He Said Beer, She Said Wine: a really fun book by Sam Calagione (yes, the Dogfish Head founder) and Marnie Old, a top wine sommelier in Philadelphia. riffs on badinage and pairings, like "what could you possibly uncork, Marnie, for a pepperoni/feta/black olive pizza that would go half as well as my 90-minute IPA?" And she has lots of put-downs, too.
I was reminded of this cross-cultural mix when I went into the
Des VoigneCellars and Brewery in Woodinville recently. The wine culture is, let's face it, striving for a retail shopping experience a la Nordstrom, with elegant tasting rooms in buildings Louis XIV would have been at home in. While the prevalent mode of a craft beer startup is a metal building in an industrial business park (or in Snohomish Co., a garage). So when a winery, around for eleven years, decides to jump the culture gap and make some beer, it's news.
This is the opening scene going into Des Voigne, tasteful furniture and art. Turn right for wine, straight ahead for beer. The Des Voignes, Darren and Melissa, started making upscale wines eleven years ago. Darren studied winemaking at UC Davis and handles that side, but they hired brewer Bob Thorpe when they began making beer a couple of years ago.
The culture cross carries over into our flexible beverage of choice. My pint was a Fusion Barrel Aged Red Ale, 6.2% abv and 23 IBU, aged in barrels that previously held Des Voigne Cabernet Franc (a great wine, usually blended). Hopped with Fuggles and Golding, you know it's beer but that sweet grape note lingers on the tongue.
The seven-barrel system, presented here by Anna, a bartender from Bellingham, is modern and busy. The plant is in a business park, typical for newer Woodinville wineries given the pricey real estate there.
(Visited 07/01/17)
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