Valentino Wine

Knipprath Cellars Is Doing It Right

I recently had the pleasure of visiting one of Spokane, Washington’s most unique wineries, Knipprath Cellars. The winery is located in an old schoolhouse. It’s very quaint, though a bit chilly the day I visited. I was greeted at the top of the stairs by Sinay, who was manning (or in this case, womaning) the tasting room this particular day. See also this interview with Henning Knipprath of Knipprath Cellars. Knipprath is well-known for their Spiced Wine, Port, and some other pretty unique offerings. Knipprath is located in the Spokane Valley, at the historic Parkwater Schoolhouse.

I knew very little about Knipprath Cellars except that there WAS one, so I asked many questions and Sinay answered them one by one. I found out that Knipprath Cellars is a family-owned winery that just celebrated ten years of being a full-time winery. All in all, I tasted 13 different wines including Roussanne, Syrah, Tempranillo, Merlot and a whole slew of dessert wines, which seems to be their niche.

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Let’s also take a look at a few more interesting American wines. California is around the world renown for its quality wines. Check out the following wines that are really standing out in a market that has the largest number of varieties of agricultural produce in the world: WINE!

2013 Petite Sirah “Lovett Vineyard”, Red Hills

Deeply saturated and inky in the glass – ruby purple with violet glints.  The aromas set the stage for this wine – quintessential Petite Sirah notes of blackberry jam, rhubarb pie, baking spices, and blueberries are buoyed by a set of savory aromatics of cigar box, wet gravel, espresso, and fine oak.  The palate mirrors the nose – rich, ripe berry and cherry notes with underpinnings of dark chocolate, and coffee and a hint of hoppy porter.

Generous fine-grained tannins provide a backbone to the long, lingering finish of cassis and bittersweet chocolate.   With this bottling, the richness and ripeness of fruit are perfectly matched by bright, youthful acidity, giving the wine freshness and balance in this early stage and promising the potential for longer-term cellaring over the next 5-7 years.  As the wine matures, the jammy notes will transform into plush, darker fruit while the tannins soften and become velvety on the palate, slowly transforming into a highly nuanced and elegant wine.

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