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Cork Dork: St. Nicholas Open House Evolves with Changing Washington Wine Industry

Woodinville Wine Country evolves as established wineries drop out of the annual winter St. Nicholas Open House and new wineries want in.

The first weekend of December brings the St. Nicholas Day Open House to Woodinville Wine Country. And this year it’s no different, though the weekend’s festivities have evolved over time with the changing local wine industry.

New wineries have opened, adding fresh blood to the event. Other wineries have decided not to participate, while others have returned to the celebration after a hiatus. Their reasons for participating, or not, vary.

The end result remains a unique consumer experience Dec. 3-4 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Guests paying $55 for a Saturday and Sunday pass ($40 for a Sunday-only pass) can enjoy wine tasting samples from about 40 wineries in Woodinville. That’s over $1 per winery if you can make it to all the wineries, with most wineries pouring multiple wines.

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Organizers are offering a shuttle this year so guests can focus on drinking and not driving. For more information on the shuttle service click here. Organizers also encourage guests to pick up passes in advance on Dec. 2 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at .

Most tasting rooms will be open during their regular hours and charging their regular tasting fees, including those that are not participating in St. Nick’s.

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Mike Sharadin of Northwest Totem Cellars will be showcasing his wines at , the wine retailer on the southeast corner of the Hollywood Schoolhouse intersection. Sharadin said the number of guests has been diminishing since he started participating in the St. Nicholas Day Open House promotion out of the Hollywood Schoolhouse four years ago.

Sharadin and other vintners said the weekend’s festivities are still profitable but at a much higher cost of doing business, mainly higher additional personnel costs and pouring through cases of sample wines at their expense.

“In the old days St. Nick’s would have represented 20 percent of our annual sales,” said Sharadin, who is also the vice president of the board of Woodinville Wine Country, the nonprofit that organizes St. Nick’s. “Honestly, now it’s a regular weekend in sales, maybe slightly better.”

St. Nick’s remains a valuable promotion and proponents say it brings new consumers to the winery. It’s also strong marketing for the individual wineries as well as the collective Woodinville Wine Country.

“We believe in the value of continuing to promote Woodinville Wine Country,” said Diane Otis, proprietor of and the ultra premium . “It’s important to support that organization. It continues to put Woodinville on the map and, of course, it gives us additional exposure to those who haven’t been exposed to Matthews.”

Sharadin said about 70 percent of wine bottle sales during St. Nick’s weekend are from consumers who have never bought wine from him before.

“The reality is for some wineries, the customer acquisition is really important, especially for the young wineries,” Sharadin said. “For some of the wineries that are not in the Warehouse District or are not open all the time this is a unique opportunity.”

Some vintners said St. Nick’s is not as relevant as it used to be, since many of the wineries in Woodinville are open every weekend, in some cases every day, and the tasting room experience is not as exclusive.

“Now 60 percent of the wineries are opened every day or at least every weekend so it’s not as big a deal to go to a tasting room,” Sharadin said.

Vintners agreed that the cost of pouring samples of wine at their own expense has been a concern. Participating wineries are subsidized by Woodinville Wine Country with ticket sales revenue, but that only covers a fraction of the wine inventory served during the weekend and other related costs.

Vintners said wineries making exclusively ultra premium wines such as , or would give away too much inventory in tasting samples to make St. Nick’s worth their while.

For Matthews Estate, it’s a return to St. Nick’s after taking the last two years off. Matthews had sold most of its inventory the last two years and did not have enough to serve during the last two St. Nick’s promotions. They will be serving their 2008 Black Board Red that retails for $22 and their 2010 Blackboard Sauvignon Blanc that sells for $14.

Otis said St. Nick’s does not tend to attract consumers who are interested in her Tenor wines retailing for $58 and up and has decided to leave her ultra-premium winery out of St. Nick’s. In fact, the Tenor tasting room, regularly open on weekends, will be closed while both locations of Matthews will be participating in St. Nick’s.

“When we are pouring a $35 bottle of wine versus a $10 bottle of wine down the street, we are not reimbursed for the wine,” Otis reasons. “We have to stand back and look at the pluses and minuses. Going forward, our Tenor wines are such a high price point wine that the formula doesn’t work.”  

To purchase tickets or for a list of participating wineries click here.  

Baer Ursa Shines Bright

Three Woodinville wineries were recognized in the top 20 wines of 2011 by the Wine Spectator in its annual Top 100 Wines of the Year special issue. A total of seven wineries from Washington were ranked in the top 50.

The Wine Spectator takes into account the score in the 100-point system, price and total production in compiling its Top 100 Wines of the Year.

The 2008 Ursa (a blend of 53 percent Merlot, 29 percent Cabernet Franc, 13 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 4 percent Malbec and 1 percent Petit Verdot) was rated sixth by the Wine Spectator, receiving a score of 95 points. Retailing for $35, it was the lowest priced wine in the top 20. Production was just over 1,000 cases.

The 2008 Jolie Bouche Boushey Vineyard Syrah retailing for $36 was rated 15th with a score of 95 points. The 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley selling for $30 was rated 18th with a score of 94 points.

The Efeste Jolie Bouche is 100 percent Syrah strictly from the revered Boushey Vineyard in the Yakima Valley. The Januik Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon from the finest vineyards in the state, including Champoux, Klipsun and Ciel du Cheval.

Most, if not all, of the wines rated in the top 100 are sold out. Many have released their ensuing vintage.

Other Washington wines rated among the top 50 include the 25th-rated 2009 Owen Roe Ex Umbris Syrah, Columbia Valley for $24, the 32nd-rated Bordeaux-style blend 2008 Andrew Will Sorella, Horse Heaven Hills for $72, the 39th-rated 2007 Tamarack Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley for $32 and the 41st-rated 2008 L’Ecole No. 41 Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla Valley for $37.

The 2009 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast for $52 was the top rated wine of 2011, with a score of 95 points.

Wine Pick of the Week: 2009 Novelty Hill Chardonnay, Stillwater Creek Vineyard

This wine marries the experienced winemaking of veteran winemaker Mike Januik and the ideal Chardonnay vineyard conditions of Stillwater Creek Vineyard to produce a balanced wine. Make no mistake about it, this is a rich and creamy Chardonnay but it is balanced by clean acidity from this cool site and terroir-driven minerality (likely from the layers of basalt in Stillwater Creek Vineyard). The flavors of ripe green apple and Asian pears accented by spice are redolent of a fresh baked apple pie.

A rich, creamy and balanced wine beckons a rich, creamy and balanced dish. The wine's come-hither seductiveness begs for a dish such as the Prawns Diablo or the Chicken Carbonara at in .

Chardonnay is a natural pairing for prawns, and in particular, this rigatoni dish with layers of flavor. The richness of the wine holds up to the richness and creaminess of the spicy tomato cream sauce. What’s more, the fruit qualities of the wine (though, clearly a dry wine) plus the natural touch of sweetness from the prawns neutralize the spice.

The Chardonnay is versatile enough to pair with a chicken pasta dish as well. At Spazzo, grilled chicken is served with penne pasta in an Alfredo sauce. Once again, the creaminess of the wine and the sauce are each other’s best friends. The toastiness of the 100 percent new French oak plays off the grilled notes of the chicken.

The wine is available at the Novelty Hill/Januik tasting room in Woodinville or on special order at at the Kelsey Creek Shopping Center in Bellevue.

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