|
Biography |
|
|
Home > People
> Jens Strecker |
|
|
Jens Strecker
Owner, Portalis Wines
Jens (‘Yentz’) is an anesthesiologist and emergency doctor by
training but a wine lover by hobby. After ten years in medicine
and completing his PhD project on ‘quality of life’ at the end of
1999, he determined that wine was the best medicine, leaving
Germany to come to Seattle and medicine for a life in the wine
industry.
Born in Hamburg, Jens grew up in West Berlin and later studied
in Munich. An avid traveler, he has traveled to such places as
Vietnam, Syria, and India, but his wine knowledge was most
enhanced by places he has lived such as Spain (Barcelona), South
Africa (Johannesburg) and the United States.
He came all the way to Seattle to “shake up” the wine market,
using his European perspective to find the best wine values
available. Under the leadership of Joshua Wesson and Mollie
Battenhouse in New York, Jens managed the University Best Cellars
Wine Shop and Best Cellars Seattle E-Commerce Center until May
2003. Despite record sales and record sales growth, a corporate
decision was made to close the University Village Best Cellars.
Striking out on his own with his lovely wife Julie, Jens
created Portalis Wine. They took their combined life and wine
experience to create a new concept in the wine business. The
everything to everybody store. If you are into wine, Portalis is
your indispensable wine service provider. Jens’s innovative
marketing skills and keen sense for the wine business helped him
create this new concept. The Wine Bar & Retail Wine Shop blend, is
as follows: half eclectic wine bar, half full service wine
retailer. Jens has taken the concept of complete customer wine
service to a new level.
Portalis can accommodate your every wine need. From a
delightful glass of wine and a place to unwind after work, to
excellent wine cellar consulting and procurement, Portalis is for
you! Want to put on a wine party? Portalis can help you do it.
Need a great gift bottle of wine delivered to your uncle Bob in
Spokane? Portalis is on the job! Give Jens (‘Yentz’) a call: 206.783.2007
Jens loves wines from all over the world, as long as the value
is right. One of the reasons he joined WineSquire is help people
get a broad spectrum of wine tips from wine industry insiders,
further contributing to make WineSquire.com the leading Internet
wine magazine in Seattle. |
|
|
|
Personal
Picks |
|
|
Rosé di Regaleali (Italy) $13
Made from a blend of Nerello Mascalese and Nero D’Avola. Dark rosé
color with delicate aromas of raspberry, cherry, blackberry and
mulberry.
|
|
|
Sola Rosa 2003 (California) $19
The wine is made of a blend of Sangiovese, Syrah, and Merlot grapes,
mostly from Napa and Sonoma countries. Ripe cherry and raspberry
flavors with hints of toast and minerals. Aged for 5 months in
French oak.
|
|
|
Domaine Tempier Bandol Rosé 2002 (France) $33
An absolutely delightful color (peach-pink). Red summer berry aromas
with hints of cream, vanilla and spice on the nose. Full-bodied and
gorgeously textured on the palate, which has a full, rounded
mouthfeel.
|
|
|
Syncline Syrah 2002 (Washington) $22
Blackberries, raspberries and cherries on the nose. Medium- to
full-bodied, with fine tannins and a long finish. A steal for this
price!
|
|
|
Chatter Creek Cabernet Franc 2001 (Washington) $15
Medium-bodied, smooth, elegant Cab Franc, with gorgeous blackberry
and plum flavors. Fine texture, good acidity and well-integrated
tannins. Touch of spice on the finish. Another steal!
|
|
|
DeLille Cellars Chaleur Estate Blanc 2002 (Washington) $33
Aromas of ripe citrus, apples, cream and toasted cloves. Lush
flavors of citrus and mandarin orange. Clean, fresh acidity and good
structure.
|
|
|
DeLille Cellars D2 2001 (Washington) $37
Concentrated plum and blackberry aromas with black pepper and
cassis. Soft tannins and a nice lingering finish.
|
|
|
Woodward Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon Artist Series 2000
(Washington) $45
Powerful scent of brash berries, cassis and smoky oak. Still young
and relatively tight. Give it some time and enjoy.
