In our ongoing investigation of Seattle’s urban winery scene, My Wine Tribe recently took a field trip down Fourth Avenue South to visit OS Winery and Cloudlift Cellars. I was a tad nervous about taking my friends to places I hadn’t tried yet, but my fears were unfounded. We had a blast, and if you live in the Seattle area, you should head yourself over there for an evening of fun, education, great wines and some killer fried chicken, which I’ll get to momentarily. First the wine.
East or West, Wine is Best
OS Winery, opened in 1997, is Seattle’s longest-running urban winery. From the outside it may not look like much, but walk through the doors and you get a romantic interior, mood lighting and, if you’re lucky, a lick on the nose from a sweet winery dog. Peggy Sullivan is the proprietor, the rosé winemaker and the “palate” for all OS wines. OS focuses on Bordeaux-style reds. They make some wines at their Fourth Avenue South location; the rest are made over the Cascades in the Washington wine country town of Zillah, where OS’s main winemaker lives. Peggy gave us samples of nine wines, and while our group liked all of them, for certain tribes there were a few standouts. (Not sure what wine tribe you’re in? Take this easy quiz to identify your palate preferences and find your tribe.)
Surprisingly, members of the Balanced and Developed Tribes loved the same wines at OS. Their No. 1 pick was the Sonas 2012 Merlot. Apparently these tribes aren’t alone in liking this wine, as it won a Double Gold in the 2015 Seattle Wine Awards. Tribe members picked up aromas of smoke, cedar and leather and flavors of ripe cherries, plums and spice. At $25 a bottle, this wine’s a winner.
Sturdily Built Cabernet, Meet Delightful Blend
The Balanced and Developed Tribes’ second favorite OS wine was BSH 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon. BSH are Peggy’s son’s initials, but there is also a hidden meaning in the name that refers to the wine’s body …something about a brick house? You get the picture and it’s all true: This wine has some serious heft to it. The tribes detected scents of honey and wet dirt with flavors of currants, barbecue smoke and dark chocolate. A number of people commented on the feel of the wine in their mouths: “rich,” “full” and “thick, but not too viscous.” One taster summed the wine up with one emphatic word: ”beefy!” This wine retails for $50, so it’s not likely to be your everyday wine. But when you’re planning to grill that perfect steak, this one’s a good go-to.
The Complex Tribe chose the BSH as their fave. They had a lot of love for this smoky, chocolaty, silky wine. The Complex Tribe’s No. 2 was 2003 M ($60), a blend of 70 percent Merlot and 30 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. While they didn’t love the acetone aromas, they really dug the tastes of fig and rhubarb pie as well as the wine’s overall “delightfulness.”
Craftsman-Built Wines
Next, we ventured a block south to Cloudlift Cellars. Cloudlift is run by Tom Stangeland, owner and winemaker. He is also quite the Renaissance man and makes furniture on the side. Or perhaps he is a furniture maker with a winery on the side. Bottom line is that he’s a craftsman, and you can tell that a lot of care goes into his wines. He is also a gracious host who provided us with noshes to clear our palates and a few stories to clear our minds. And then he poured us eight wines and the tasting began.
The Balanced Tribe really liked Cloudlift’s 2013 Updraft ($18), a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. They appreciated its scents of honey and pineapple and the fresh flavors of tropical fruit and stone, with just a hint of oak. Their second pick was the 2012 Ascent ($27), a red blend consisting mainly of Cabernet Franc with a splash of Merlot and Petit Verdot.
Clouds Part on a Clear Favorite
The Ascent was a big winner across all of our tribes–it was also the No. 1 choice for both the Developed and Complex Tribes. The tribes detected scents of smoke, tobacco and dark fruits. One taster described the wine as “bursting with berries” while others noted toasted marshmallow and cherry pie. Folks also noticed that this wine felt heavy in their mouths, leading to a lush and rich sensation. Once again, we weren’t the only ones who picked this wine as a winner. It won a double gold at the 2015 Seattle Wine Awards and 91 points from Wine Enthusiast.
The second runner up for the Developed Tribe was 2012 Panorama ($26), a Merlot-based blend. The tribe liked its scents of baked fruit and blackberry crisp and tastes of cinnamon, charred wood and green apples dipped in caramel. This wine was also a double gold winner at the Seattle Wine Awards and got a 92-point score from Wine Enthusiast.
The second runner up for the Complex Tribe was 2013 Stratus ($32), made entirely from Petit Verdot. For the other tribes, this wine was a bit too tannic (resulting in a drying sensation in the mouth) but that didn’t scare away the Complex Tribe tasters. They liked the funky, earthy, barnyard scents and the big, rich flavors of plum, toffee and tobacco. “Smooth and delish” commented one taster.
And About That Fried Chicken
I could go on, but you get the picture: There are some fabulous wines available on Fourth Avenue South in Seattle that you need to check out. Now you may be asking yourself, after tasting 17 wines, how does My Wine Tribe end an evening? With chicken and beer, of course. We headed to the nearby Marco Polo Pub, which is famed for its fried chicken. Just one block down from Cloudlift Cellars, this is the perfect place to load up on heavy food (OMG get the onion rings and chicken—seriously), drink some beer and—why not?—sing karaoke. It was a night made in heaven for this girl.
Cheers!