While my ratings did not factor into the final decision of the other judges, I tasted all of the wines along with them, made my own notes, and observed the process for the Platinum Judging. I was very impressed by the organization and integrity of the competition.

The Winter issue of Wine Press Northwest should be on shelves now. For results of the Platinum Judging, pick up a copy today. Also, with this issue, Wine Press Northwest is launching a new column reserved for bloggers, which will rotate to different bloggers around the Northwest. I am honored to be the inaugural blogger columnist. Be sure to check out my article on the value of blind tasting.

Wine Press Northwest Platinum Judging 2010 was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining

I first came across the writings of Rex-Johnson in Wine Press Northwest, where she writes a food and wine pairing column. I’ve passed on several of her columns to LaGayle, our Wine Peeps food and cooking expert, and she has been impressed as well. I’ve also read about a Texas connection, I believe it was her father-in-law, and that always wins points with me.

While I was familiar with most of the wineries she mentions in the book, I really liked the way she organized them geographically and found many winemakers who are also great cooks or who have a related restaurant on their property with a great chef. Rex-Johnson and her husband, Spencer, did over two years of research seeking out the best winemaker-cooks, chefs and restaurants, bed and breakfast inns and other neat places in the Pacific Northwest that combine good food and good wine.

The photos by Jackie Johnston really bring the stories to life and make it a great coffee table book for anyone interested in the Northwest lifestyle. I really like this book, and I believe that you will, too. My mouth begins to water when I think about some of my favorites from the book, such as Canlis classic prawns with off-dry Riesling, flank steak roulade with Syrah, pesto-glazed halibut with Sauvignon Blanc, buckwheat-honey pancakes and ice wine peaches, and the list goes on and on.

If this isn’t enough, there are also some great personal stories about Northwest winemakers. My favorite was about how Bob Betz went from managing a Spaghetti Factory restaurant (I guess that’s why he’s such a good home cook) to becoming a Master of Wine and owning his own Betz Family Winery. I could tell you more, but just go out and buy the book for yourself.

Have you already read Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining? If so, please leave a comment and let us know what you thought of it.

Book Review: Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining by Braiden Rex-Johnson was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

Port is a fortified wine, meaning that grape spirit (almost 80 percent alcohol) has been added in order to stop fermentation, bringing the alcohol level of the port to around 20 percent. The best port grapes and almost all port production are red. Port is synonymous with Portugal; although wineries in other countries sometimes call a port-style wine “port”, real port is produced only in Portugal. In the United States, port-style wines are usually called fortified or dessert wine and made using the port process.

We have found good U.S. “ports” in places you might not expect, such as Idaho, Missouri, and Texas. And the best bang for the buck we’ve found in a port comes from Australia, the NV Jonesy Port made by Aussie winemaker Trevor Jones in partnership with importer Dan Philips.

“As my friends and colleagues know by now, I love Australian fortified wines.  I wanted to invent and market a Tawny Port that would be a mind-blowing value. So, I asked my close friend and Port-meister Trevor Jones to collaborate with me to create a delicious, every day, easy-drinking, shockingly luscious Tawny Port that would sell at a stupid-low price. I don’t add a wine to my portfolio until I’ve test driven it in many different real world contexts. I’ve found this Port delicious after dinner, before dinner and during dinner. I drink it like wine. I drink it over ice by the buckets. One sip and I had a jones for Jonesy. It’s a party in a glass. It’s a bottle full of fun. In short, it’s liquid Trevor.” –Dan Philips

The best and most expensive ports are bottle-aged ports such as vintage and single quinta ports. They will continue to improve in the bottle for many years, but once opened they will only hold their best freshness for 4-5 days. Ruby and tawny ports are wood-aged ports. Having spent more time in barrels, they will remain fresher after opening longer than bottle-aged ports. Ruby ports will usually retain their freshness for 1-3 weeks after opening; tawny ports 4-6 weeks.

So far, we have not found any remarkable Washington ports and have not tasted the very expensive top-end ports from Portugal. But, here’s a list of the best port-style wines that we have had:

NV Jonesy Port (Australia)
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Seattle Wine Company (Washington), $8.95 [750ml]; Available elsewhere, $8 to $15

2007 Becker Vintage Port (Texas): Syrah-based.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $21.95 [750ml]

NV Williamson Vineyard Doce Dessert Wine (Idaho): 80% Syrah, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $25.00 [375ml]

NV Mount Pleasant Tawny Port Library Volume XII (Augusta, Missouri): Made from the Norton grape.
Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
QPR: 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5)
Where to buy: Winery, $30.00 [375ml]

As I mentioned earlier, of the ports that we’ve had, the best value and maybe the best wine as well, is the NV Jonesy Port from Australia. It is an amazing value that can generally be found under $10.

