Walla Walla Wine Cellar

Crush is always an extremely busy time for winemakers (and crew). So it was a treat when Ashley Trout of Flying Trout Wines agreed to take a break from the long days and sit down to answer a few questions for us.

Amy Rootvik: For how long have you been interested in winemaking?
Ashley Trout: For one week before I started. I saw an email about working at a winery when I was 18 and started the next week. That was September of 1999.

AR: How did you get involved in the Argentina project? We have to get used to you being out of town several months per year.
AT: I broke a bunch of bones during crush one year and missed it and got better just as crush was ending. I didn’t want to wait 9 months for the next crush so I started looking into the southern hemisphere. I was raised in Spanish so that wasn’t a problem and someone said to come on down, so I did.
I got to Argentina and the winemaker who said I had a position didn’t really believe that I would show up, so suddenly I was without work and in Argentina for three months. I started knocking on doors essentially, until I got an internship with Alta Vista, one of Michel Rolland’s wineries down there. Following years I worked with Tamari, Tapiz (known as Zolo in the US) and Alta Vista.

AR: I know you’re a fabulous cook. I’ve heard the rave reviews. So what’s your favorite food and wine pairing?
AT: The unlikely. Surprises are my favorite. I work a lot with malbec and have found that the more French the malbec gets, the better it goes with butternut squash, but most malbecs go well with many types of squash.

AR. You do all your own bottling by hand here at Flying Trout, don’t you? Do you have any comments on that process?
AT: You have to have a sense of humor to make wine without expensive, modern technology. My bottle filler most closely resembles a cow udder or a grenade depending on how well it decides to work that day. I think over all, the process is one that creates very little bottle shock due to the lack of rough pumping, that’s what I like most about it.

AR: What do you believe sets you and Flying Trout Wines apart from others in the industry? Is there anything you are particularly proud of?
AT: I am really working on malbec. My goal is to be able to continually work with malbec from Argentina and all of the AVAs in Washington State.

AR: What is the best advice you have ever received?
AT: To paraphrase: simplify, minimize and focus. I tend to be less focused than I would like, especially getting a small business going, but when it comes to wine, I have been trying my best to minimize the chaos and really think about each detail—to do less, but better.

AR: What can you tell us about your upcoming releases?
AT: I have two Horse Heaven Hill malbecs that are fun to compare—one from a windier site and one from a stiller site. I’ve got an old vines malbec rosé (21 year old vines) coming out this summer, with a Novermber 15th preview event. That malbec comes from a part of the state that creates real fruity wines. I’ve also got a 2005 cabernet sauvignon/carmenere being released (27 cases) that has some great pepper and spice.

AR: And finally, Sonja [my sister] wants to know if you can make a wine that tastes just like ice cream… and has no alcohol in it… and is frozen. You can get back to us on that one.
AT: No. [smile]

***
Having seen what Ashley is capable of, I wouldn’t be shocked if she showed up someday with a bowl of homemade ice cream for Sonja. Ashley is a talent to watch. To top it all off, she is loads of fun and completely down to earth. Don’t be fooled by her humble nature. This girl is a powerhouse who is making things happen and gaining new fans everywhere she goes.
We’re loving her current malbec and anxiously awaiting her next release.

An Ancient returns! (And we don’t mean us. We mean Carmenere.) This week we’re back with news from both sides of the world. The story starts in the Médoc region of Bordeaux, France where Carmenere has known origins. Though there are stories (like from Pliny the Elder) placing it at the scene of crimes in ancient Iberia. But now it is best known as a product of Chile. This is a story of love, loss, and resurrection — with many years of mistaken identity.

Justin had a few words on the wine:

Carmenere: At one time, this peppery robust variety was once as widely planted as Cabernet sauvignon in Bordeaux, France. Post Phylloxera the grape had practically been pushed to extinction. Re-appearing in the early 90s in Chile via a Spanish traveler. Today the grape is Chile’s claim to fame, as they are the world’s number one producer of this spicy beast. While quality levels vary quite a bit there are some great examples that can be found at many price points. A small amount of this grape exists in Washington. Seven Hills vineyard is home to some acreage. The grape seams to be fairing [sic] well. When it is available it sells out pretty fast. There are some Walla Walla producers that are blending the grape and others crafting it into a stand-alone variety.

The history of Carmenere is truly exciting. Thought extinct after a 19th century plague, mistaken for Merlot in Chile, grown in Italy under the false identity of Cabernet franc until the late ’90s, Carmenere has now emerged to reclaim its true identity. This returned Ancient is here to stay, and I for one am grateful.

Locally, there are several wineries who bottle (or have bottled) Carmenere: Reininger, Morrison Lane, and of course Colvin (who has decided to close its doors). In addition to Seven Hills Vineyard, Morrison Lane and Colvin Vineyards have been the primary sources of Carmenere in the valley.

Quick note on spelling: In the title you see the correct name, Carménère. But since most people do get lazy with accents, and there is not consensus, it can be seen spelled in a variety of ways. The most common are Carmenère and the un-accented Carmenere. We have chosen the latter for the simple reason that web browsers sometimes do strange things with accents. We may change this if the accents pass testing.