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Biography |
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Home > People
> Olé Thompson |
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Olé Thompson
Wine Director, Wild Ginger
Olé Thompson is the Wine Director at the Wild
Ginger Restaurant and The Triple Door Theater and Musicquarium in
downtown Seattle. He is also a consultant for VineTales fine wine
club.
The Triple Door Musicquarium is a dinner theater that is one of
the best live music venues in America, with nightly live music,
and an exceptional food menu and wine list.
The Wild Ginger Restaurant, a landmark on the Seattle
restaurant scene, was recently given the “Best of Award of
Excellence” by the Wine Spectator for their extensive and
excellent wine list. Olé is currently working towards his Master
Sommelier Diploma and has tasted well over 100,000 wines in his
many years in the wine business.
Olé got his start at the Ballard Market 1986 as a part time
college job. He slowly gravitated more and more to the wine
department while he was there, finding it the most interesting
part of the store. In 1990 Olé became assistant to Jeff Skinner
the then manager of the wine and beer department. He took over as
manager of the wine department in 1997.
In addition to his great wine and food matching knowledge
acquired by many years of tasting, Olé was also the keeper of the
cigar humidor and a huge selection of craft ales from every part
of the world. Olé's interest in fine cigars was sparked when he
met his "Cuban Connection", his beautiful Cuban wife Rebeca. |
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Personal
Picks |
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Shingleback Cabernet Sauvignon McLaren Vale 2001 (Australia)
$20
Absolutely delicious! Bold, black fruit, dense texture and rich
flavor. Try this against California’s finest and see who wins.
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Selvapiana Bucherchiale Chianti Rufina Riserva 1999 (Italy) $27
Contrary to what the rest of the press has said, the 1999 vintage
from Chianti kicks the pants off the 1997 vintage! This is the
best Bucherchiale I’ve tasted in years. With gobs of bright red
cherry fruit, this is a little more user friendly than past
vintages, yet still has the same earthy nose, spicy notes and
structure of its predecessors. Enjoy!
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Charles Cimicky Shiraz “Trumps” 2001 (Australia) $14
If this is an example of what Charles Cimicky’s 2001 vintage is
going to be like, I can’t wait until the rest of what he makes
shows up! It’s a bomb! I tasted this next to several Aussie $30
shirazes and it stood out. Run out and buy this by the case.
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Camigliano Brunello di Montalcino 1997 (Italy) $53
This is an exotic red wine. It has lots of currant and ripe fruit
with hints of toasted oak. It’s full-bodied and very creamy with a
berry and vanilla aftertaste. Delicious.
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Riddoch Cabernet Shiraz 2000 (Australia) $13
This wine kicks the pants off of wines ten times the price!
Literally, I tasted it next to Napa Valley Cabernets that were
“boring” compared to this. Deep rich black fruit, bright acidity
and a smooth finish with grip make this wine a keeper.
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Shiralee “Old Basket” Shiraz Barossa 2001 (Australia) $33
Rich candied fruit and chocolate flavors make this another amazing
find from Australia. One of the first releases from the fantastic
2001 vintage from Australia!
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Neyers Syrah Napa Valley “Hudson Vineyard” 2000 (California)
$50
In depth smoky meaty notes, that is one of the biggest and baddest
syrahs I’ve tasted from the U.S.! It’s made by the famous Turley
winemaker, with his training in the Northern Rhone, he should know
how to make Syrah, but unlike Turley, this wine is actually
available.
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Mitchelton Chardonnay 2000 (Australia) $10
Fantastic summertime drinker! Focused intense fruit and very well
balanced, Mitchelton did something right this year…they dropped
their price and doubled their quality! A perfect match with
summertime fare.
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Casa de la Ermita 2000 (Spain) $12
This 75% Tempranillo, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon has big full black
fruit, heavy notes of candied chocolate and raspberry, and is a
lot of wine packed into the bottle for only 12 bucks!
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Andrake Cellars Merlot 2000 (Washington) $30
Take advantage of the fact that Andrake is still somewhat
undiscovered and under-priced! This is the biggest Merlot from
Washington I’ve tasted, and Bob Andrake’s constant research
continues to pay off with wines that will continue to age
gracefully, but taste fantastic while young.
