Thank you Mary Earl of the Kitsap Sun for including the 2016 Diffraction in your recent lineup of cellar samples to taste before harvest starts.
“Cairdeas Winery Diffraction 2016 Yakima Valley is a blend of 37 percent Syrah, 20 percent Grenache, and 17 percent Petite Sirah. The remainder is other traditional Rhone grapes: Mourvedre, Cinsault and Carignan. This one had earthy, chocolate, spice and plum aromas and flavors with Asian spices on a long finish.”
WineCountry.com | Michelle Winner
Join in the celebration of the 2018 wine harvest by participating in festivals, luncheons, dinners, crush parties, wine stomps, vineyard hikes, and even a half marathon run through Wine Country. We’ve collected a sampling of events for you to consider across the United States from New York’s Finger Lakes to the hills of Sonoma, Virginia to Texas, Washington, Oregon and Napa. You can stomp grapes or dine in the vineyard by candlelight, go wine tasting with the winemaker, and even make your own case of rosé. Well, what are you waiting for? The grapes have been brought in and harvest season is here, so make some reservations and get in on the fun.
September 14 – 15, 2018, 7 PM
Cost: $135 General Admission, $120 Wine Club Members
Cairdeas Winery will partner with Chef Aaron Tekulve of Surrell for the Winemaker’s Pop-Up Dinner Series at their vineyard and tasting room in the Lake Chelan AVA. Chef Aaron will create seven spectacular courses of New American Cuisine featuring ingredients from the very best of Pacific Northwest farmers and purveyors. The courses are thoughtfully presented with four featured Cairdeas wines and paired with the fresh ingredients of the season. Harvest is anticipated by mid-September, so you can expect a pre-dinner vineyard and barrelhouse tour to experience the beginning of Cairdeas Winery’s 10th vintage of wine.
31 Winesap Avenue, Manson, WA 98831, (509) 687-0555
We are thrilled to have our Syrah in this lineup! It received an OUSTANDING review!
(excerpt from Great Northwest Wines)
Whether you’re looking for a Syrah that is subtle and savory or bold and rich, it’s easy to find various styles of the famous Rhône red in the Pacific Northwest.
Despite global sales of Syrah/Shiraz being soft the past few years, the demand for Northwest Syrah remains strong, and the amount being made grows each year.
Here are a dozen delicious Northwest Syrahs we’ve tasted recently. Ask for them at your favorite wine merchant or contact the wineries directly.
Read the full article here – http://www.greatnorthwestwine.com/2016/03/27/syrah/
The Lybeckers’ devotion to the wine industry lured them from life near the Puget Sound to a new career along Lake Chelan, and their passion and pursuit of Rhône varieties is apparent. Growing conditions surrounding the lake help to balance hot growing seasons such as 2013, and this product of Syrah from the south shore was co-fermented with Viognier (4%), making for youthful and fruit-forward aromas of Marionberry and blueberry with light toast. Inside, its silky texture, thanks in part to new French oak puncheons, continues to showcase those blue fruit tones, backed by plums and blueberry acidity. Label art was provided by the very young Eugene Lybecker. The wine received a silver medal at the 2016 San Francisco Chronicle, but one judge believed it merited more.
Rating: Outstanding!
Production: 80 cases
Alcohol: 14.6%
On February 13th, the 2016 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition (SFCWC) held its annual Public Tasting at Fort Mason Center’s Festival Pavilion. This year’s event was a packed house, with over 5,000 people enjoying the delicious food, friendly people and great wines!
The Largest Competition of American Wines in the World Names the Best of the Best: After receiving 7,164 entries from 28 states across the country, the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, hailed as the largest competition of American wines in the world, has once again successfully narrowed thousands of wines down to an exclusive few.
We are honored to have received a Double Gold for our 2013 Trí at this years competition
The 37th annual Tri-Cities Wine Festival released its results Saturday. More than 80 wineries provided 428 wines for this year’s event at Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick.
Cairdeas Winery wond GOLD medals for their 2014 Nellie Mae and 2013 Trí
See the complete list of results here – http://www.winepressnw.com/2015/11/17/3830305/37th-annual-tri-cities-wine-festival.html
Experiencing the flavors of France – Cairdeas brings the taste of the Rhône Valley to Lake Chelan
read the article online here – http://issuu.com/wenatcheeworld/docs/hf1015/47?e=2603315/30954769
Cairdeas Winery owners Charlie and Lacey Lybecker have what it takes to operate a winery in Lake Chelan’s tourist-driven climate. The 30-something couple are gregariously friendly, energetic and passionate about the wine they make. And it is very good wine indeed.
The name Cairdeas is fitting. It comes from the Gaelic word meaning friendship, goodwill or alliance. Charlie eagerly pours goodwill along with wine while making new friends and building alliances at the modest tasting room close to Manson. It’s also close to popular Lake Chelan Winery and Benson Winery. The three tasting rooms and others in Manson benefit from their close ties and stay busy with a continuous flow of wine sampling customers through the summer and fall months. With Lake Chelan Crush going on now, it’s a great time to pay a visit.
