Rodney Strong Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon (Sonoma County, California): Deep, dark red in color. Aromatic with red and black fruit, leather, and a touch of black pepper on both the nose and palate. Medium-bodied with lively acidity, smooth tannins, and a long finish.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $20; Available elsewhere, $12 to $20

A Wine for Tonight: 2011 Rodney Strong Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

Our selection criteria include:

• A very good Quality rating of >=3.5 stars (out of 5)
• A price tag of <=$20
• Must be widely available

Columbia Crest, located in Paterson, Washington, has been one of our favorite sources of value wines for many years. In 2011, Juan Munoz Oca took over as head winemaker from Ray Einberger. Einberger had been at the helm since 2002 when he took the reins from Doug Gore who had been the winemaker since Columbia Crest was founded in 1983. The Columbia Crest winemaking team has produced more 90+ scoring bottles of wine than any other winery in the world. For those of us who live in Washington State, it is nice to have such a consistent, affordable producer in our own backyard.

H3, an abbreviation for Horse Heaven Hills, is one of the tiers in the Columbia Crest portfolio and showcases the region in which their winery is located. All of the fruit used to produce H3 wines come from the Horse Heaven Hills AVA.

“This bold Cabernet opens with flavors of black cherries and blackberries with a touch of currants and vanilla, complemented by earth and mineral notes. Deep berry flavors lead to a soft tannin cocoa finish.” –Winemaker Juan Munoz Oca

2012 Columbia Crest H3 Cabernet Sauvignon (Horse Heaven Hills, Washington): 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 4% Merlot, and 2% Syrah. Deep, dark purplish red. Aromatic with black cherry, blackberry, and leather on both the nose and palate. Medium to full-bodied with lively acidity, smooth tannins, and a very long finish.
Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to Buy: Received as sample, suggested retail $15; Available elsewhere, $11 to $15

A Wine for Tonight: 2012 Columbia Crest H3 Cabernet Sauvignon was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

The Grand Tasting is the “main event” each day. This year, Taste Washington featured 226 wineries pouring their wines and 68 Northwest restaurants serving small bites. With more than 780 wineries now open in the state of Washington, this event offers attendees the opportunity to try a large number of them in one place at one time. Considering the time and gas money you save not having to crisscross the state visiting tasting rooms and making appointments, the price of admission to Taste Washington is money well spent. Now, don’t get me wrong, once you attend an event like this and discover some favorite new wines and wineries, you will definitely want to make plans to travel to the wineries to visit and taste again. There is nothing like spending a long weekend in Washington wine country.

One of the best aspects of Taste Washington is that often you will find either the winemaker and/or winery owner pouring that winery’s wines. In addition to visiting with a number of people whose wines we have enjoyed in the past, we always find it a great opportunity to try some wines from wineries whose wines we have not previously tasted.

With over 800 wines featured at a large tasting like this, we can only taste through a limited number of them. Therefore, we don’t try to revisit wines that we have recently reviewed (i.e. Avennia, etc.). Keeping that in mind, my favorite wines from the Grand Tasting, from wineries whose wines we’ve enjoyed in the past, were the 2008 Boudreaux Cellars Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2011 Doubleback Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2010 Fall Line Winery Red Willow Red Wine, and the 2011 Rotie Cellars Northern Blend.

At Taste Washington last year, our most exciting discovery was Kevin White Winery. We deemed it as a winery to watch. Kevin White recently released his 2012 vintage wines, and this was our first opportunity to taste them. They did not disappoint. In fact, his 2012’s are even better than his 2011’s. The 2012 La Fraternité Red Wine and the 2012 En Hommage Red Wine are both outstanding. And, I expect them to only improve with some age. With price tags under $30, both wines deliver serious bang for your buck.

For the best new-to-us winery, my nod goes to Bartholomew Winery. While not a brand new winery, we had not tasted their wines previously. They were pouring three wines at the Grand Tasting, the 2013 Aligote, the 2013 Rosé of Carmenere, and the 2010 Reciprocity Red Blend. All three were very good and are worth checking out. Bart and Chona Fawbush founded Bartholomew Winery in 2007. Their tasting room located in Seattle’s historic Old Rainier Brewery building is open to the public for tastings on the weekends.

Did you attend Taste Washington this year? What were some of your favorite wines?

Even though Taste Washington Wine Month has concluded, here’s to enjoying excellent Washington wine all year long. Cheers!

Taste Washington 2014: Highlights from Seattle’s Wine & Food Weekend was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.