Canlis..... WOW

Go to Canlis if you have the chance to. The wine list is over 102 pages, and the wine stewards will steer you in the right direction if you need some help. The food plus the wine combo I experienced blew my mind. When I have a nice amount of money burning a whole in my pocket, I would go here.

Brian Carter, to start.

See these bad boys to your left? These are amazing wines! I will tell you a brief history of how I got to know these wines, and end up working here. I used to work at a wine shop that carried these wines, yet hadn't tasted them. So one day, I was out in Woodinville wine tasting with my friend Jon and we decided to stop by here to try what I was selling at the wine shop. Hands down, I was amazed with every single one. I left there that day with a desire to try more good wine, and never to settle for anything but greatness. Brian Carter, the man, the myth, the winemaker has been making wine for over 30 years and NEVER settles on his wine quality. He branched on his own several years ago and now the awards and press don't stop! He makes wine in small amounts, you won't see over 1000 cases produced of his wine. And here's the kicker... his wine is MEANT to be eaten with food. So let me breakdown the wine. Starting from the left is L'etalon (The Stallion)- a true Bordeaux style, mostly Merlot. Perfect with a nice, peppery steak. This wine was just released in the fall, and I will tell you, its tasting MIGHTY fine now. The next is Byzance, which is a Châteauneuf-du-Pape style. A perfect blend of Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvedre. PERFECT for the holidays or with lamb, ham, turkey. Has an excellent bit of spice. Next is Tuttarosso... the Super-Tuscan God of a wine. Being a Super Tuscan it's mostly sangiovese, blended with Cab and Syrah. Want some wine with pizza? Try this. It's amazing with Italian food, and based on my personal experience, wonderful on it's own. *please note: this wine is running low in stock, so I suggest you come and try, and see what my hype is all about. Finally here we have Oriana, the only white Brian makes. A blend of riesling, rousanne, and viognier. Sweet on the nose, but smooth on the tongue. Excellent with seafood. Other two wines not shown: Solesce, the Bordeaux style that's mostly cab and the most expensive at 58 dollars a bottle. But it's amazing, and that's all I even need to say. Once again, stock is running low on this gem... and we are not pouring in the tasting room, so I will just say... YUM. The last wine is Abracadabra.. which is a blend of the "leftover" grapes. This most recent vintage is 7 different grapes. It's the least expensive, at 20 a bottle, but very good for everyday drinking. Ok, that's a long post! I will try to be more concise on the next one... but please note, I may be biased since I DO WORK here and don't make any apologies for my opinions. Brian Carter knows how to make a kick ass wine.

Welcome Friends!

Hello all! This is my first post on my wine blog. I am just still getting a feel for this, so bear with me as I go through the bumps and bruises. Just like any good wine, you have to weed those out before you get something magnificent! My first wine post, this week, will be about where I currently work, Brian Carter Cellars. Be prepared to be dazzled. See you soon!