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Tag: Spoiled Dog Winery

Find the Love on the Whidbey Island Red Wine, Spirits, and Chocolate Tour

BY CHRISTY KORROW
Whidbey Life Magazine Contributor
February 1, 2017

After being huddled inside all winter, the Red Wine, Spirits, and Chocolate Tour hosted by the Whidbey Island Vintners and Distillers Association gives you a perfect reason to gather your partner or your BFFs and get out and about on the island. During two weekends this month (February 11-12 and 18-19), you’ll have the opportunity to taste locally made chocolates paired with hand-crafted wine and spirits at five tasting rooms throughout South Whidbey Island.

Founded in 2010, the association includes four wineries and one distillery, which produce artisan-scale wines and spirits on Whidbey Island. Karen Krug of Spoiled Dog Winery, one of the association members, explains some of the benefits of this kind of collaborative effort between businesses.

“Besides hosting our three tasting-tour events, we created our Wine and Spirits Trail Map, and we are beginning to do group orders of various wine-related supplies,” Krug says.

Sleeping vines in winter. (Photo courtesy of Spoiled Dog Winery)

The Red Wine, Spirits, and Chocolate Tour is one of three events the association offers each year, and it has been growing in popularity over the last several years. In 2016, almost 500 people from Whidbey Island, Seattle, and surrounding areas tasted their way from Clinton to Greenbank along the association’s wine and spirits trail.

Each destination has its own style and unique offerings, but these makers also have several things in common. They’re a group of small family-owned businesses run by people who are committed to quality and are serious about their craft. Many of the wines and spirits you will be invited to try have received prominent awards and have been nationally recognized.

Your event ticket includes one visit to each venue over the course of the two weekends, complimentary tastings paired with chocolate at all five venues, and a souvenir glass. Winemakers/distillers are present at the events, so it’s an opportunity to chat with them and ask questions about their style and process. Most people start in Clinton and work their way north, but starting in the middle is a best-kept secret for avoiding crowds. Here’s a bit of what each stop has to offer:

At the Comforts of Whidbey tasting room, sweeping views of Puget Sound and a bucolic farm setting will be paired with your Washington reds and chocolate. Not far from the Clinton ferry dock, the Comfort family welcomes you to their 22-acre farm. Each fall, the community comes together to harvest the white wine grapes from Comfort’s four acres of vineyards. Their five estate white wines are produced from these grapes.

Spoiled Dog Winery’s vineyards and tasting room overlook the beautiful Maxwelton Valley. Karen, Jack, Lindsay, and Jake Krug, along with friends, will be pouring three reds. A highlight is their Estate Pinot Noir. In addition to enjoying complimentary barrel tastings, you can purchase, bottle, and label your own pinot for no extra fee during the event. Merlot and carmenere will also be available to try. Cj & Y Decadent Desserts (formerly JW Deserts) is preparing their Island-famous flourless chocolate cake. Specially prepared for this event, the cake will be infused with Spoiled Dog Estate Pinot Noir-soaked cherries. Chocolate cups filled with caramel and topped with sea salt and pecans, also by Cj & Y, will be offered as well.

Reading the tasting notes and sampling local chocolates at Spoiled Dog Winery. (Photo courtesy of Spoiled Dog Winery)

At Whidbey Island Distillery, three generations of the Heising family have been producing spirits since 2011, beginning with their loganberry liqueur. They will be pouring their complete line, which includes Bunker Rye Whiskey as well as loganberry, blackberry, raspberry, and boysenberry liqueurs, a number of which have won awards. To accompany their spirits, the distillery will serve Manhattan truffles—milk chocolate infused with the distillery’s own Bunker Rye Whiskey and boysenberry liqueur, made by Langley’s own Sweet Mona’s.

