~Cherry Pick of the Month~

The two common questions asked by wine enthusiasts at a wine store are, "What is your best wine? What wine received a high rating?" Well, when you stock several wines with great ratings or live in wine country, those are tough questions to answer when there are so many great wines out there! But to keep the cherry picker happy, you have to be on your toes and read the same publication that he/she is reading.

President's Day is coming up and we all remember that George Washington was famous for cutting down the cherry tree (Did you know there is a little town called George in Washington State? Yes, George, Washington.) so February is a perfect month to launch my "Cherry Pick of the Month." Fruit growers in Washington state have been selling their prized cherries for more than 100 years and today 70% of US cherries come from the North West, so I decided to hand-pick cherries just for you based on ratings, personal recommendations and tasting. As George said, "I cannot tell a lie." Let the "cherry pickers" go for it!

Lecole No. 41 Pepper Bridge Vineyard Apogee is my "Cherry Pick of the Month." Since 1993, Apogee was the first Lecole wine produced from the Pepper Bridge Vineyard. An elegant and aromatic wine that is structured, showing the perfect amount of tannins and acidity, with a long finish. A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc shows earthy hints of cigar box, leather and dark fruit flavors such as black cherry and plum. A wine that one could lay down for about 7-10 years. This Bordeaux-style blend is very much like it's proprietary name - Apogee -- reaching the highest point.

And yes, that is a naked girl up there picking cherry blossoms and no, that is not me.