Charlie tells visitors about the wines, their origin and inspiration, where the grapes are grown, how the wine is made and how the winery itself came to be. He recommends other local wineries for customers looking for a specific varietal he doesn’t make. He tells them how Lacey introduced him to the world of wine and how romance grew between them over bottles of Syrah. He tells them about their two young boys, Eugene and Francis.
“I didn’t know a thing about wine,” he told a couple of wine tasters from Tri-Cities.
I was there to interview the Lybeckers for an upcoming Foothills magazine story. I didn’t really have to ask Charlie any questions. He told the whole story, piecemeal but personably, to customers who were as curious about his winemaking background as the wine itself. Nearly all purchased a bottle, some took out a case.
“We blend everything here. I love learning how different aromatics and flavors work together,” he told another group from Canada.
The couple started the winery in 2009 in the garage of their home in West Seattle. It didn’t take long for them to realize wine making was more than a hobby. They moved to Manson a couple years later and started their business on leased property. They later purchased six acres and opened their present winery and tasting room in April 2014.
“We came here on vacation and were having a glass of wine and looking over the lake and decided, this is it,” said Lacey, about their decision to move from Seattle to Lake Chelan. “We knew we didn’t want to be an urban winery. We wanted the wine country lifestyle.” Lacey splits her time between the tasting room, marketing their wines and working as marketing manager for the Lake Chelan Chamber of Commerce.
The couple looked at several locations in Washington and Oregon before deciding Lake Chelan was the ideal spot to start a winery, grow a vineyard and grow a family.
Cairdeas specializes in making wines inspired by the Rhone Valley of southern France. Syrah is the primary grape, often co-fermented with a small amount of Viognier for fragrance. Charlie seeks out exotic grapes like Roussanne, Marsanne, Picpoul, Grenache, Mourvedre, Carignan, Counoise and Cinsault for blending.
“We love the aromas and flavors of Rhone blends,” Charlie said. Blends from such grapes are common in France, but still very new to Washington wine drinkers. “Even people who are familiar with wine aren’t familiar with our wine varietals.” Cairdeas bottled about 2,500 cases this year, but plans to increase production after a new winery and tasting room is built on the present site next year.
Charlies says he learns more about winemaking with each batch and each year. The tasting room wall covered with awards shows he’s come far fast. He gives Lacey credit for his winning blends.
“She tastes everything and tells me when my work is done,” he said.
Here are my notes on the four Cairdeas wines now available. The 2013 Syrah will be released later this year to wine club members only.
2013 Southern White: This classic Southern Rhone blend of Marsanne, Grenache Blanc and Roussanne, with smaller amounts of Picpoul Blanc and Viognier is lively with fragrances of ripe fruit, lemon and spice. A smooth drinking wine that is refreshingly different from the usual Washington white varietals. $22
2013 Nellie Mae: This may be my favorite white wine of the year. Wonderful tropical fragrances of 60 percent Viognier float off the Roussanne foundation that gives this blend a lightness that at the same time is very substantial, smooth and lingering. Very tasty! $22
MV Tri: This is a terrific blend of three different vintages of Syrah, Mourvedre, Grenache Noir and Petite Sirah. Uncommonly smooth and silky on the palate, this one kept opening with aromas of clove, pepper, licorice and hibiscus and flavors full of ripe blackberries, coffee and raspberry-chocolate. $34
2012 Consonance: Equal parts Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Merlot marry nicely with smaller amounts of Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon in this Bordeaux-style blend. Grapes are well selected from Wahluke Slope, Rattlesnake Hills and Red Mountain vineyards. Smooth, complex and delicious. $34
2013 Syrah: Three-year-old Eugene Lybecker’s colorful art decorates the label of this tasty wine. Syrah co-fermented with 4 percent Viognier makes for a silky, feather-soft wine that had me thinking of a bicycle ride along the Mediterranean coast. Super ripe blackberries, with notes of nutmeg, cardamon, cumin, cinnamon and a touch of cayenne. Careful with this one, it’s a 14.5 percent alcohol delicious bomb. Available only to wine club members.
read the full article here – http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/blogs/winemakers-journal/2015/sep/29/winemakers-journal-cairdeas-big-rhone-style-wines/
Our tasting of Pacific Northwest fortified dessert wines drew 39 examples. As one might expect, some of the best came from wineries that have specialized in this style of wine.
Fortified wines are easy to love, but our judges looked for the elements they always seek in wines regardless of style: balance and flavor. In the case of this judging, our panel of experts found a lot to like. And that is good for all of us.
Cairdeas Winery • $35 – Excellent
2014 Fortified Petite Sirah, Yakima Valley
This up-and-coming winery on the north shore of Lake Chelan dipped into the Yakima Valley for bold Petite Sirah grapes. The resulting wine is young and fresh with aromas and flavors of black raspberry, boysenberry syrup, vanilla and molasses. (56 cases; 20.1% alc.)
See the full article here – http://www.winepressnw.com/2015/09/02/3721200/northwest-winemakers-craft-fortified.html
Cairdeas Winery 2012 Counoise received a gold medal and was chosen as best of class at the 2015 North Central Washington Wine Awards. Check out the full list of results here – http://www.greatnorthwestwine.com/2015/08/23/2015-north-central-washington-wine-awards/
