Washington State ranks second nationally in wine production with over 740 wineries and 40,000 vineyard acres. As I’ve said numerous times before, Washington wines are perfectly positioned to thrive in our current economy. Washington State is producing outstanding wines that consistently deliver great bang for your buck. If you love Washington wine or want to […]

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is closures. Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine: Closures for wine containers are necessary to avoid harmful contact with oxygen and have changed remarkably little until recent times. Corks are still the principal closures used for wine bottles, just as they were more than […]

Saviah Cellars is a family-owned winery located south of downtown Walla Walla, Washington, near the Oregon state line in the Walla Walla Valley AVA. Owner/winemaker Richard Funk and his wife Anita, both natives of Montana, moved to Walla Walla in 1991. Rich became acquainted with a number of the area wineries while working as an […]

Would you like a quick suggestion for a good wine to drink tonight (or this weekend) that won’t break your budget and is widely available? Many of our readers have said this is something they would like, so here is this week’s selection, the 2011 Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc from the famed Marlborough region of […]

Recently, I came across a recipe for beef lettuce wraps with wowee sauce. This sounded delicious and seemed like a great prospect for one of our challenging wine pairings. Seasoned ground beef topped with shredded carrots and sliced water chestnuts garnished with wowee sauce was fabulous wrapped in the Boston lettuce leaves. Wowee sauce is […]

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is corked. Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine: Corked is the pejorative tasting term for a wine spoiled by a cork stopper contaminated with cork taint. This is one of the most serious wine faults as in most cases it irrevocably imbues the wine […]

Cadaretta, located in Walla Walla, Washington, is owned and operated by the Middleton family. The Middleton family has a long history in Washington State. They started the Anderson & Middleton forestry products company in Hoquiam, Washington, in 1898. In fact, Cadaretta is named for a ship that once carried their goods to market. The family […]

Would you like a quick suggestion for a good wine to drink tonight (or this weekend) that won’t break your budget and is widely available? Many of our readers have said this is something they would like, so here is this week’s selection, the 2009 Columbia Crest Two Vines Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington State. Our […]

Founded in 1997 by businessman Terry Peabody and Master of Wine Steve Smith, Craggy Range is located in Hawkes Bay on the North Island of New Zealand. Together, Terry and Steve purchased vineyard land, forged partnerships with top grape growers, and chose the location for their winery and fine-dining restaurant, Terroir. Since the beginning, their […]

This week’s Wine Word of the Week is corkage. Official definition from Jancis Robinson’s The Oxford Companion to Wine: Corkage is the charge customarily levied in a restaurant for each bottle of wine brought in and consumed on the premises rather than bought from the restaurant’s own selection. The term is derived from the fact […]