2019 Canoe Ridge Vineyard Red Blend, Columbia Valley
Tasting Notes
Fragrant aromas of dark berries lead to a palate of dark fruits, black plum, and blackberry that are complimented with hints of dark chocolate on the finish. Pairs well with venison, grilled tuna, and gorgonzola cheese.
About the Vintage
The 2019 vintage in Washington State proved to be a cooler and wetter year than the last several vintages. Still, a rainy September and brief cold snap in mid-October didn’t keep this harvest from showing brighter and very balanced wines. Wines are presenting with phenolic ripeness without the higher sugars shown in the last few vintages. Roses are bright in color with beautiful natural acids and very fruit-driven, with a bonus of having lower alcohols due to the lower brix at harvest. The aromatics such as Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris and Viognier are true-to-variety and wonderfully aromatic with more floral aromas than they have shown in years. Even big reds such as Merlot and Malbec have intense and forward floral aromatics. Washington was on a warming trend since 2012, until 2019 came along to serve as a reminder that Mother Nature is in full control and will keep the viticulture teams expecting the unexpected.
AVA Background
Known for its many and varied microclimates (cool, warm, windy, hilly, flat), Columbia Valley is the umbrella AVA under which many of the state’s sub-AVAs fall. While it contains 99% of wine grapes grown in Washington State, 6,851 of its acres are unique to the Columbia Valley and don’t overlap another sub-AVA in the state.
Canoe Ridge Vineyard is one of Washington State’s most recognized wineries, with its namesake vineyard established in 1989 in the Horse Heaven Hills American Viticultural Area. Varieties are focused on Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. The name comes from a ridge by the vineyard located along the mid-Columbia River, near the town of Paterson. The famed explorers Lewis & Clark named this crest of land as the journeyed down the Columbia River in 1805. From the river, the adventurers thought the ridge resembled an overturned canoe. The Walla Walla-based winery marked its 20th anniversary in 2014.
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Rat reporting for duty! I found a little surprise package in my mail on Saturday. Apparently, I hadn’t checked my email for a few days and missed the notice from Alice…ooops! Upon opening, I found a bottle of:
2019 Canoe Ridge Vineyards Red Bend, Columbia Valley as well as a bonus CaseMates stemless glass!
I’m going to preface my notes with a disclaimer. I have had a terrible cold for the past 2+ weeks. I think this is the first cold I’ve had since the pre-Covid era and it hit me pretty hard. I’m at the tail end of it, but I may not be able to pick up any nuanced characteristics, should there be such things in this wine.
On opening, the nose is full of dark red/black fruit such as dark cherries, blackberry, plum, maybe some blueberry. There is a note leaning towards the anise/licorice range, as well as something herbal which I can’t put my finger on. I’m leaning towards oregano, but that may be coming from my accompanying pizza (hahaha). Palate is fairly reflective of the nose with lots of cherry/blackberry, a nice acid backbone, mellow tannins, and again, something herbal I can’t pinpoint. It has a nice medium finish. It’s definitely dry, but I could see how some might perceive some sweetness from the solid fruit-forward profile. Nothing much changed over a few hours of sipping on night #1.
Afternoon/night #2: Nose still has lots of dark fruit. The “herbal” note from Night 1 seems to be leaning more towards earthy/tobacco on Night 2.
Paired well with my pizza choice (thin crust, spinach, garlic, mushroom, fresh tomato, cheese), as well as with tortellini in a tomato cream sauce.
Paired very well with dark chocolate.
I still have a glass or so left for a Night #3 taste, which I’ll post late Monday.
I’ve never had any Canoe Ridge wines to the best of my recollection and don’t know much about them and have not looked at any info on the wine prior to posting. For me, this would fall into the “daily drinkers” category…a wine I’d be happy to open on a random evening or bring to a party for the masses. It’s pleasant and very easy to drink. I think it would go with a wide variety of food options but could also easily be sipped without food. I think it would be a crowd pleaser at a gathering but it’s not likely to knock anyone’s socks off.
As always, it’s a pleasure to contribute to the Lab Rat Program here at CaseMates. Thank you to Alice, Winedavid49 and Canoe Ridge Vineyards for the opportunity to contribute to this amazing community.
Cheers!
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations).
2019 Canoe Ridge Vineyard Red Blend - $50 = 33.33%
Hi - I was also sent a bottle of the 2019 Canoe Ridge Vineyards Red Bend, Columbia Valley. On initial opening, the nose was very primary, mostly black cherry and initial taste was a bit closed but balanced
Let the bottle sit open on the counter for about an hour.
Back to taste after a bit of air.
