Wine Tasting – Hoquetus with Winemaker Robert Gomez

For our next tasting event, we are pleased to welcome Hoquetus winemaker and owner Robert Gomez to the shop! Join us on Tuesday, April 30 at 6 p.m. when Robert will showcase five of his fantastic Walla Walla Valley wines.

Hoquetus is one of our favorite Walla Walla wineries. It is a tiny operation that opened in 2020. They make exceptionally elegant and sophisticated wines from sustainably farmed grapes in Walla Walla. Located in the incubators, Hoquetus was founded by owner Robert Gomez, a musician turned bartender turned sommelier turned winemaker.

Robert, who makes the wines as well as works in the tasting room nearly every day, is cool. He’s sophisticated. He has a laid-back, yet quite serious demeanor. His wines reflect this. They’re elegant and precise and pretty. They’re not big bruising powerhouse wines. They’re the sort of wines that you can’t help but think about while you’re drinking. They demand thought and contemplation. They’re immensely pleasurable.

TASTING LINEUP:

Seven Hills Vineyard Cabernet Franc Rosé 2023
Whole-cluster, foot-stomped Cabernet Franc, fermented in neutral oak barrel, unfined/unfiltered. Notes of tart red fruits, stoney minerality, and cheese rind.

Elevation Vineyard Roussanne 2023
Hoquetus’ newest wine. Notes of honeyed apricot, white peach, chamomile, and daisy.

Blue Mountain Vineyard Amphora Cabernet Franc 2022
Fermented and aged in clay Amphora. Exotically perfumed with ripe cherry fruit, spice, black tea, and fresh savory herb along with fresh acidity and firm tannins.

Initials RBB Red Blend 2021
57% Merlot from Yellow Bird Vineyard and 43% Cabernet Franc from Blue Mountain Vineyard. Exotically spiced, red-fruited and has an inviting aroma of rose petal, thyme and blood orange with a length that goes on and on.

Francisca’s Vineyard Syrah 2021
Foot-stomped, native yeast, 100% whole cluster, unfined and unfiltered. Notes of fresh violet, blackberry, savory herb, spice, wild game and granitic minerality. Delicious now but will develop with age.