Syrah, Very Sexy

Syrah is not just sexy. 'Tis a bloody miracle. The deep, deep purple color. Nothing less than gorgeous. Mouth watering. The juice dares, teases, taunts, and entices you to dive right in. After inhaling the nearly overwhelming fragrances that Syrah emits from your glass, you just can't wait to taste this amazing wine. But, hopefully you've paused long enough to actually smell it and swirl it a bit before taking that first sip. Some Syrahs are really very good. Some are even remarkable. Then there are Syrahs that make you stand up and take notice. They make you say, "Hey Baby. Where've you been all my life?" And that was the case last Wednesday when I tasted the Gamache Syrah at the Sexy Syrah Tasting at Salty's on Alki. I tasted several of the Syrahs at the Sexy Syrah tasting but the Gamache absolutely blew them all out of the water. The Gamache Syrah was luscious, complex, and it literally shouted, "Hey you! I'm the best damned Syrah you'll taste all night." That was an understatement. It's not really a bargain, if that's what you're looking for these days, as most of us are. It sells for just under 30 scheckles. Definitely no bargain. But if you're looking for an occasional treat, this is the Syrah for you.

This year was the eighth annual event for the Sexy Syrah Tasting at Salty's. If you haven't been to Salty's on Alki, the view of Seattle (when the weather is clear) from across the Sound is nothing short of breathtaking. The weather Gods blessed us with a gorgeous evening so the evening at Salty's was spectacular. This year I played it smart. I waited until the drunks, um, I mean the folks tasting the wines mostly left. It started at 6:00pm so I arrived around 8:00. Still plenty of time to taste and no lines! The usual suspects were there, a lot of the same really good Washington wineries that you see at most of these types of events, but there were some other wineries that I hadn't heard of yet, which is not surprising. At the rate that Washington wineries are opening here, I may never have enough time to taste all of the wines made here. A girl can dream, though!

My personal favorites were: Gamache (previously mentioned and drooled over), Walter Dacon, Bunnell, and Reininger. I also tasted Syrahs from: DiStefano, Jones (no, not Senoj for you dyslexics!), Lost River, Powers, VaPiano, and some others that were so unremarkable that I don't remember them. Should have had my notebook with me to take notes! They were all pretty good but Gamache ROCKED! As a side note, I was lucky enough to pour wine for Gamache a couple of years ago at Kirkland Uncorked. It was my duty to taste them all prior to pouring them so it really sucked to be me that night. NOT!

And speaking of damn good Syrahs under 20 scheckles, just in case you were wondering what I'm sipping on right now. I'm enjoying a Syrah from a winery called Substance - winesofsubstance.com. The 2007 Substance Syrah from Columbia Valley goes for 15 scheckles at Whole Foods and it is worth every penny. YUM!

Now stop reading this and go enjoy the sunshine all you local fans! :-)