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Domaine Richaud Cotes du Rhone “Cairanne” 2000 (France) $21
A very limited bottling for this wine from a great Rhone producer!
This is an intense glass stainer, with more density than any 1998
or 1999 Rhone I’ve tasted. It has beautiful violet, blackberry,
leather and smoked meat flavors throughout.
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Flemings Cabernet Sauvignon Langhorne Creek 1998 (Australia)
$16
I know I already picked the ’99 vintage, but the older bottle is
now being released and everything I said about the 1999 holds true
to this vintage, but with a little extra mmph! It’s fun to see how
an extra year of bottle age adds so much complexity!
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Mitolo Shiraz McLaren Vale 2000 (Australia) $33
McLaren Vale meets French Hermitage! It has mouth-filling bacon
fat notes with deep black fruit and leathery flavors. Super long
finish that hangs on the palate!
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Domaine de la Ferme Saint-Martin Beaumes de Venise Cuvée
Princesse1999 (France) $10
This wine is way to good to be $10! This single village Cotes du
Rhone is Syrah and Grenache based and exhibits earth, blackberry,
white pepper and a killer smoky finish.
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Owen Sullivan Cabernet Franc Champoux Vineyard 2000 (Washington)
$25
Aromas of violets and red berries with a silky texture and marion
berry flavors. Great up front fruit with a memorable finish!
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Indian Springs Merlot 1997 (California) $13
A deep, dark wine by Jed Steele is in a very rich style with
flavors of black currant, cedar and exotic spices, finish with a
light touch of chocolate.
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Flemming Cabernet Sauvignon 1999 (Australia) $17
Lush ripe black currant oak bomb! Tastes like a much more
expensive bottle of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that we have all
grown to love…
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Cantele Salice Salentino Riserva 1997 (Italy) $9
This Southern Italian star has rich and lush dark fruits and a
smooth finish. It puts other wines from the Aprilia region of Italy
to shame and is hard to believe a wine this good is only 9 bucks!
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Paxton McLaren Vale Shiraz 1999 (Australia) $32
This wine shows the great ability of the young up and coming star
winemaker Bill Paxton. This wine is greatly limited in the United
States. It has very rich fruit showing bright raspberry with a huge
body with a long finish. This wine is one of the richest and best
from the McLaren Vale!
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Stonehorse Shiraz Barossa Valley 1998 (Australia) $24
This is what Barossa Valley shiraz is all about! Big, bold, black
fruit and rich tannins that coat your mouth and teeth that don’t let
you forget you drank a wonderfully concentrated wine when you look
in the mirror!
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Pierro Meritage 1998 (Australia) $50
This is a mind blower! Imagine everything good about Bordeaux and
Australia and put it together to get this wine! This wine exhibits
beautiful ripe jammy fruit with earth and meat in the nose. A
delicate and complex palate with no rough edges and a finish that
won’t quit.
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Owen Roe Cabernet Sauvignon “Dubrul Vineyard” 1999 (Washington)
$53
This is a stunning example of how Northwest wine can have terroir.
For a first vintage, this wine will give any other high-end
Washington wine a run for the money. Look out! David O’Reilly
continues the great Irish Winemaking tradition!
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Planeta Rosso “La Segreta” 2000 (Italy) $16
This Sicilian Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Nero d’Avola has a
very fragrant nose of mincemeat with a really meaty leathery
concentration of black fruit. It has wonderful depth and color,
and displays lots of tobacco flavors with a fabulous bright core
of Bing cherry fruit. |
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-- previous --
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Irvine Eden Crest Merlot 1999 (Australia) $21
Stunner! This is the biggest, baddest, jammiest $20-ish merlot on
the planet--bar none. I thought the '98 was the best in the
shop...then I tried the '99. Even James Irvine (the winemaker) says
it's the best he's made!
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Hendry Napa Cabernet Sauvignon "Block 8" 1997
(California) $44
Hendry is a high-end grape grower that supplies Zinfandel grapes
to Roeseblum and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes (Mondavi clone 7) to
Robert Mondavi for use in Mondavi's Reserve and Opus I. A portion
of the Cabernet grapes are made into Hendry Cabernet Sauvignon by
the Opus I winemaker. This wine is a blockbuster…and it's Napa
brothers are much more expensive. Grab it while you can, I did.
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