Nose: Black Cherry and red fruits, some bramble and some pyrazine, vanilla, clove, and baking spices. I would have guessed this had some zin and/or cab franc in it, but the description indicates I’m wrong!!
Taste: Nice black cherry fruit again, but I would not say this is fruit forward. It’s well balanced. Medium tannins, medium- acid, medium finish. This is decent, well-made wine. I guessed a casemates price of $12-15, so at the case price, I think this is a great deal.
We paired the wine with dinner of pesto pasta with English peas and sausage. I didn’t really think the wine had much change with the food, either positive or negative. My wife thought the food added some depth and body to the wine and helped bring out some additional nuances of flavor. She has a better palate than I do!
I agree with Karen above, this would be a great everyday/pizza wine or one to take to a neighborhood cook out, and at this price it’s easy to pick up a case.
You can get canoe ridge varietals at Safeway here in Oregon for $25 and it’s exactly what the rats describe it as. Great for an everyday sipper or for a bbq. Totally worth the cellar space. In for a case!
Arrgh, you’re killing me (softly! Now you won’t be able to get that song out of your head!). I am overflowing with all the good deals lately.
I fell in love with the WA-OR wine country with my first tour of the area 18 years ago. This offer is a steal!
Anybody in Raleigh/Greensboro area wanting to split?
@outdoorslife helpful tip: the automated email comes out on the 2nd day of the offer*. So there is even a chance of a sell-out the first day and people will get the mail for an offer already sold-out. This has happened a few times. best to check often just to be sure.
This offer actually looked slow to take off Monday according to the state click-map. Then I guess word spread and it took off. I bought early the first morning because I’m familiar with NW wines and this type of blend (sometimes sold as a “CMS”), so from a reputable winery seemed like a sure bet.
*The only day you get the automated mail the 1st day is Friday since it’s a 1-day offer.
It makes me happy, when a offering sells out, means we as customers are doing our job, keeping casemates and the wineries in business, after all, if they are not selling enough to stay in business, then we can’t buy from here.
I was vacillating over buying this because I exceeded my wine budget for the month. Had this been three days later, I would have been in for a case. I am finding that Columbia Valley and its sub-AVAs are wonderful values of very high quality.
2019 Canoe Ridge Vineyard Red Blend, Columbia Valley
Tasting Notes
About the Vintage
AVA Background
Specs
What’s Included
4-bottles:
Case:
Price Comparison
Not for sale on winery website, $432/case MSRP
About The Wineries
Canoe Ridge Vineyard
Available States
AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, ID, IL, IA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY
Estimated Delivery
Monday, Feb 26 - Tuesday, Feb 27
2019 Canoe Ridge Vineyard Red Blend
4 bottles for $49.99 $12.50/bottle + $2/bottle shipping
Case of 12 for $99.99 $8.33/bottle + $1/bottle shipping
Rat reporting for duty! I found a little surprise package in my mail on Saturday. Apparently, I hadn’t checked my email for a few days and missed the notice from Alice…ooops! Upon opening, I found a bottle of:
2019 Canoe Ridge Vineyards Red Bend, Columbia Valley as well as a bonus CaseMates stemless glass!
I’m going to preface my notes with a disclaimer. I have had a terrible cold for the past 2+ weeks. I think this is the first cold I’ve had since the pre-Covid era and it hit me pretty hard. I’m at the tail end of it, but I may not be able to pick up any nuanced characteristics, should there be such things in this wine.
On opening, the nose is full of dark red/black fruit such as dark cherries, blackberry, plum, maybe some blueberry. There is a note leaning towards the anise/licorice range, as well as something herbal which I can’t put my finger on. I’m leaning towards oregano, but that may be coming from my accompanying pizza (hahaha). Palate is fairly reflective of the nose with lots of cherry/blackberry, a nice acid backbone, mellow tannins, and again, something herbal I can’t pinpoint. It has a nice medium finish. It’s definitely dry, but I could see how some might perceive some sweetness from the solid fruit-forward profile. Nothing much changed over a few hours of sipping on night #1.
Afternoon/night #2: Nose still has lots of dark fruit. The “herbal” note from Night 1 seems to be leaning more towards earthy/tobacco on Night 2.
Paired well with my pizza choice (thin crust, spinach, garlic, mushroom, fresh tomato, cheese), as well as with tortellini in a tomato cream sauce.
Paired very well with dark chocolate.
I still have a glass or so left for a Night #3 taste, which I’ll post late Monday.
I’ve never had any Canoe Ridge wines to the best of my recollection and don’t know much about them and have not looked at any info on the wine prior to posting. For me, this would fall into the “daily drinkers” category…a wine I’d be happy to open on a random evening or bring to a party for the masses. It’s pleasant and very easy to drink. I think it would go with a wide variety of food options but could also easily be sipped without food. I think it would be a crowd pleaser at a gathering but it’s not likely to knock anyone’s socks off.
