Wine and Freedom

This weekend Jessi and Lachlan were invited to Cousin Lisa's baby shower. Lisa is due in just a few weeks, so Jessi, Lachlan, and Grammy braved the mountain pass to attend the baby shower. I jumped on the opportunity to get out of town myself and indulge myself in one of my all time favorite activities; wine tasting! My friends John and I also tackled the mountain pass in order to taste some excellent wine in Walla Walla. Here it is almost April, and not only was it snowing on the pass, it was actually snowing in Seattle and Walla Walla at different times this weekend as well. The snow was beautiful.

This weekend I was struck by how drastically my definition of "freedom" has shifted over these last ten months. . In the past I would have thought of this time away as a weekend where I was free to do what I wish, but this wasn't what I was feeling this time. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed spending time with my friend John and sipping a wide array of high quality wines, but I really felt the absence of Jessi and Lachlan. It hasn't been often that I have spent a night or two away from them, and I really missed them. Freedom is no longer me doing what I want when I want to, freedom is being with my family. I now find freedom in being the man I am called to be as a father and husband. I have found a beautiful freedom in being a father to my amazing little Lachlan, and a member of a family of three. It is interesting to ponder how my sense of identity has changed since Lachlan has entered my life. Ten month later it is impossible to picture life without him. All ready his presence has transformed me in many areas of my life. His presence has forever changed my identity; being a father is an awesome and amazing responsibility and joy.

Being a father has changed much, even how I engage with wine! Although it is true that Lachlan has changed life significantly, I am still me! I love wine. I love laughing with good friends, and sharing stories, dreams, desires, and fears with those I love. I love walking into a wineries' tasting room with the anticipation and excitement about what I am about to taste for the first time; will it be good, bad, simple, complex, etc. or will I find myself in the presence of a breath taking wine? That was what this weekend was for me. A time to share good stories, much laughter, decent food, and great wine with my good friend John.

I believe we visited close to twenty wineries throughout the weekend. Let me mark some of the memorable wineries and wines we encountered on our wine weekend away. On Friday, John and took a short detour to the Red Mountain wine region and sampled wines from a couple local wineries. I was so excited to find the winery Fidelitas nestled in the region. I was lucky to try a bottle of their merlot a couple years back, which was beautiful. Their wines were superb. They had a Syrah that was worth every penny of the fifty dollar price tag, but I didn't have 50 dollars to give to this noble cause!

The next day we started at Isenhower Cellars, which had solid wines across the board. My favorite was the Rara Avis, which was a Grenache, Mourvedre, Syrah blend. I also thoroughly enjoyed the Snap Dragon, a mix of Roussanne and Viognier; a very flavorful white. We stopped at Waters' Winery, which not only had powerful wine, but also had two amazing pieces of art worth stopping in to see even if you don't appreciate good wine. Waters Winery tasted three Syrah's grown in different vineyards. It was shocking how different wines made from the same grape and wine maker could taste so different from one another. All their wines were good, with the most talked about wine being the Syrah that had a powerful flavor profile of smokiness and bacon fat. Another notable winery is Northstar Winery, whose self-stated mission is to make the best merlot in the region. I have to say they are doing a remarkable job. They were offering a verticle tasting of their Merlot's from 2001 through 2004, all of which were outstanding wines. Next on the list was Pepper Bridge Winery; which only had two wines for tasting, both of which were excellent. I found their Cabernet Savignon to be one of the best I have tried in all Walla Walla. It has a delightful force of power which is perfectly balanced by harmonious fruit and tannins. Another winery worth mentioning is Saviah Cellars. They had a great line up of wines with my personal favorite being their 2005 Walla Walla Valley Malbec. I was astounded by how silky smooth and flavorful this wine was; definitely worth tasting if you ever have the chance. In addition, I was finally able to try the wines of Cougar Crest Winery, which were all worthy of gracing my palate; their Cab Franc is worth pairing with a quality steak. Last, but not least, was my re-visiting of Trio Vintners, where I returned to pick up a couple bottles of their delicious Syrah. It was a real treat to be served by one of the wine makers, who remembered me from a couple months back, and also knew of my earlier blog post regarding their winery. It is very special to get such personal attention, where the wine maker has the time to share his or her passion for wine, and even give a tour of the winery (which happened the first time we went to Trio Vintners). To get such small town attention from wineries serving such world class wines is such a delight to experience.

Overall, this weekend was a wonderful time to further my growing love affair with Walla Walla wines and wineries. Thanks to my good friend John the weekend was so much more enjoyable. On this Sunday night it is very good to be in the company of my beautiful wife and son. It is good to be home.