Hello Wine Lovers,
Welcome to The Good Drop Wine Shoppe’s blog. My name is Katherine and I recently joined the wonderful team of ladies here at The Good Drop. I consider myself an obsessive-amateur when it comes to wine. I love the wine industry because it challenges me in a way that no other industry has before. I have found that right when I think I know a lot about wine, the person next to me could very well know an abundance more. It’s a universal language belonging to no one type of person and I’m always pleasantly surprised to find someone new who can teach me more. I am involved in this industry because I embrace the challenge of learning more about wine, in the many ways a person can do so. Everything I learn can shape me to be the friendly face at The Good Drop who can inspire your love of wine to grow. This blog is where I am going to be posting weekly tastings notes, highlights in the wine industry, and just your average wine camaraderie tales.
So, lets take a trip to the Walla Walla Valley in Washington, the heart of Cabernet Sauvignon territory. I know I take pride in this area because there are a great number of Cabernet Sauvignons that are produced here, making the Pacific Northwest a premier destination for the world’s most popular red grape. Lots of wine educators can tell you what to taste in a Cab Sauv, but I am here to help you feel the wine. The richness in this varietal sometimes gives me an out-of-body experience where I start to imagine the conditions in which this hearty, sometimes smoky, sometimes fruity, grape found its growth. A mentor of mine once told me that in order to be good at tasting wine, you have to be curious about other foods and drinks because that contributes to your sensory experience while tasting wine. Cabernet Sauvignons tend to be complex, dry, medium-full bodied, and the perfect partner for savory and robust dishes.
I want to highlight the Walla Walla Valley because we are currently in the month of April, and as it so happens, this is the Walla Walla Valley Wine Appreciation Month. The floor that dominates the Walla Walla Valley consists of river gravel, loess (fine, wind-blown silt), deep silt, and thin silt with a rocky base. The rocky component of this region mirrors the gravel undertones of the Bordeaux region where Cabernet Sauvignon originates, as a hybrid of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. The complicated topography is what contributes to the uniqueness of this certain varietal. A few fantastic producers of Walla Walla Valley Cab are Leonetti Cellars, Woodward Canyon, and Cougar Crest. If you’d like to take a trip to Walla Walla, call us and we will deliver an assortment of Cabernet Sauvignons to your door here in Bend, OR.
Thanks for reading,
XOXO The Good Drop Girls