|
|
|
Wind River Cellars Syrah 2002 $20
Smoky, dark, tannic and spicy, this inky-dark Syrah is packed with
flavors of sweet cherries and roasted coffee, and has a Port-like
structure.
|
|
|
Pepperbridge Winery Cabernet Sauvignon 2000 (Washington) $54
Lovely coffee- and floral-scented currant and cherry flavors,
finishing with a touch of smoke and cedar. One of the most elegant
Washington Cabs you can get.
|
|
|
Dashwood Pinot Noir 2001 (New Zealand) $13
Dashwood’s PN is a classic example of a cool-climate red wine. The
nose is ripe with aromas of wild cherries and strawberries brushed
with light strokes of spice and earth. The palate offers bright
flavors of sweet red fruits mixed with nutmeg and clove.
|
|
|
Vidal Estate Chardonnay 2000 (New Zealand) $15
One of Hawkes Bay’s oldest boutique wineries! Founder Anthony Joseph
Vidal created a perfectly balanced Chardonnay with fragrances of
fresh peaches, nectarines with a swirl of toasted vanilla oak and
mouthwatering citrus tingles. It is VIDAL that you get this.
|
|
|
Vavasour Riesling 2000 (New Zealand) $14
Vavasour’s gingery lemon drop of a Kiwi Riesling practically begs to
be sipped at sunset, after a crunchy day at the beach. It’s a slam
dunk of a drink next to a pile of sweet corn and freshly boiled
crabs, with the wine’s origami acidity and pinch of sugar creating a
finely folded backdrop for anything spicy, salty or a touch sweet.
|
|
|
Apaltagua Envero Carmenere/Cabernet Sauvignon Colchagua Valley
2000 (Chile) $16
Made from hand-tended, old-vines Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenere
grown within shouting distance of the snow-capped Andes, Apaltagua’s
Cab-Carmenere is the epitome of a perfectly mature full-bodied
Reserva. Aged for over a year in oak barrels prior to bottling, it’s
one complex red.
|
|
|
Jean-Luc Colombo Syrah “La Violette” Vin de Pays D’Oc 2000
(France) $12
Look at Jean-Luc Colombo’s Syrah as a kinder take on a big-boned red
from the Southern Rhone. Deeply fruited (but not mouthpuckeringly
tannic), this rich cassis and berry-scented wine coats the palate
with oodles of ripeness.
|
|
|
Vignalta Rosso Riserva Veneto 1999 (Italy) $15
We all know how popular Super-Tuscan wines are becoming, but have
you ever been blown away by a Bordeaux blend from the Veneto? Well
hold on to your canolli, cause this ripe, round, Rosso will blow
your mind. Bold flavors of black cherry, plums, and cassis meld into
spicy oak and a whisper of aromatic violets.
|
|
|
Monte Xanic Cabernet Sauvignon 1997 (Mexico) $17
Succulent notes of raspberries and plums rise from the glass
complementing the wine’s mouth-filling sweet’n'spicy cherry, oak,
vanilla, mint and chocolate flavors. Rich and robust, it never
threatens to overwhelm the palate, even after you’ve had a glass or
three. Addiction possible.
|
|
|
Monte Xanic Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot 1998 (Mexico) $16
Deep crimson in color, Monte Xanic’s enticing, instantly gratifying
blend offers plenty of mouthwateringly ripe plum and strawberry
notes up front, followed up by complexing elements of creamy
chocolate, crunched white pepper and vanilla oak. Balanced from
start to finish, it’s a guaranteed crowd-pleaser with a little
something for every lover of New World Bordeaux blends.
|
|
|
Monte Xanic Chardonnay 1999 (Mexico) $16
Intense and complex aromas of tropical fruits like pineapple paired
with roasted nuts, butter and sweet spices due to oak aging is the
result of plenty of sunshine.
|
|
|
Monte Xanic Vina Kristel Sauvignon Blanc y Semillon 1999
(Mexico) $10
Transparent, pale yellow wine, with complex aromas of tropical
fruits like melon and leechi, and secondary notes of oak, caramel
and butter. On the palate the wine is dry, light –bodied with a
pleasant acidity.
|
|
|
Chateau Benoit Mueller-Thurgau Willamette Valley 2001 (Oregon)
$9
Okay, so you can’t pronounce it without spitting on the cashier.