Port on a Cold, Winter Evening was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

I thought Steve’s first book, WineTrails of Washington, was a very good book and it has been extremely helpful to us in our wine country travels in the state of Washington. Then I was amazed that he found over 200 wineries that he organized into 24 wine trails in his second book, WineTrails of Oregon. But when he told me about this book on Idaho wineries, I thought to myself, “This ought to be a short one.” I’ve been to Idaho wine country and remembered only about half a dozen wineries, albeit some pretty good wines. To my surprise, Steve found 21 Idaho wineries with regular tasting room hours that he organized into 4 wine trails; and 12 more Idaho wineries open by appointment.

Once again, Steve’s book is attractive, well organized, and easy to follow as you travel in Idaho wine country. He not only tells you about the wineries but gives you excellent suggestions for traveling in wine country, including tasting room etiquette, wine tasting 101, descriptions of the popular Idaho wine varieties, and helpful hints on decoding an Idaho wine label.

Before you visit Idaho wine country (or visit it again), be sure to pick up a copy of WineTrails of Idaho. For that matter, pick up a copy of all three of his WineTrails books. They are all excellent.

Congratulations again, Steve!

Book Review: WineTrails of Idaho was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

The Rhone Rangers—Advancing the knowledge & enjoyment of Rhone grapes grown in America and of the wines produced from those grapes.

Last year, we focused on Syrah so this year we decided to focus on Viognier and red blends. We tasted a total of 54 wines: 16 Viogniers, 30 red blends, and eight Syrahs. We gave a 4 star rating or higher to ten wines.

Our most exciting discovery was the 2007 Rôtie Cellars “Northern” Red Blend, a Syrah (97%) co-fermented with Viognier (3%) in the Côte-Rôtie style. It is a bold wine, yet exhibits remarkable finesse at the same time. I was blown away by its purity of fruit. Rôtie Cellars, located in Walla Walla, Washington, is a new winery founded by winemaker Sean Boyd. As his winery’s name indicates, Boyd is dedicated to producing Rhone-style wines from Washington State fruit. If you, like us, are a big fan of Syrah and other Rhone varietals, Rôtie Cellars is definitely a winery to watch.

The best Viognier that we tasted was the 2007 Bridlewood Viognier Central Coast Reserve. I was a bit disappointed that we did not find more 4-star Viogniers. One thing I noticed was the number of different styles of Viognier, from crisp, acidic, Sauvignon Blanc-like to flabby, oaky, and Chardonnay-like. The Bridlewood Viognier falls somewhere in between those two extremes. It is very aromatic, as a Viognier should be, exhibiting floral, gardenia notes. Melon and peach flavors come through on the palate and round out this light, crisp wine.

Here’s a breakdown of the wines that we tasted at the Rhone Rangers event. Under each Quality heading, the wine name and region will be listed along with price and QPR rating. Wines in bold type received a QPR rating of 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5).

Quality: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
2007 Rôtie Cellars “Northern” Red Blend, Washington State, $35, QPR: 5

Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
2006 Chateau Ste. Michelle “Austral” Red Blend, Columbia Valley, $26, QPR: 4
2006 Chateau Ste. Michelle “Ethos” Syrah, Columbia Valley, $28, QPR: 4
2006 Chateau Ste. Michelle “Boreal” Red Blend, Columbia Valley, $30, QPR: 4
2006 Doyenne Aix Red Blend, Red Mountain, $34, QPR: 4
2007 Bridlewood Viognier Central Coast Reserve, Central Coast, $22, QPR: 3
2007 Four Vines “Loco” Red Blend, Paso Robles, $40, QPR: 3
2006 Villa Creek “Vulture’s Post” Red Blend, Paso Robles, $40, QPR: 3
2007 Justin “Savant” Red Blend, Paso Robles, $45, QPR: 3
2006 Tablas Creek “Esprit de Beaucastel” Red Blend, Paso Robles, $45, QPR: 3

Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
2007 Cline “Cashmere” Red Blend, California, $14, QPR: 5
2006 Eberle “Côtes-du-Robles” Red Blend, Paso Robles, $20, QPR: 4
2006 Chateau Ste. Michelle Syrah, Wahluke Slope, $28, QPR: 4
2006 Chateau Ste. Michelle Viognier, Yakima Valley, $16, QPR: 3
2007 Tablas Creek “Côtes de Tablas” Red Blend, Paso Robles, $25, QPR: 3
2004 Zefina “Serience” Red Blend, Alder Ridge Vineyard, Horse Heaven Hills, $30, QPR: 3
2006 Adelaida “Version” Red Blend, Paso Robles, $30, QPR: 3
2004 Columbia Winery Red Willow Syrah, Yakima Valley, $30, QPR: 3
2008 Maison Bleue “Notre Vie” Viognier, Art DenHoed Vineyard, Yakima Valley, $20, QPR: 2
2008 Vina Robles “Huerhuero” Viognier, Paso Robles, $22, QPR: 2
2007 Rôtie Cellars “Southern” Red Blend, Washington State, $35, QPR: 2
2007 Villa Creek “Willow Creek Cuvee” Red Blend, Paso Robles, $35, QPR: 2
2006 Four Vines Syrah One Tree Hill Block, Los Alamos Vineyard, Santa Barbara County, $40, QPR: 2
2007 Adelaida Viognier, Paso Robles, $30, QPR: 1
2007 Goedhart Family Syrah, Bel’ Villa Vineyard, Red Mountain, $50, QPR: 1
2006 Villa Creek “High Road” Red Blend, James Berry Vineyard, Paso Robles, $60, QPR: 1

Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
2008 Cline Viognier, California, $10, QPR: 4
2006 Sawtooth Viognier, Snake River Valley, $13, QPR: 3
2007 Morgan “Côtes du Crow’s” Red Blend, Monterey, $22, QPR: 3
2005 McCrea “Sirocco” Red Blend, Yakima Valley, $28, QPR: 2
2006 Calcareous “Tres Violet” Red Blend, Paso Robles, $32, QPR: 2
2006 Doyenne Métier Red Blend, Columbia Valley, $32, QPR: 2
2007 JC Cellars “Imposter” Red Blend, California, $32, QPR: 2
2007 Cougar Crest Viognier, Walla Walla Valley, $20, QPR: 1
2007 Zefina Viognier, Alder Ridge Vineyard, Horse Heaven Hills, $20, QPR: 1
2007 Fess Parker Viognier, Santa Barbara County, $24, QPR: 1
2007 Katin Viognier, Paso Robles, $32, QPR: 1
2005 McCrea Syrah, Ciel du Cheval Vineyard, Red Mountain, $36, QPR: 1
2005 McCrea Syrah, Boushey Vineyard, Yakima Valley, $36, QPR: 1
2005 Zaca Mesa “Z Three” Red Blend, Santa Ynez Valley, $42, QPR: 1
2006 Villa Creek “Badger” Red Blend, Booker Vineyard, Paso Robles, $50, QPR: 1
2006 Goedhart Family Syrah, Bel’ Villa Vineyard, Red Mountain, $70, QPR: 1

Quality: 2.5 stars (out of 5)
2007 Barrel 27 “High on the Hog” Viognier, Paso Robles, $15, QPR: NR
2007 Vina Robles “Red4” Red Blend, Paso Robles, $16, QPR: NR
2008 Eberle Viognier Mill Road Vineyard, Paso Robles, $20, QPR: NR
2008 Walter Dacon Viognier, Yakima Valley, $22, QPR: NR
2006 Villa Creek “Avenger” Red Blend, Paso Robles, $35, QPR: NR
2007 Four Vines “The Peasant” Red Blend, Paso Robles, $40, QPR: NR

Quality: 2 stars (out of 5)
2008 Zaca Mesa Estate Viognier, Santa Ynez Valley, $20, QPR: NR
2006 Zaca Mesa “Z Cuvee” Red Blend, Santa Ynez Valley, $20, QPR: NR
2008 Three Coins Viognier, Betsy’s Vineyard, Sonoma County, $24, QPR: NR
2007 Qupé “Los Olivos Cuvee” Red Blend, Santa Ynez Valley, $25, QPR: NR
2006 Barrel 27 “Bull by the Horns” Red Blend, Central Coast, $32, QPR: NR
2007 Four Vines “Anarchy” Red Blend, Paso Robles, $40, QPR: NR

Rhone Rangers Ride into Seattle again was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

We learned that since February, their popular Bistro Rouge Red Table Wine has been available in a refillable 1.5 liter bottle. You buy the first 1.5 liter bottle, sealed with a cork, for $25; then refills, sealed with a T-stopper, are $16 thereafter. The idea came from co-proprietor Julie Meyer who was frustrated seeing glass from Sandpoint getting reintegrated into other solid waste after being sorted by residents and ultimately disposed of at a landfill in Eastern Oregon.

