Gig Harbor Council Tasting Celebrates Washington Wines

Sea Power, Mar 2004

A good crowd and some great regionally produced wines made the Gig Harbor, Wash., Council's recent wine tasting event a big success.

Hosted by council members Ron and Debi Chenault, the Jan. 22 tasting show cased wines from eastern Washington, with samples from nearly a dozen wineries from the region, which has been growing in renown among wine aficionados of late. The Chenaults have hosted several previous wine tastings for the council, and Ron Chenault leads several trips a year to eastern Washington wineries, a popular trip for council members, visiting Navy personnel and crewmembers from the council's adopted ships, said Reg Doty, editor of the council newsletter, The Navigator.

Some 45-50 council members and guests attended the tasting: "a good showing," Doty said. The Chenaults presented 10 wines, starting with whites and progressing to the deepest red cabernets. The tasters also were treated to a surprise sampling of the 1998 Merlot from the exclusive Leonetti Cellar of Walla Walla. That vintage goes for a cool $120 or more a bottle, Doty said.

Leonetti Cellar is perhaps the state's most highly regarded winery, Doty said. And because it continues to exercise strict quality control and limit the quantity of its vintages, its wines are among the most sought-after in the world, according wine publications such as Wine Spectator and Wine & Spirits. "Folks had a fine treat," Doty said. "It was not one of the wines that originally was going to be covered in the tasting."