As always, it’s a pleasure to contribute to the Lab Rat Program here at CaseMates. Thank you to Alice, Winedavid49 and Canoe Ridge Vineyards for the opportunity to contribute to this amazing community.
Cheers!
@karenhynes Great review! Very helpful. Get well.
How much more are you saving by buying a full case?
(Note: tax and shipping are not included in savings calculations).
2019 Canoe Ridge Vineyard Red Blend - $50 = 33.33%
Hi - I was also sent a bottle of the 2019 Canoe Ridge Vineyards Red Bend, Columbia Valley. On initial opening, the nose was very primary, mostly black cherry and initial taste was a bit closed but balanced
Let the bottle sit open on the counter for about an hour.
Back to taste after a bit of air.
Nose: Black Cherry and red fruits, some bramble and some pyrazine, vanilla, clove, and baking spices. I would have guessed this had some zin and/or cab franc in it, but the description indicates I’m wrong!!
Taste: Nice black cherry fruit again, but I would not say this is fruit forward. It’s well balanced. Medium tannins, medium- acid, medium finish. This is decent, well-made wine. I guessed a casemates price of $12-15, so at the case price, I think this is a great deal.
We paired the wine with dinner of pesto pasta with English peas and sausage. I didn’t really think the wine had much change with the food, either positive or negative. My wife thought the food added some depth and body to the wine and helped bring out some additional nuances of flavor. She has a better palate than I do!
I agree with Karen above, this would be a great everyday/pizza wine or one to take to a neighborhood cook out, and at this price it’s easy to pick up a case.
@jhkey thanks for the review! i agree, this is a killer deal.
You can get canoe ridge varietals at Safeway here in Oregon for $25 and it’s exactly what the rats describe it as. Great for an everyday sipper or for a bbq. Totally worth the cellar space. In for a case!
/giphy oily-cool-mummy
Anyone interested in a Marin/SF split?
@cosmo108 Happy to share a case.
Good timing for me. Running low on every day suppers. In for a case
I am in Sf. Would be willing to split!!
Canoe Ridge banned in OH?? We have plenty of lakes and rivers to canoe in…
@itsjer Tippecanoe
@smoothie72 Exactly!!
Arrgh, you’re killing me (softly! Now you won’t be able to get that song out of your head!). I am overflowing with all the good deals lately.
I fell in love with the WA-OR wine country with my first tour of the area 18 years ago. This offer is a steal!
Anybody in Raleigh/Greensboro area wanting to split?
@Kraxberger Much better song to get stuck on than the horrible Ozempic song. sorry now y’all are thinking of that one.
Maybe this will help
/youtube killing me softly official video
Edit sorry I couldn’t get an original video but this rendition is certainly a new twist.
WAH? @WineDavid49
Cases are ALREADY sold out its only 8:39am on the East coast, any chance of more cases???
@outdoorslife helpful tip: the automated email comes out on the 2nd day of the offer*. So there is even a chance of a sell-out the first day and people will get the mail for an offer already sold-out. This has happened a few times. best to check often just to be sure.
This offer actually looked slow to take off Monday according to the state click-map. Then I guess word spread and it took off. I bought early the first morning because I’m familiar with NW wines and this type of blend (sometimes sold as a “CMS”), so from a reputable winery seemed like a sure bet.
*The only day you get the automated mail the 1st day is Friday since it’s a 1-day offer.
@outdoorslife @pmarin Subscribing to the Case Savings thread will (usually) get you notification of new offers before the automated email.
Dang!! Me too. I was was going to buy a case yesterday but wanted to see some more discussion first.
Any chance at all? more cases??
Cases are back up.
/giphy limping-neat-nation
Awesome! Got one.
POKER! JOKER! NOT MEDIOCRE! AWESOME!
SOLD OUT
Alright. Asking one more time for a restock. Any chance? If I get a solid yes or no I dont need to keep rechecking every 15 minutes
@gtcharlie apooogies. i thought we had more of this one. great deal.
@Winedavid
Dang. Really a great price. Have been to the winery and love their wines.
It makes me happy, when a offering sells out, means we as customers are doing our job, keeping casemates and the wineries in business, after all, if they are not selling enough to stay in business, then we can’t buy from here.
@winecaseaholic I came on to say the same thing! Granted I didn’t buy a case for this one, I’m super happy to see more sell outs!
I was vacillating over buying this because I exceeded my wine budget for the month. Had this been three days later, I would have been in for a case. I am finding that Columbia Valley and its sub-AVAs are wonderful values of very high quality.
Glad they sold out.