Charles Smith of K Vintners founded Magnificent Wine Company in 2004. In the fall of 2006, a majority of Magnificent Wine Company was sold to Washington State-based Precept Brands. Magnificent’s flagship brand is House Wine, originally just offering two wines, a red Cabernet blend and a white Chardonnay blend. Since then, the House Wine line […]

Fielding Hills Winery, a small, family-owned winery in Wenatchee, is one of the top wineries in Washington State. Owner/winemaker Mike Wade and his wife Karen are longtime apple and cherry growers who have turned a middle portion of their orchard near Mattawa into a vineyard. Their RiverBend Vineyard, planted in 1998, is in the Wahluke […]

Washington Syrah compares favorably with the best in the world. Washington Syrah generally falls somewhere in between the jammy Shiraz of Australia and the more austere Syrah of the northern Rhone. It generally has good acidity and tannins. Last Friday, we featured Washington Syrah from the 2009 vintage in our wine tasting dinner. All six […]

Brothers Butch and Jerry Milbrandt planted their first vines in Washington’s Columbia Valley and Wahluke Slope in 1997. Today, Milbrandt Vineyards is comprised of over 2,000 acres of estate vineyards. After selling their grapes to wineries throughout Washington for years, the Milbrandts launched their own winery in 2005. Joshua Maloney, who previously worked for wineries […]

It’s always fun planning a challenging wine pairing dinner. I especially enjoy the “challenge” of determining a good wine pairing for a meal in which wine would probably not be the first beverage that comes to mind. This time, I decided to make Philly cheesesteak sandwiches, a Wine Peeps’ family favorite. Along with the sandwiches, […]

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? If so, you might want to check out the 2012 Canoe Ridge Vineyard Expedition Pinot Gris from the Horse Heaven Hills of Washington State. Our selection criteria include: A very […]

Rodney Strong founded Rodney Strong Vineyards, located in Healdsburg, California, in 1959. Current owner Tom Klein and the Klein family purchased the winery in 1989. Head winemaker Rick Sayre has been with the winery since 1979. Rodney Strong sustainably farms thirteen estate vineyards in Sonoma County. Recently, we had the opportunity to taste the 2010 […]

Taste Washington, held in Seattle annually, is the nation’s largest single-region wine and food event. This past weekend brought Washington wine lovers from around the country to Seattle to drink, eat, and be merry. For the second year in a row, the event spanned two days with Seminars offered each morning followed by the Grand […]

March is Washington Wine Month, the annual celebration of Washington State’s award-winning wine industry featuring promotions by restaurants, retailers, hotels, and wineries throughout the region including activities such as free tastings, discounts on Washington wine, and winemaker dinners pairing the state’s top winemakers and chefs. If you live in Washington and haven’t yet taken advantage […]

The Walla Walla Valley is one of the oldest of Washington State’s 13 AVA’s. Established in 1984, it encompasses over 1,600 vineyard acres. Located within the greater Columbia Valley AVA, the Walla Walla Valley covers the area around the town of Walla Walla, Washington, and also dips across the state-line into Oregon near Milton-Freewater. The […]