Wine Winners From Washington DC Wine Festival
While at the Washington DC Wine & Food Festival last weekend I discovered 2 wineries that made quite an impression on me.
The first was Staete Landt from Marlborough, New Zealand. Staete Landt is owned by Ruud Maasdam and Dorien Vermaas. Ruud is also the winemaker. They produce 7,000 cases of estate wines. Staete Landt is the old Dutch name that Abel Tasman gave to New Zealand when he discovered the land in 1642. It probably means: “Land discovered in honour of the Governors (Staete) of the Dutch Republic”.
This winery was a complete unknown to me as they are just starting to import wine into the United States. Two of their wines that I tried were both gems. I rated them Very Good which is like a low 90’s score. I was impressed with the , $23, and the , $15. I think you will be impressed as well. For more information on the winery, check out the .
The next set of wines that impressed were from the Joseph Carr Winery in California. , $17, is made from Carneros fruit and is very food friendly. Their flagship, the , $20, has very good flavors and is well balanced. Both wines were rated Very Good . The quality level for the price point was outstanding. For more details on this winery, check out the .
Over the next couple of weeks, I will be posting the rest of my tasting notes on many Very Good and Excellent wines that I tried and discovered at this Festival. Please feel free to check them out at .
