My mistake then if Mike Pobega’s post about your wine dinner visit with CLONYC and pouring your wines / new releases failed to mention you did NOT make this particular wine. He must have been more hungover than he thought!
Not enough WA wines listed here…
JB Neufeld
Obelisco
Hitching Post
Ross Andrew
Grand Reve
Doubleback
Baer
The only issue here is none cost $150 to $200 so how could they be as good as Napa/Sonoma cults?!
I’d like to know some Oregon ones too from the Oregonians out there and not just Pinot Noir.
Kris
-I sell none of the above.
No problem, I just have always avoided mentioning my own wines.
All the best,
Russell Bevan
Major ups for Greg and Brandon who are doing great things in WA. The columbia valley wines, cab and syrah are my favorite wines they do as they have excellent acidity. Quickly becomming my biggest producer from the area.
I would also list Reynvaan here with their syrah lineup. Excellent stuff that is still accessible and some people compair to Cayuse with its funkiness. Matt does an excellent job and the wines are improving with every year as the vines mature.
+1
The Morgado Pinot I had tasted was a beauty. Pure as the day is long. Kimberly has learned her craft well and is a very talented & passionate winemaker. Being able to crush my head with her clenched arm is just a bonus and I am sure very useful during harvest. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Ghost Horse
I heard a rumour that this particular project is now defunct.
Bedrock is pretty amazing and has a diverse group of wines. These wines generally have lively palates and very nice aromatics without being shy. Also makes the best domestic rosé.
Would also highly recommend Tablas Creek, and to be clear, while they make somewhat restrained wines they actually seem to score pretty damn well. My favs are Esprit (both Rouge and Blanc), En Gobelet, and the more basic red Cotes.
Big Basin.
May not be to some people’s tastes. . but to me it’s one of the best California syrahs at this price point. Try the Fairview.
you just did. 
I read that it was terminated. And come on. One million dollars for a barrell of wine? It was a sociology experiment to begin with. He’s a big deep sea fisherman and figured he would cast big bait for big fish and I don’t think it panned out.
A few recent purchases from smaller wineries in Oregon were pinots from 2008 Johan Vineyards - 3 barrel; and Tendrill Wine Cellars 08’. I haven’t tried them yet, but both came highly recommended and are fairly new to the scene. I am waiting a bit for them to settle before I open.
Thanks for the Wash recs. I am partial to Betz and think the Clos de Betz is just a fantastic wine for the money.
Reading through all the posts two wines got the most recs. They were Ceritas and Tablas Creek. Many other great recs in there, some of which I am waiting for wine from to try for the first time(Clos Saron, Rivers Marie, & Wind Gap). Others I will store away in my wish list and continue adding to the cellar over time, which promises to engulf my house any day now.
Any of you going to Berserkerfest in NYC in October? This will be my first one - hope to meet any of you who might be attending.
Ryme just sent out their first release. Very reasonable prices. I have not tasted them but a few people whom I trust have. I ordered a mix.
Zepaltas
Some might by the old next thing or the never was, but I like 'em. 
Plus some names bouncing around in here have also been around a bit. (e.g. Tablas) As an aside, I’m tired of expensive juice so here are some bang for your buck options.
Massican
Matthiason (and by extension Pied a Terre) As an aside my understanding is Steve and then Dan (of Massican) were the first to work with Ribolla (ala Ryme Cellars)
Upstart Crow
Cultivar
Wind Gap (Agree on the it being very different than the Pax style-- the Trousseau Gris was an interesting odd ball)
Donkey & Goat (some it is “out there” though so YMMV also I think the Wind Gap and Donkey are now in the same ‘school winemaking’ at this point)
Anthill Farms (esp. the Tina Marie and by extension Knez but for me just the Pinot at this point)
Skinner
I know the next big thing has to be a cab so i’ll play:
O’shaughnessy- great winemaker and 2 great vineyard sites. A series of mid to high nineties parker scores. 98 and 94 in '08, 96 and 95 in '07, and a string of good vintages before that. Also there 2 cabs are priced 75 and 90.
Scully- this one is really nice. Helen keplinger ( now with bryant) and an amazing high elevation mt veeder site. They have been quietly building this project. With the price still at 45! And the quality high, the door on the ground floor is still open here.
Emerson Brown- With a great east oakville site thats in the family, and a partnership that consists of kieth emerson ( vineyard 29, robert craig )
and brian brown ( round pond ), these guys a putting out a big svd oakville cab for $50.
I think everyone here is hip to Myriad and Rudius and Hayfork.
Westerhold syrah- this bennet valley syrah project has a good site, and russel bevan in the cellar. This syrah was the winner of the rhone rangers
shootout, 2 years in a row!!! With direct pricing in the 40’s, this one is nice.
The nineties aren’t coming back anytime soon… and so there will never be “cults” in the same manner. But the desire to join producers on the way up will always remain. Cheers.
+1 to that, Corey.
I suggest Dragonette. In disclosure, I used to work with Brandon and John at Wally’s in Los Angeles. Went there to try it, and was very impressed when I did. They are making solid juice. Most importantly, it shows in the glass.
Not quite. See my post on the FriulianFest.
Something like 7-8 yrs ago, GeorgeVare brought in Ribolla cuttings that came from JoskoGravner and planted a small vnyd to Ribolla.
The first couple of yrs, he made Calif’s only Ribolla from those grapes once they were producing. Then he decided to share some of his
small yield w/ other/young-turk winemakers who were interested in Ribolla. Those you mentioned, as well as Enrico&Letizia/ArbeGarbe,
MichaelChiarello, MatthewRorick/ForlornHope. RobbieMeyer/MarkGrassi, AbeSchoener/Scholium, and RyanGlaab/Ryme. Since then, both
Enrico and Steve have planted their own Ribolla.
Tracey&Jared Brandt/D&G, like Pax and a number of others, are playing around w/ extended skin contact on their whites. “Interesting”
is how many of these experiments can be characterized. The technique seriously distorts the character of the wine (if the skin contact is long)
and these wines are not accepted by those who worship at the altar of terroir & varietal typicity…you gotta think outside the box as some Monktown attourneys
admonish us to do.
There’s considerable interest in fermentations in concrete tanks. To my knowledge, Ryan is the only one thus far fermenting in amphorae.
Tom
Tom - To be more precise. Abe Schoener traveled to Friuli with George Vare, I believe Abe was the winemaker at Luna at the time, and made the first Ribolla (in 2004) under the Vare label AND to me it is still the benchmark and I have had most of the other versions from Vare Vineyards. The French Laundry bought almost the entire 2004 Release from Vare. I still have some 2004 Vare but I am sure if I have the Ribolla as there were several different cuvees.
On another note when are you going to make wine! Or have you? I want to follow you from the start!