But don’t let that stop you from enjoying this fruit-filled
Riesling first-cousin. Ripe with the scents and flavors of pears,
melons and apples with a touch of pineapple, Chateau Benoit’s
Mueller-Thurgau is hugely addicting to drink.
|
|
|
Markham Zinfandel Napa 1998 (California) $21
Scents of pipe tobacco, birch beer and nutmeg mingle with more
obvious notes of black plums, cherries and cassis. On the palate the
wine is rich, smooth and silky and sets the stage for a cascade of
creamy red fruit flavors that take their own sweet time disappearing
down the old gulliver. A lingering finish of sweet smoke and
vanilla.
|
|
|
Chehalem Pinot Noir “3 Vineyard” Willamette Valley 2000 (Oregon)
$30
Let’s face it: no other grape is capable of achieving the refinement
of a fully realized Pinot Noir. This Pinot shows aromatically spiced
red fruit, followed by an array of flavors ranging from cherries and
cassis to black- and boysenberry.
|
|
|
Santa Barbara Winery ZCS 2000 (California) $15
The blend of Zinfandel, Carignan and Sangiovese is made from grapes
grown in select Californian vineyards planted as long as 80 years
ago. Ripe flavors of sun baked blue- and blackberries with a touch
of pepper.
|
|
|
Ridge California Coastal Range 2000 (California) $23
This red offers a little bit of everything: Carignan, Zinfandel,
Sangiovese, Mourvedre, Petit Syrah, Barbera and Alicante Bouschet.
Wonderful flavors of ripe blackberries, cherries and plums. It’s
rich and round on the palate, yet not too bold to sip before, after,
or even with supper.
|
|
|
Montpellier Syrah Napa Valley 2000 (California) $11
What happens when the famous dark skinned grape from Southern France
spends a summer hanging out in Napa? Delicious dark fruit aroma with
flavors of prunes, plum jam and a spicy, dusty oak, vanilla finish.
|
|
|
Vine Street Chardonnay 2000 (California) $14
Creamy vanilla oak leads to ripe core of nectarine, citrus, Bosch
pears and golden apples that are complex in this young Chardonnay.
Great value for the price.
|
|
|
Groth Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley 2000 (California) $16
Floral with excellent balance to its lemon, citrus, nectarine,
vanilla and ripe figs notes. Excellent wine with any fish dishes.
|
|
|
Chatter Creek Lonesome Spring Vineyard Syrah Columbia Valley
2000 (Washington) $20
Powerful big, classic Syrah with jammy blackberries, plums and
cherries with a touch of bittersweet chocolate and a long oaky
finish with smooth tannins.
|
|
|
Gordon Brothers Chardonnay Columbia Valley 2000 (Washington)
$14
Lively aromas of vanillin oak, pink grapefruit and pear paired with
some tropical notes. Lush, creamy texture held in check by a healthy
shot of citrus and green apple acidity. Impeccably balanced from
start to finish.
|
|
|
Glen Fiona Syrah Bacchus Vineyard Walla Walla 2000
(Washington) $27
Hailing from the southeastern corner of Washington, the wines of
Glen Fiona (from the Gaelic “glean na fionan” or “valley of the
wine”) speak a language we all can understand. Crafted in the manner
of rich, rustic Rhone valley reds, this Syrah shows vibrant fruit
aromas of cherry, blackberry and raspberry with a touch of spice and
smoke.
|
|
|
Salmon Harbor Merlot 2000 (Washington) $10
This second label from Hogue Cellars is great wine for the value.
