Medium Plus

I am super excited to be hosting a tasting featuring the wines of Kobayashi this Friday at 7pm. Winemaker Travis Allen will be in the house!

Having become a powerful force on the Washington scene over the last decade, Travis and his wife Mario have developed a vibrant following for their wines. The program highlights Rhône grape varieties, along with innovative production techniques, Japanese family heritage, and energetically delicious flavors. Their production volume is intentionally capped, allowing quality to be maintained, although the wines now sell out faster than ever.

I first met Travis and Mario back in December of 2019 at an event with Modernist Cuisine, shortly before the world changed for a while, and I was able to unearth a photo from that evening, seen below. Since then I have been lucky to get to know them as friends, while following the ascent of Kobayashi as the wines continue to gain fame.

Travis takes direct inspiration from the likes of Gangloff, Allemand, and Selosse, and elements of those legendary producers shine through in the wines. Sidestepping the increasingly busy appellation structure within Columbia Valley, the labels typically carry the unassuming title of Washington State, although exceptional vineyard sources are used, including WeatherEye near Red Mountain. This reminds me of the great Tuscan producers who have opted to use Toscana IGT in lieu of the tangled web of Chianti and other appellations, allowing the wines to speak for themselves with less noise on the label.

Speaking of Tuscany, Podere Il Carnasciale of that region has become a collaborator with Kobayashi in recent years. They became famous for their emphasis on the unique Caberlot grape variety, which they favor bottling in magnum as a default format. The collaboration bottling of “Kobayashi x Caberlot” is a superbly rare release, and we are excited to feature this wine in the lineup, along with other Kobayashi treats like the Light of The Night Marsanne dessert wine.

RSVP available on the Medium Plus website.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you can join for the event, or another one of our tastings coming up soon.

Best,
Nick

Medium Plus, Seattle

Blind Tasting Buddies - Aromatics and Pigments.

An exciting exploration of styles, with a focus on deductive tasting techniques, and the evolution of older vintage wines.

Alsace, in northeastern France, is one of the most unique regions in the wine world. Up against the border with Germany, the region takes a lot of cues from both French and German traditions. The official language is French, but a lot of folks will speak German too, which influences a lot of the wines of the region in terms of wine styles.
Four noble varieties—Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, and Muscat—define Alsace’s wine identity, complemented by Pinot Noir for reds and additional varieties like Pinot Blanc and Auxerrois, creating a diverse grape-scape.
Ranging from bone-dry to lusciously sweet, Alsatian wines showcase remarkable versatility. The region’s white wines are particularly renowned, with Crémant representing their sparkling wine tradition. Produced using the traditional method (méthode champenoise), Crémant d’Alsace is typically crafted from Pinot Noir for rosé and a blend of local grapes like Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, and Auxerrois for white varieties. Botrytis, known as “noble rot,” plays a crucial role in creating the region’s most extraordinary sweet wines. This beneficial fungus dehydrates grape clusters, concentrating sugars and creating complex flavor profiles, transforming them into luscious dessert wines.
France’s sunniest region, Alsace enjoys a distinctive microclimate created by the Vosges Mountains’ rain shadow, providing optimal conditions for viticulture with dry, sunny conditions that nurture exceptional grape development. There’s also a really wide mix of soil types in the geology. Alsace’s terroir offers winemakers a complex canvas of soil types that contribute to the nuanced character of its renowned wines.
There are over 50 Grand Cru designated vineyards in Alsace, and that can often appear on the label. The Grand Cru system, established in the late 20th century, meticulously categorizes vineyards, each with specific regulations governing grape varieties and winemaking practices, embodying the French commitment to terroir-driven production.
Visit the link below to explore our selection from the region.
https://www.mediumplus.com/product-category/wine/france/alsace/