Portland Wine

A Blog for Clients, Customers, and Wine Geeks everywhere.

A couple of nights ago I was having dinner with my wife at Wild Ginger in Seattle.  We were relaxing before going across the street to see David Byrne perform at the Benaroya symphony hall.  Not caring too much about finding the perfect food and wine paring, I ordered a glass of 2007 Substance Malbec from Washington State.    It wasn’t especially expensive, considering where I was, so I didn’t particularly feel I had much to lose.  I’m not familiar with this wine except for seeing the labels from time to time, so I had no idea what to expect.  Through our wine club, however, we’ve been trying Malbec from Europe, South America, and California.  I have tried several that I didn’t like but I’m happy to report that this wine was quite good.  It had an excellent nose and was full in the mouth with fruit, moderate tannin, and acidity.  As far as paring well with my food …it worked well with my roast duck and bun and did not overpower my sashimi bruchetta.  It did not work with my wife’s scallops but was good with her sauteed baby bok choy and greasy potsickers. 

So after this nice meal and pleasant wine, we left comfortably across the street and were treated to a wonderful concert along with backstage access due to a family connection to one of the performers.  After the show, and its three encores, we got to thank David Byrne and his talented band in the labrinthian belly of the music hall.  We then left with my cousin who is one of his dancers and another band member and went to a nearby bar for drinks and conversation.  It was at this bar that I saw the same Substance Malbec being sold as the one I had had over dinner.  I figured I owed it to myself to try it a second time and get a second impression.  As it turned out, it was just as wonderful but clearly not dependent on food to make its case for existence.  It did not need to be cut with crispy duck skin or fried dumplings.  My mood was quite different from when I had it earlier and I was able to enjoy this in a quaffable kind of way.  The evening left me with many  favorable impressions - My cousin’s dancing skills, David Byrne and his band, Wild Ginger, and Substance Malbec from WA. 

I haven’t done any detective work yet on this winery and their other wines but I know I’ve seen our customers bringing it in from time to time.  If anybody reads this and wants to share some of what they know, I would appreciate it.  I also can’t help but suggest maybe you bring a bottle to our next wine tasting which happens to be tomorrow!