A Conversation with Lobo Hills

I had the opportunity to sit down with local winemaker (and motorcycle aficionado) Tony Dollar and ask him a few questions about his winery, Lobo Hills. Prior to winemaking, Tony had worked in the hospitality/restaurant industry at such places as Canlis. His opening venture into wine was in the winter of 2010 with three wines totaling 234 cases; 2009 Riesling, 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, and a non-vintage Cabernet Sauvignon. Today, Lobo Hills aims to produce almost 1,200 cases thanks to the created fan-base in and around Seattle for their wines.

The aim of Lobo Hills wine is to produce ‘wine for food’, in other words balanced and acidic wines that are drinkable throughout a meal. The winery itself is based out of the Dollars’ home in the Wedgewood neighborhood in North Seattle, and uses minimal intervention in its production techniques. Tony sources his grapes from throughout Eastern Washington: white varietals from around the town of Sunnyside, red varietals from near Benton City, the Red Mountain AVA region, and Wahluke Slope.

Since Lobo Hills wine is made with food in mind, I asked Tony what his favorite food pairings were for the vintages carried here at Portalis:

Right Bank Red Blend: Beef stew, or roasted Portobello mushrooms

Cabernet Sauvignon: Beef Tenderloin

Riesling: Grilled Pork medallions or Lemon roasted chicken

Look for new vintages to arrive in April (among them being a new to the market white blend!)

Cheers!

Kyle

Dream Picks for the Holidays

I asked our staff if they could select any wine in the shop to drink for the holidays which would it be?  The only criteria was to dream big!  Here’s what’s on our Christmas lists…

Sky: Right now I’m all about the pure enjoyment. It’s cold out there, so I’m into big, rich fruit-bombs with no apologies. Something to sip that I don’t have to plan a meal around, like a bottle of Two Hands 2005 Bad Impersonator Shiraz from Barossa Valley, Australia ($68).

Ross: My entire family gathers every Christmas at my grandparents house for a huge Italian feast. Everybody contributes traditional favorites, mine being fried risotto balls (arancinis). My dream pick would be Bricco Francesco 2000 Barolo Rocche Dell’Annunziata ($62), it would be a wine worthy of all the good food on the table.

Erin:  I’m spending New Year’s in Vegas, yeah, Vegas baby! My pick would have to be Villmart NV Grand Cellier Brut Premier Cru  (SALE $76.99), I haven’t had the pleasure of tasting this yet, but this small grower-estate Champagne would be a memorable way to ring in 2010.

Julie: I’ll go with the O’Shaughnessy 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa ($85)! We talked it up for the Windermere fundraiser (where it raised over $500 on a wine raffle) and it got great reviews (93 points) in the Tasting Circle December 2008 Tasting … but I’ve never gotten to try it. Must be a jewel, especially with beef tenderloin on Christmas day (our tradition)!

Jens: If I could have any bottle in the shop as a holiday gift, I’d pick the Domaine de Marcoux 2007 Chateauneuf-du-Pape. I tried an older vintage several years ago in San Francisco at a big regional tasting. It was fantastic and 2007 should be even better!  Second pick … Sparkman 2006 Kingpin
Cabernet Sauvignon. Third … Achaval 2007 Quimera. Happy Holidays!

Tracey:  My fiancé Sam and I celebrate with his parents on their farm near Bellingham and we start our Christmas morning off with Champagne. It’s a tradition that I love and look forward to every year. This year it would be awesome if that special Champagne were Gaston Chiquet “Tradition” 1er Cru (SALE $51.99).

Gina: Just one?? We have beef wellington every year for Christmas dinner, and I can’t imagine drinking it with anything other than a beautiful French red, perhaps a bottle of say…Chateau Gloria 2006 Saint-Julien Bordeaux ($60) It’s dark, plummy with cassis flavors and a beautiful silky finish. Santa are you reading this?

Cheers from all of us at Portalis! We wish everyone a wonderful and happy holiday! ~ Gina

O’Shea Scarborough Winery (Seattle)

A cool label goes a long way in my book and these guys have some of the best labels in town. They range from edgy to mystical to beautiful with sort of a historic depth. (They also use the big, sturdy bottles that make the wine feel important in your hands. Nothing says big, worthy (gift) wine like this type of bottle.) But the label isn’t what’s important … it’s the wine, and these guys are producing some notably outstanding local wines.

O’Shea Scarborough Winery is a partnership between Travis Scarborough and Darryn O’Shea. Travis and Darryn both called on us at Portalis in their former lives as wine reps for local Seattle distributors. I remember when Travis stopped by with one of his first vintages – no label, no approvals, just a bottle of Washington Syrah for Jens and Gina to try. Jens said it was good, but I’m not sure at the time that I realized they were going to make a go of it.

Their winery started in a garage (for real), and for more on their garagiste roots, check out this interview from 2006. They have upped the ante since then, moving to a grown-up facility in Tukwila. As well, they are past just having a bottle of red, producing an impressive array of varietals, including reds, whites and a dessert wine.  I can tell Jens likes these wines and so I asked what makes them different.  He said that for their first vintage, they are “pretty darn impressive wines”.  He said that most of the time when he tastes first vintage Washington wines they are fine, but they all sort of taste the same.  These, though, ”have good acidity, balance and are pretty complex, with well-integrated oak.  It’s a promising beginning.”  Here’s Jens’ take on their lineup:

O’Shea Scarborough 2007 Semillon
Red Mountain, WA; $22
We currently serve this wine by the glass at the wine bar & people love it.  Wonderful pear and melon flavors with some citrus. Great acidity. A good sipper.

O’Shea Scarborough 2007 Proprietors Chardonnay
Horse Heaven Hills, WA; $34
Vibrant citrus fruit combined with toast and vanilla flavors. Excellent Chardonnay.

O’Shea 2007 Riesling “Cease & Desist”
Dineen Vineyard, Yakima Valley, WA
Bright & dry, German-style, good sipping acidity, good minerality.  Good future.  Store up to 2 years.

O’Shea Scarborough 2005 “The Immortal” Syrah
Columbia Valley, WA; Reg $38/Sale $34.50
Dark fruit, with espresso and coffee notes. Medium- to full-bodied, well-balanced and elegant.

O’Shea Scarborough 2006 Proprietors Cabernet Sauvignon
Yakima Valley, WA; $40
Black currant, cassis, dark fruit. Complex, elegant, with fine tannins on the finish.

O’Shea Scarborough 2007 Eiswein
Yakima Valley, WA; $34
One of the best WA “Eisweine” we have tasted. If you are interested in tasting this sweet dessert wine, grab it as we only have 1 bottle left.

Try these out if you get a chance.  They are excellent examples of what can come out of Washington State.

Contributor:  Julie Howe