OTB #2 “B” is for – Cave B 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon – Columbia Valley

A short walk from the restaurant is the breathtaking view of the Columbia River Gorge.  This can be confusing since yes, this is the same river where the Columbia Gorge AVA is located, but it’s about 250 miles upstream from that grape growing region and Oregon is nowhere in sight.  There’s no question that this big hole carved through the mountains is a Gorge though.  This area is currently part of the Columbia Valley AVA, and Cave B and a few others wineries and vineyards have applied for a new designation which would be known as the Ancient Lakes AVA. 

This section will always be known as the Gorge at George too for its Ampitheatre where lots of big name bands bring in bigger busloads.  That venue butts up against the backside of the Cave B property.  In fact, I’m sure when the concerts are blasting, the back balcony of one of the Cave B bungalows would provide a beautiful backdrop and nice buffer from the thousands of bumping bodies bunched near the stage.  The bungalows even have air conditioning and a shower as I’ve heard that the summer heat at some of these events can become brutal.

We had opened a bottle of Cave B Cabernet Sauvignon last week to brush up on our palate form.  This wine is a deep burgundy with some brown tinges near the brim.  The nose is a berry, the midpalate is broad if a little bumpy with some bits of boulder on the finish.  I don’t typically grade wines, but if I were this one would deserve a B.

Back at the brunch we took a brisk walk to burn off a few bundles of the bread and bacon and found our way the Cave B tasting room.  Our bellies were beyond bursting, so the wine sampling was a nice way to relax before the drive back down the river.   We shared a tasting and I went through the whites they had open, Semillion, Reisling, and Gewurztraminer, while Barb held out for the big bold reds, Merlot, a newer version of the Cab we had just had, and their flagship blend Cuvée du Soleil.

We enjoyed our beautiful day and Barb’s Birthday was a blast.  But we never did find out what the “B” after the Cave stood for.

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OTB Fun Fact:Billions of honey bees are brought in boxes into the blossoming orchards of Eastern Washington this time of year to do their thing.  These boxes are among some Bing Cherries.  Bee Colony Collapse is a big problem in the U.S. and the bees  of Washington are bugging out as well.  Here’s a nice blog about the baffling bees.