Dried herb aromas with sweet blackberry and plums flavors and smooth
finish with a touch of vanilla oak.
|
|
|
Willakenzie Pinot Gris Yamhill 2000 (Oregon) $18
A scent of exotic, super-ripe melons spiked with notes of jasmine
and ginger followed up by a crunchy core of red apple and yellow
pear flavors paired with lime and citrus.
|
|
|
King’s Ridge Pinot Noir 2000 (Oregon) $16
Burgundian style Pinot Noir from Rex Hill Vineyards with tar,
leather and earthy aromas followed by juicy, dark fruit flavors and
dark chocolate. Long, lingering flavors in the finish.
|
|
|
Markham Zinfandel 1998 (Napa Valley) $21
In my opinion this is one of the best Zinfandels on the market.
Scents of pipe tobacco and nutmeg pair with notes of black plums,
cherries and cassis. Rich, smooth, silky texture with creamy black
and red fruit flavors and a lingering finish of sweet smoke and
vanilla oak. After a taste you will be begging for more.
|
|
|
Baron de Ona Rioja Reserva 1996 (Spain) $19
Impressive for its intensity and elegance. Dark, muscular Rioja
from Spain with sweet finely grained tannins, supported by flavors
of black cherry, cassis, vanilla and licorice. Unbelievable
finish. It goes on and on and on…
|
|
|
Castoro Cabernet Sauvignon 1999 (California) $15
Winemaker Niels Udsen makes his impressive Cabernet in a small
winery smack-dab in the middle of the semi-arid Salinas Valley.
Castoro’s sun-drenched Cabernet Sauvignon has a delicious
structure. Blackberries, black currants, clove and allspice,
accented by a touch of pepper and freshly cut cedar. Dusty tannins
are held in place by stakes of sweet, smoky oak.
|
|
|
Chateau Graville–Lacoste Graves 2000 (France) $13
An estate-bottled white Bordeaux from Herve Dubourdieu. The
vineyards are located very close to the Sauternes region. Based on
the classical regional trio of white grapes, Graville-Lacoste is a
blend of Sauvignon Blanc, 55-year old Sémillon and Muscadelle.
You’ll find aromas of citrus, lime paired with honey, ripe peach,
apple blossoms and notes of sweet almonds. Medium-bodied texture,
natural acidity and a clean finish make this wine simply delicious.
|
|
|
Vavasour Sauvignon Blanc 2000 (New Zealand) $14
A Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand made by Glen Thomas.
The grapes are grown on limestone hillsides with volcanic sub-soils.
Well-structured wine with intense aromas of citrus, lime, under-ripe
tropical fruit, gooseberries and passion fruit with some herbal
notes. Finish is long and succulent.
|
|
|
Gordon Brothers Chardonnay 2000 (Washington) $14
Own estate bottled wine made by Marie-Eve Gilla, Washington State’s
only female French winemaker. Lively aromas of vanilla oak, pink
grapefruit, pears paired with tropical notes of banana, papaya and
mango. Creamy texture in the middle. Impeccably balanced from start
to finish.
|
|
|
Glen Fiona Bacchus Syrah 2000 (Washington) $26.50
A beautiful Northern Rhone style Syrah, which is deep red in color
with wonderful aromas of dark ripe fruits, raspberries and
strawberries, spice and white pepper. Hints of gaminess, chocolate
and sweet pipe tobacco join an already full palate. Firm tannins and
well-balanced acidity give it a great texture and a long finish. Has
great potential for aging.
|
|
|
Rupert & Rothschild Vignerons Classique 1998 (South Africa) $21
A classically rich Bordeaux-style Cabernet/Merlot blend from
Frenchhoek (French Corner), South Africa, 30 miles east of Cape
Town. Fabulous aromas of black currants, blackberries and dark
plums. Silky texture, very creamy with hints of spice, vanilla oak
and smooth tannins in the long finish.
|
|
|
Michele Chiarlo Barbera D’Asti 1009 (Italy) $12
Phenomenal aromas of crushed berries, sun-dried black cherries and
currants with hints of tarragon and sage. Medium-bodied and
gorgeous, with wonderful finesse and subtlety.
One of the best values from the Piedmont. |
|
|
|
|