This bright red Chocolatini features Whidbey Island Distillery’s raspberry or loganberry liqueur. Both liqueurs will be part of the distillery’s complimentary tasting line-up. (Photo courtesy of Whidbey Island Distillery)

Blooms Winery owners and winemakers Ken and Virginia Bloom welcome you to their tasting room in the Bayview Cash Store. Most of their grapes are sourced from a vineyard planted for the winery in the Rattlesnake Hills American Viticultural Area (AVA) of the Yakima Valley. You will have the opportunity to taste their 2012 syrah and their 2012 Blooms Melange, a classic Bordeaux blend of 50 percent merlot, 25 percent malbec, and 25 percent petit verdot. Both wines were rated “Excellent” by Wine Press Northwest Magazine (Fall 2016). They will also serve their 2013 Poetic, a blend of syrah, malbec and petit verdot. Blooms’ pairing will be chocolate-covered cherries and other chocolate treats from the Chukar Cherry Company, which has been making chocolates for almost 30 years and is based in the heart of Washington Wine county.

Smiling patrons enjoying the day at last year’s Red Wine, Spirits, and Chocolate Tour. Blooms Winery is one of five tasting rooms participating in the event. (Photo courtesy of Blooms Winery)

Holmes Harbor Cellars winemakers Greg and Theresa Martinez have been making Washington wine in Greenbank since 2008. They will feature two of their most popular blends: A Seattle Wine Awards Gold Medal winner, their 2010 Red Etude, a cabernet, merlot, syrah blend and their 2011 3 Wire Red, a cabernet-dominated blend of all six classic Bordeaux varietals. These wines are complimented with custom-crafted truffles infused with Holmes Harbor Cellars wine.

Whether you live on or off Whidbey Island, this array of offerings is surely enough to coax you out onto the Wine and Spirits Trail and away from your housework, the news, or the computer. It’s a chance to enjoy the Island landscape, wind along the back roads, bump into friends old and new, and experience what our hardworking, creative neighbors have to offer.

The Red Wine, Spirits, and Chocolate Tour is one of three events hosted by the Whidbey Island Vintners and Distillers Association. Save the dates for Savor Spring, where local wines and spirits are paired with yummy food bites from local chefs (May 20-21) and Autumn on Whidbey, where works from local artists displayed at each tasting room compliment the tasting rooms’ pours ( November 12-13).

The cost for Red Wine, Spirits, and Chocolate Tour tickets are $25 in advance and $30 the days of the tour: February 11-12 and 18-19, 2017. Purchase tickets here.

Learn more and print out a Wine and Spirits Trail Map here.

Christy Korrow lives in Langley. She works as the editor of LILIPOH magazine and as the rights and permissions manager for The Crossroad Publishing Company.

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February 1, 2017
Spoiled Dog is Growling for Wine

BY STEVE KILISKY
Whidbey Life Magazine Contributor
June 15, 2016

For hundreds of years, a cork has been the classic closure for wine bottles. It’s often the star of the show when serving wine in a restaurant.

The server carefully removes the foil from the mouth of the bottle and the cork is gingerly extracted and presented to the patron who ordered the wine. The ceremony continues with an examination of the cork for moisture and maybe a sniff to detect any potential spoilage.

This drama unfolds a countless number of times every day in restaurants around the world. It’s no wonder that we have an emotional attachment to corks.

A one-liter growler of Pooch, red table wine (photo by David Welton)

It’s taken decades for wines with screw caps to shed the stigma of being associated with cheap “hobo” wines. Screw caps reduce wine faults typically associated with corks and are definitely more convenient to open.

Now, just as the majority of consumers are finally accepting screw cap wines as a viable alternative for corks, wine on-tap and wine bottled in growlers are emerging as the next big thing in wine packaging. Here on Whidbey Island, Spoiled Dog Winery is leading the pack with this new way of delivering and consuming wine.

While growlers are familiar to most beer lovers, they’re relatively uncommon as a container for wine drinkers. A growler is a refillable container that’s designed to be securely sealed and used for off-premise consumption of wine or beer. Washington State is one of a handful of states that allows wineries to sell wine this way. Spoiled Dog Winery recognized this emerging trend and has embraced the idea as a way to reduce their carbon footprint and encourage recycling of glass by offering their Pooch red table wine in a one-liter growler.

Jake Krug, Director of Operations at Spoiled Dog Winery manning the tap (photo by David Welton)

Spoiled Dog introduced their Pooch red table wine in 2015 as an experiment to see if there was demand from their customers for a lower-priced wine intended for casual drinking. Pooch was a success, which led the Owner-Winemaker Karen Krug to expand Pooch production and launch the winery’s entry into the world of wine growlers with the current release. It was a natural fit for Pooch, as it allowed them to reduce their production costs without compromising the quality of the wine.

