Last weekend, we traveled to Walla Walla, Washington, to attend Vintage Walla Walla, an annual event considered to be one of the nation’s premier regional wine tasting events. It is a two-day event featuring seminars, tours, and winemaker dinners in addition to the two marquee tastings, the Vintage Pour and the Grand Pavilion Tasting. On […]

Grand Rêve Vintners, whose first three wines were just released last month, produces vineyard-designed wines from Red Mountain grown fruit by an all-star cast of Washington winemakers. Theirs is truly a revolutionary and exciting concept in the same vein as Long Shadows Vintners. The difference is that Grand Rêve focuses on the fruit first and […]

Last Friday evening was a gorgeous, sunny summer evening here in Seattle. It was the perfect night to gather with friends to enjoy a fabulous meal and good wines for one of our monthly wine tasting dinners. In February of this year, Mom (LaGayle) and Dad (John) spent three weeks in South Africa visiting the […]

When most people think of wine country destinations in Washington State, Walla Walla, Yakima, and Woodinville immediately come to mind. One area that I have rarely heard mentioned is Spokane and that is truly a shame. We had the pleasure to spend the long Memorial Day weekend in the Spokane area, and I must say […]

Italy says it is #1 in wine production, although it admits it is a close race with France and depends on the vintage. France is #1 in wine exports and historically was #1 in production, too. Spain is #1 in acreage planted to grapes. United States is #1 in wine imports. Today, I’m going to […]

We fell in love with Australia and Australian wines when we visited in the spring of 2005 and were especially taken with the Barossa Valley. While the Barossa Valley is quite versatile in the number and quality of wines it can successfully produce, it is best known for Shiraz. “The Barossa is having so much […]

Last week in Texas Wine Country 2009, Part One, I shared with you my initial impressions of Texas wines in 2009 and how much better they are today than in 2002. Now after visiting a total of 23 wineries and tasting a total of 169 wines from 28 wineries, let me give you a summary […]

Quilceda Creek, located in Snohomish, Washington, was founded in 1978 by the Golitzin family. Generally considered the premier winery in Washington State, Quilceda Creek remains a small, family-owned and operated winery. Their flagship wine, the Quilceda Creek Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, has received three 100-point ratings in the last four years from Robert Parker’s Wine […]

Sauvignon Blanc has been one of our favorite white varieties for years. Our trip to New Zealand in 2005 solidified that love, and we have a soft spot for Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough region of New Zealand. While not for everyone, we just cannot get enough of the grapefruit flavors and crisp acidity of […]

Regular readers may remember that I visited several wineries in the Texas Panhandle about a year ago. Prior to last year, I had not been impressed at all with the Texas wineries I had visited. However, based on my limited sampling last year, I wanted to make a more comprehensive survey of Texas wines and […]