Northwest Cellars Blog

Bob Delf offers the best of all worlds at his business in Kirkland, Wash. His award-winning wines made by Robert Smasne are available under the Northwest Cellars label or can be custom labeled for a special event. The grapes for this white blend of Roussanne and Viognier come from Lawrence and Upland vineyards, and it is delicious. It opens with aromas of tropical fruit, lemon curd, spices and floral notes. On the palate, we love the flavors of dusty apricot, pear, mango, orange oil and vanilla. It offers plenty of length and a smooth finish.

Rating: Excellent

Production: 220

Alcohol: 13.5%

Wine Press Northwest | Fall 2012

Double Platinum - Northwest Cellars 2009 Cadenza, Walla Walla Valley

Bob Delf launched Northwest Cellars in 2004 primarily to offer delicious wines with personalized labels for weddings, birthdays and other events. But Northwest Cellars has become so much more, developing into a high-quality winery with tasting rooms in Kirkland and Spokane. And he contracts with über-winemaker Robert Smasne, who makes some of Washington’s top wines from his Yakima Valley location. This superb and affordable red is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (50%) and equal parts Merlot and Carmenérè. The resulting wine combines suave aromas and flavors of plums, black cherries and dark chocolate with powerful yet refined tannins, giving way to a memorable finish. (500 cases, 13.9% alc.) Awards: Seattle Wine Awards (gold), Savor Northwest (Gold).

About the Platinum Judging

Wine Press Northwest began the Platinum Judging in 2000 as a way to determine some of the best wines of the Pacific Northwest.
To accomplish this, we track more than 30 professionally judged wine competitions worldwide and track those wines from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Idaho that win gold medals.

In 2012, Northwest wineries won nearly 1,100 gold medals at professional judgings, and we collected more than half of them for the Platinum.

The wines are categorized and judged blind over three days by two panels of wine experts, who award wines with Platinum, Double Gold, Gold or no medal. A wine is awarded a medal based on how a majority of the judges voted. In the case of all four judges deem the wine a Platinum, that wine is awarded a unanimous Double Platinum.

By VICTORIA MARTIN
Kirkland Reporter Contributor
August 9, 2012 · 12:29 PM

My husband and I recently ate at a wonderful restaurant. After being seated, I immediately scanned the dining room for other cool people. My eyes quickly settled upon a table of three couples, all very handsomely dressed. The sommelier was anxiously standing by just having presented one of the diners with the bottle of wine they ordered. The wine steward poured the prerequisite 1 ounce of wine to taste for the diner’s approval.

First, the diner sniffed the cork – every inch of that cork. Then, he deftly raised his stemmed wine glass, and proceeded to stick his nose deep inside the glass and breath deeply. He seemed to know exactly what to look for! He then eyed the wine as it settled back down to the bottom to approximate the alcohol content by the strength of its “legs.”

One can only surmise that next, he admired the deep rich color and then, finally, he took a sip, breathing in simultaneously to aerate the wine. Not ready to swallow yet, he gurgled the liquid to distribute it evenly to every part of his mouth. Time seemed suspended as everyone waited to see if the wine would be acceptable.

The Hutch Holiday Gala

The Company

The Hutch Holiday Gala is the single largest fund-raiser benefiting the Hutchinson Center, and is one of the largest of its kind in the country. Hosted by the Grace Heffernan Arnold Guild and the Hutch Holiday Gala Board of Directors, the annual Hutch Holiday Gala has raised more than $60 million over the past 33 years to support vital research at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Last year’s Gala raised $2.2 million in private contributions to benefit existing research and innovative science initiatives as well as patient and family programs at the Hutchinson Center. Visit the Hutch Holiday Gala website for more information.

Their Goals

Continue to meet or exceed fundraising goals by attracting new guests and recognizing existing guests.

NORTHWEST CELLARS WINERY SELECTED TO PROVIDE KING TUT PRIVATE RESERVE WINE FOR THE KING TUT EXHIBITION AT PACIFIC SCIENCE CENTER, SEATTLE

KIRKLAND, WA: Northwest Cellars Winery, located in Kirkland, Washington has been selected to provide the KING TUT PRIVATE RESERVE wine for the upcoming King Tut exhibition at Pacific Science Center. The Seattle exhibit will be the last time the amazing treasures of the extraordinary boy king & pharaoh can be seen in the U.S. The wine deemed regal enough for the task is Northwest Cellar's gold-medal 2009 Cadenza. (download press release to read more)
Download Adobe PDF