Columbia Crest, located in Paterson, Washington, has been one of our favorite sources of value wines for many years. Last year, Juan Munoz Oca took over as head winemaker from Ray Einberger. Einberger had been at the helm since 2002 when he took the reins from Doug Gore who had been the winemaker since Columbia [...]

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 Chateau Ste. Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon from the Columbia Valley of [...]

DenHoed Wine Estates, founded in 2006, is a joint venture between grape growing brothers Bill and Andy Den Hoed and Washington wine pioneer Allen Shoup. DenHoed produces two red wines, both made exclusively with fruit from Wallula Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills. Wallula Vineyard is located high above the Columbia River south of Kennewick, [...]

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 2010 Saviah Cellars The Jack Cabernet Sauvignon from the Columbia Valley [...]

Owner/winemaker Charlie Hoppes founded Fidelitas in 2000. Located in Benton City, Washington, in the Red Mountain AVA, Fidelitas gets its name from Charlie’s father-in-law, Dan Fidelis O’Neill. While working for Boeing in the early 1980’s, Charlie was bitten by the wine bug and began experimenting with home winemaking kits. Encouraged by his wife Terri and [...]

Brothers Matthew and Patrick Rawn established Two Mountain Winery in 2002. Located in the Yakima Valley of Washington State, Two Mountain Winery is named for the two mountains, Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams, which form the beautiful backdrop of their estate vineyard. They planted Copeland Vineyard in 2000 on land that their family has farmed [...]

It is cookie season! This is the time of year when Girl Scout Cookies are sold. Many of us have an assortment of these cookies that we’ve purchased from daughters of friends and from young ladies selling them outside grocery stores and coffee shops. The other day a friend mentioned enjoying a Girl Scout Cookie [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]