What I Drank With Dinner (WIDWD)

I am ready to proclaim January as Washington state syrah month at our dinner table. With the short cold days and even colder evenings, this month encourages heavy meals and hearty wines. After a few bone chilling nights celebrating a warm dinner, I am re-discovering the virtues of drinking Washington syrah during this time of year.

Such was the case a few cold, clear nights ago when we opened another bottle of syrah from our home state to go with a grilled flank steak dinner. The choice to pair with the steak? A 2004 Alexandria Nicole Block 17 Syrah (14.3%). I had yet to try an Alexandria Nicole wine, therefore was excited to have received this bottle as a gift during the holidays. This Syrah is an estate vineyard designated wine, produced from grapes grown in the Destiny Ridge Vineyards, which was planted in 1998. The vineyard is located along the Columbia River in the Horse Heaven Hills appellation.

Before opening the bottle, I was immediately connected to the people and places behind this wine through the story available on the back label, which is reproduced in its entirety here:

"It is said that great wine is made in the vineyard. In Destiny Ridge, we have an exceptional vineyard site. Through attentive viticulture management and passionate winemaking, our goal is to create wines that are true to our vineyard's terroir. This Syrah, produced from the Sara Lee clone, was co-fermented with whole cluster Rousanne and Viognier in French Oak. We honor our vineyard and this expressive Syrah with our first limited release bottling. It is a blend of 93% Syrah, 5% Rousanne and 2% Viognier." (Label included the signature of Jose Jose Luis Yanez)

In that one short paragraph, a variety of details helped connect me to this wine. The vineyard, the varietals, the type of Syrah, the barrels, and the winemaking process. I also learned that this was their first bottling, which was a limited run, as the front of the label specified only 270 cases made. Most important of all, I was intrigued by the signature on this bottle, that of a person named Jose Luis Yanez. Who was this person?

After reading the label, I couldn't wait to pop the cork and give this wine a try. Boy, did this wine deliver. It had some nice fruit with spicy notes. I found the blending of Rousanne and Viognier creating an interesting twist for a Washington state syrah, as it was made in the classic Rhone style. It was well balanced, with smooth silky tannins on the finish. This syrah made our dinner come alive and complemented our grilled steak very well. Just on taste alone, I would buy this wine again.

The story imparted on the bottle's label intrigued me enough to go online and learn more about this winery and the people behind it, such as Juan Luis Yanez. What a great story Alexandria Nicole has to share with its customers. You see, Juan is the vineyard foreman, who joined the winery in 2000 and learned viticulture working alongside the founder, Jarrod Boyle.

While visiting Alexandria Nicole's web site, I learned why Juan's name was on the bottle we enjoyed at our table over dinner. It was because Jarrod requested that Juan put his name on every bottle of estate wine to signify the dedication to the vineyard. Yes, you read that right. Not Jarrod's name, the founder and winemaker, but Juan's name, the vineyard foreman.

There are times when wine can be truly inspiring. I discovered that once again while enjoying a bottle of 2004 Alexandria Nicole Block 17 Syrah and learning more about the people and places behind this wine. If you're seeking inspiration from wine, then I encourage you to try a bottle of Alexandria Nicole estate wine and experience this for yourself.