Study Time?

As a college student I spent a lot of time in the library. I would pack up all my books and notes and meet up with my friends to “study”. Oregon State University was awesome and had private study rooms at the library, where you didn’t have to worry about the rules of keeping quiet. So we would put our name on the list and hope to score one of those. When we did get one of the rooms we would go in, spread our books out over the table and then proceed to talk and gossip for the 3 hours we were allowed. Then, we’d pack everything up and head out into the night. I remember those nights fondly. Nights with my friends and not using the library room as it was intended. Sometimes we’d munch on pitas from Pita Pit if someone was willing to run across campus to pick them up. Sometimes we’d listen to music when one of us would bring in a cd player and speakers. All too often, though, I wouldn’t study one word while in the library rooms. So these memories are what I think of when I hear the word ‘library’. Fortunately for us in the wine world, it also means a collection of really nice older wines! Which brings me to our newest building at Woodward Canyon – our Reserve House.

We first broke ground for the Reserve House back in August of 2007 and the project wasn’t complete until this May – well, we are actually still doing the finishing touches on it but we can use it. One of the reasons it took so long was the full sized cellar we built below ground for our wine library. A good 8 feet below the ground, it is the first cellar Rick has had since he bonded the winery in 1981. Thomas, Rafa, Kiko and Manuel worked for almost two weeks to move all the library wines into it and it looks great. The only scary part is most of the cellar is already filled up. I’m not sure where we are going to put any future releases. Guess we’ll have to start drinking some of the older vintages now. What a rough job that would be!

The finishing of the Reserve House and the cellar came just in time for Vintage Walla Walla weekend. We were able to use the building to host a wine dinner after the Vintage Pour. It is a fun two-day weekend filled with educational classes, library wines, a silent auction and of course more wines! Friday night kicked off the weekend with the Library Pour at the Reid Center at Whitman College, where 20-plus wineries came in and poured wines from their libraries from 2002 and older. Kevin Mott, our winemaker, poured the 1996 “Artist Series” Cabernet at the event.

Attendees had the option of doing a wine dinner and as mentioned, we were one of the participating wineries. Rick and Darcey were out of town for the evening, so Thomas (National Sales), Marlene (Marketing and Web), Jordan and myself (Shari, Guest Services) took care of the dinner and the guests. The dinner went smoothly and the guests seemed to enjoy themselves, especially when we pulled out a magnum of 1999 “Special Selection”!

We had a great group of people for our Vintage Dinner. The evening started with appetizers on the back patio - Vietnamese spring rolls and grilled pita with baba ganoush, paired with the 2007 Estate Sauvignon Blanc (which we are now sold out of here at the winery, check back for details on the 2008 release).

From there it was time to walk down into the cellar and grab a glass of the 1999 “Special Selection” Red Wine out of a magnum. WOW, if you haven’t had a chance to taste some of Rick and Kevin’s “Special Selection” then you are missing out. It is absolutely delicious! The “Special Selection” is one of those wines that we only make when we’ve had an exceptional vintage. In the entire time that Woodward Canyon has been producing wines, there have only been four vintages of the “Special Selection” - the 1988, 1993, 1999 and the 2005. Don’t worry – you haven’t missed the 2005 yet! It is due out later this year. We only produced about 157 cases of the 750ml and 30 cases of the magnums so if you want some please contact us at getthedirt@woodwardcanyon.com so we can make sure you receive the release email. It is made up of 69.5% cabernet sauvignon, 25.7% merlot and 4.8% cabernet franc.

After trading white wine glasses for red wine glasses and grabbing their taste of the “Special Selection", the guests headed upstairs where the meal started off with a light salad made from local greens and fresh herbs from the Woodward Canyon herb garden. This was paired with the 2007 Washington State Chardonnay (also recently sold out). Moving onto the main course, guests enjoyed a top sirloin roast grilled outside on the wood-fired grill with roasted red potatoes. The dinner was paired with both the 2005 Charbonneau Red and the 2006 “Old Vines” Cabernet. Dessert was light and fresh - we simply topped lemon curd with hand picked strawberries (picked by myself earlier that morning) and freshly whipped cream and a sprig of mint. Everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves, the dinner and the wines. It is great to know everyone who works at Woodward is a self-proclaimed foodie – which makes it so much fun to cook together!

Thanks for reading!

Shari, Guest Services