Krug realized that filling the growlers directly from the barrel was not practical, so she and her son, Jake, who recently joined Spoiled Dog as Director of Operations, began an exhaustive search that resulted in locating a unique keg and tap system especially designed for storing and serving wine. They quickly recognized that the kegs they were using to fill their Pooch growlers would also be a cost-effective and space-saving solution for restaurants serving wine by the glass or carafe.

The Pooch tap, protruding from a decorative barrel that contains the wine keg (photo by David Welton)

Jake Krug pointed out that restaurants typically open a bottle of wine to serve by the glass and if the wine is not consumed in a timely manner, the quality and freshness of the wine can be compromised. Krug stated, “Kegs not only provides the best customer experience but also reduce the amount of glass used and storage space historically required for cases of wine. We love the idea of reducing waste and preserving the freshness of wine served by the glass in restaurants.”

The compact kegs Spoiled Dog is using hold a little over two cases of wine and will stay fresh for six to eight months. As the wine is tapped from the keg, the resulting empty space in the keg is displaced with nitrogen to prevent oxidization of the wine. “Our growlers are also sparged* with nitrogen when we fill them,” Karen Krug noted “and they can be stored for several weeks without risk of spoiling. However, once opened, they should be treated the same as any other bottle of wine. All you need to do before refilling is run the empty growlers through the dishwasher or wash by hand and rinse well.”

The current release of Pooch is a blend of Carmenere and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes grown in the Columbia Valley in Washington. A one-liter bottle costs $18 (plus a one-time $10 charge for the growler). In addition, every 10th refill is free. If you can’t make it to the winery to sample a growler of Pooch, you can find it on tap and sold by the glass at Penn Cove Brewing Company in Coupeville; it will be coming to other restaurants on the island soon.

*Sparging: Nitrogen (N2) is applied in the form of very fine gas bubbles in order to remove dissolved oxygen from the wine. (http://www.southtektalk.com/2010/04/nitrogen-uses-in-wine-industry.html)

Winemaker Karen Krug welcomes having her son Jake bring new blood and fresh ideas to the winemaking family. (photo by David Welton)

Steve Kilisky has lived on Whidbey Island since 2008. When not satisfying his insatiable thirst for wine, he spends his working hours delighting customers of Adobe software. He holds a Certificate in Wine Business Management from Sonoma State University and occasionally shares his thoughts and musings on the art, science and business of wine on his blog: https://winingonwhidbey.wordpress.com.

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June 15, 2016
Roaming Radish and Spoiled Dog Winery make a fine pairing to benefit WAIF

Sesame shrimp bruschetta with herb crostini paired with SDW 2013 Estate Rose of Pinot Noir (photo by Karen Krug)

KAREN KRUG
Whidbey Life Magazine Guest Contributor
June 25, 2014

A triple WOOF event by Spoiled Dog Winery was held at Roaming Radish on June 22 as the first in a series of Friday special dinners. Spoiled Dog Winery’s six course winemaker dinner created by Roaming Radish was a culinary delight.

The wine pairings were superb and the dinner benefited Whidbey Animals’ Improvement Foundation (WAIF) in a winning evening for all. Guests were treated with a first course of sesame shrimp bruschetta on herb crostini which was paired with SDW 2013 Estate Rose of Pinot Noir. Salmon poached with Pomo di Moro (apple-pear wine) and apple slaw followed as the second course, with a pairing with SDW Pomo di Moro.

Brown butter caramelized scallops, wilted kale greens with cilantro chutney paired with SDW 2013 Pinot Gris (photo by Karen Krug)

The third course of brown-butter caramelized scallops with wilted kale greens and cilantro chutney paired exceptionally well with SDW 2013 Pinot Gris. The SDW 2012 Reserve Pinot Noir came next, paired with the fourth course of seaweed and cucumber salad.

For the final savory fifth course, saffron Penn Cove mussels, paella rice and Washington asparagus was paired with SDW 2011 Malbec.

Seaweed and cucumber salad paired with SDW 2012 Reserve Pinot Noir (photo by Karen Krug)

Saffron Penn Cove mussels with paella rice and Washington asparagus paired with SDW 2011 Malbec (photo by Karen Krug)

Roaming Radish created an elegant sixth course of sea salt ice cream (hand churned) Bon Bons dipped in a chocolate ganache she had made with SDW’s Deception wine, accompanied with candied tart cherries and house caramel sauce.

