Reflections and thoughts about the coming year in wine

Reflections and thoughts on the wine world. . .
It has been an exciting and truly memorable year for me here at the restaurant. Standing behind my bar, I have seen a lot of familiar faces and have noticed quite a few new ones as well. Your continued support for what we are passionate about here at niche is appreciated I want to thank you personally.
The past year has been quite exciting for wine and continues to change and evolve with the restaurant. One good thing to come from our economy is that several wines we love but could never imagine being able to pour by the glass, have lowered their market prices. This allows us to pass along unique opportunities to try some really special pours on our “Wines by the Glass” list. Whether the winemakers realize it or not this is a good thing for the industry. In my personal opinion there were too many wineries (mmmhm Napa Valley) out there taking advantage of people. I think we are getting to a point where there are so many great wines at an affordable price that many of the big houses are going to have to lower there prices to stay competitive.
It’s exciting for me to see the growth of wine knowledge among the general public is getting more sophisticated every day. As I search out and pour our wines, I see that our guests are learning constantly and have begun to order more highly allocated boutique wines instead of the namesakes that have been taking advantage of people for the past decade (mmmhm Silver Oak). Here are my favorite wines for the year:

1. 2006 Charles Smith “Royal City” Syrah, Washington State
2. 2004 Palmaz Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley
3. 2004 Turley Charbono, Tofanelli Vineyard
4. Williams Selyem Late Harvest Gewurtztraminer, Vista Verde Vineyard
5. 2006 Charles Smith “Motor City Kitty” Syrah, Walla Walla Washington

Based on recent events in the wine world I feel confident in saying that Washington state wine is here to stay. As the Washington wineries continue to get better at what they do for more reasonable prices, California will be forced to compete with their neighbors to the north.
The industry has seen so many great Washington wine houses popularity emerge this year like Charles Smith, Cayuse, and Betz. Charles Smith, my personal favorite, was named winemaker of the year and his Royal City Syrah received 100pts by the Wine Enthusiast Magazine and was ranked the number two for Wine of the Year. Compare that to the once omnipotent Silver Oaks Cabernet Sauvignon as their wines have taken a beating with numbers in the 80 pts. It is clear that the old guard won’t be able to rely on high prices and name recognition any longer. Great wines are crafted to be drunk not just talked about. The American wine drinking public are finally beginning to understand that you don’t have to rely on name recognition to find great wines.
As we close out the year I sat down and jotted a few predictions for the coming year:

1. Washington wines will continue to develop and put pressure on the other wine producing states.
2. More people will venture away from drinking big fat cab’s all the time and start drinking more Syrah.
3. Wine prices in both market and retail will continue to decline.
4. Brad Pitt and Angelina will break up.
5. The economy will slowly crawl out of the gutter.

Thank you again for an exciting year and I look forward to see you in my bar soon. . .Vince

Save The Dates

September
5th ~ See Chef Jeremy’s demo at Geneva’s Festival of the Vine17th ~ 3rd Annual Harvest Dinner
24th ~ Concert Between Courses, Young Artists Recital
October
1st ~ Concert Between Courses Michelle Areyzaga - soprano and Larry Dieffenbach - piano
29th-31st ~ Halloween themed Tasting Menu
Tasty Bits
Welcome to the latest edition of Tasty Bits Newsletter!
Mark your calendars for another busy fall and holiday season here at Niche Restaurant!Thursday, September 17th we are hosting our 3rd Annual Autumn Harvest Dinner. That evening we will highlight the best that the season has to offer from local farm pastures to the plates here at Niche. Six courses of tasty morsels of food for $50 plus tax & gratuity and$40 for an optional wine flight paired by Vince.
As the Summer winds down and the weather begins to keep us indoors, check out three great websites about wine that our Sommelier Dan Fijolek sifted from the abundance of info on the web in the Oeno-File column.
Chef Jeremy discusses a bit about the difference between organic and sustainable farming practices and how they ultimately affect the flavor below. Then find out his take on what it is about the change in weather that evokes so many great food memories in the Kitchen Connection.

~Amuse Bouche~

Click the links below and check out the blogs and websites Chef Jeremy keeps tabs on!

Eat Me Daily

Tasting Table

Michael Ruhlman’s Blog

Line Cook

Oeno-File

by Sommelier Dan Fijolek

When all young palates first fall in love with wine the desire for knowledge is never far behind.  Fortunately for today’s emerging connoisseurs the Internet serves to teach us all we are willing to learn.  But like all information on the web the question becomes what wine info on the web can we actually trust?  Below are three websites that come to mind whenever I am asked this question.

• robertparker.com ~  Robert Parker is probably the most influential wine critic in the world.  And unlike Wine Spectator or Wine Enthusiast which has biased opinions based on advertising that is done in their magazines, Parker’s magazine Wine Advocate has no advertisements therefore no bias.  Although his site is only partially free, he has reviews for most of the modern world’s wines which makes it a valuable resource.

• wine-maker.net ~  When people ask me who my favorite wine maker is, the name Sean Thackrey inevitably comes to mind.  He has achieved true cult star status as a modern wine alchemist and insists on using traditional wine making techniques that date back to the Middle Ages.  He breaks all the modern rules of wine making which gives him huge street cred from hedonists like myself.  His site is fantastic because he includes a good portion of his very extensive and very old personal library for free on the site to nourish our minds.

• wineaccess.com ~  This site is a great online wine shop that pays special attention to more obscure wines that require seeking out.

Fortunately for today’s emerging connoisseurs the Internet serves to teach us all we are willing to learn. You don’t even need to leave your house to get great wine anymore.  Oh mighty Internet, is there anything you can’t do?