Quinn Fitzpatrick serenaded with his guitar throughout the dinner. The setting was beautiful overlooking Holmes Harbor, the weather was perfect and everyone left spoiled, full and happy. Woof, woof, woof.

For more information on Spoiled Dog Winery’s events, visit their website. Find out more about the Roaming Radish here.

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WLM stories and blogs are copyrighted and all rights are reserved. Linking is permitted. To request permission to use or reprint content from this site, email info@whidbeylifemagazine.org.

June 25, 2014
Spoiled dogs, superb wine, and a farm tour

BY SUSAN WENZEL
Whidbey Life Magazine contributor
Sept. 18, 2013

How about a glass of wine with that farm tour?

The eighth annual Whidbey Farm Tour is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21 and Sunday, Sept. 22. This kid-friendly and completely free event features the fruits (and vegetables, livestock, wines, crafts, and other culinary delights) of the labors of 14 island farms.

Spoiled Dog Winery is not on the Farm Tour this year, but if you’re into wine, you might maneuver your tour to add this stop for a special treat.

Spoiled Dog Winery owner Karen Krug and Spoiled Dog “Blue” greet visitors.(Photos by Susan Wenzel)

Like other island farmers, winery owners Jack and Karen Krug recognized that the mild temperatures and a series of diverse microclimates create perfect conditions for the cultivation of an array of farm goods ranging from beef, bees and mussels to blueberries, cabbage and grapes. The couple guessed right that their Maxwelton Valley property would be the ideal place to bring the dream of producing a line of noteworthy wines into fruition.

Indeed, Spoiled Dog Winery is home to several award winning labels, but it was the 2009 Estate Pinot Noir that validated the Krugs’ efforts by earning Double Gold at the 2011 Seattle Wine Awards when it was chosen as the “Best of the Best” by an elite panel of wine professionals.

“We grow the grapes for our specialty, our Pinot Noir, but we make many other exceptional wines including a Pinot Gris and our Deception Red and Pomo di Moro which is translated as ‘apple of love’ and made from heritage apples and pears grown right here on the property,” Karen Krug said.

Prominently featured next to the vineyard and orchard is a big gray barn which houses the winery and tasting room, where spoiled Australian shepherds Sami and Blue are often on hand to steal the hearts of visitors when they stop in to sample the aforementioned wines and perhaps select a bottle or two to enjoy at home.

One of the newest items available for purchase in the tasting room shop is verjus, a non-alcoholic “green juice” made from unfermented estate Pinot noir grapes and, in this case, is infused with locally grown Lavender Wind Farm lavender.

The verjus, a tantalizingly crisp non-alcoholic recipe alternative to lemon juice or vinegar, is not the only product at Spoiled Dog to highlight other island food purveyors. John Auburn of JW Desserts in Clinton crafts two savory cheeses exclusively for the winery by blending Spoiled Dog’s Crimson wine with gorgonzola and either fresh rosemary or basil.

Spoiled Dog Winery’s cooperative efforts with both Lavender Wind Farm and JW Desserts are of great importance to Krug who works tirelessly to showcase local foods and farms. Indeed, the Whidbey Island Farm Tour, was born of this desire.

“I wanted people to learn about local farms and visit them so they could fully understand the efforts of the agriculture community here on Whidbey Island,” she said.

“In many cases people were living right around the corner from a farmer and didn’t even realize it. Family farms are an integral part of the island, and I thought it was time they were recognized as such.”

While Spoiled Dog Winery is not officially on the Farm Tour this year, Whidbey Island Distillery and Whidbey Island Vineyard and Winery are, so plenty of chances to sample some wine and spirits made on the island. Plus, Karen Krug recommends their company.

Both are locally owned and operated by great people,” she said.

Click here for Whidbey Island Farm Tour information and to download a map of participating locations.

Visit Spoiled Dog Winery’s website for tasting hours, news and updates.

Susan Wenzel, food writer, believes in the power of locally produced food to fortify the health and wellbeing of both the individual and the community as a whole.

September 18, 2013