The staff at Pend d’Oreille Winery brainstormed the problem and came up with the concept of producing 1.5 liter bottles with a generic silk screened label of the Bistro Rouge Red Table Wine. Once purchased, the customers clean their own bottle and bring it back to the winery for a refill.

Because it is a generic label, the blend can change. Winemaker Steve Meyer loves the freedom to create wines that are fun to blend, market, and enjoy with the public.

“The program has been enthusiastically accepted by our clients who love the idea of coming into the Winery to get their personal bottle refilled. It gives us a chance to touch base with them and to return the favor by putting a delicious wine into a reusable and sustainable container. It’s a Win-Wine idea.”

I would think that many wineries in large urban settings producing a large volume red (or white) table wine and who get a lot of traffic through their tasting rooms could make this idea work on a larger scale than even Pend d’Oreille. The only part of the Pend d’Oreille model that I question is the customer cleaning his or her own bottle. It seems to me that a swap-out system like you often see with propane tanks, turning in an empty one for a full one, would be a more efficient and sanitary solution.

What do you winemaker readers think about this idea? Would it work for you? What about the wine lover readers? Would you like to participate in such a program with your favorite local table wine producer?

Think Green, Drink Red: Refillable Wine Bottles was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

A wine is only a bargain if it’s a good wine yet its price is much less than wines of similar quality. We believe that a wine is a super bargain only if it is of excellent quality (4-star quality or higher) and its price is less than or equal to one-half of wines of the same varietal and the same quality level (5 bangs-for-your-buck).

Out of the thousands of wines we have tasted over the years, below is a list of those super bargain wines with a price less than or equal to $10. We have listed the vintage that established this wine as a super bargain for us (and the price we paid for it at that time), but we believe you can confidently purchase their current vintage and expect an excellent wine drinking experience.

In the coming months, we will give you similar lists of super bargain wines at varying price levels.

Super Bargain Wines for Tough Times was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

Along the way, we made some discoveries I’d like to recap.

Best new type of wine for us:
Port. We found good Ports in California, New Mexico, Texas, Missouri, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, but our favorite was the NV Mount Pleasant Tawny Library Port from Missouri of all places.

Most promising of the newer wine states:
Texas, Kentucky, Missouri, Colorado, and Idaho.

Best of the wine regions we were visiting for the first time:
Central Coast of California and Lake Chelan County in Washington State.

Top Winery Discoveries (wineries we didn’t know before this trip):
Lincourt Vineyards—Solvang, CA
Mount Pleasant Winery—Augusta, MO
Watermill Winery—Milton-Freewater, OR
Stephenson Cellars—Walla Walla, WA

Honorable Mention Winery Discoveries (wineries we didn’t know before this trip):
Siduri/Novy Wines—Santa Rosa, CA
Andrew Murray Vineyards—Los Olivos, CA
Williamson Vineyard—Caldwell, ID
Nefarious Cellars—Chelan, WA

I hope you have enjoyed traveling with us by reading our posts during our road trip. If you are curious about any of the sights we saw in addition to our wine stops, leave a comment and I would be happy to share those highlights with you as well.

Previous Road Trip posts:
Sonoma and Napa (April 14)
Central Coast, California (April 18)
Arizona (April 25)
New Mexico (May 2)
Texas (May 9)
Tennessee and Kentucky (May 16)
Mid-America (May 23)
Ballpark Wine (May 30)
South Dakota (June 6)
Colorado (June 13)
Idaho (June 20)
Eastern Oregon (June 27)
Walla Walla, Day 1 (July 4)
Walla Walla, Day 2 (July 11)
Spokane (July 18)
Chelan (July 25)

Road Trip: Complete Recap was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

Our next stop was at Ste. Chapelle Winery, Idaho’s oldest and largest winery, a part of the mammoth Constellation Group when we visited but was purchased last week by Ascentia Wine Estates. Out of the five wines we tasted at Ste. Chapelle, our favorites were the 2004 Ste. Chapelle Winemaker Syrah and the 2004 Ste. Chapelle Ice Wine Sauvignon Blanc.

Our third stop was at Williamson Vineyards, where a fourth generation Williamson, Beverly, was our knowledgeable tasting room hostess. The Williamsons have been in the fruit growing business for generations and remain a large producer today but have only been growing grapes, mainly as a diversification measure, since the 1990’s. They are contract growers for some of Idaho’s best known wineries as well as produce an increasing amount of grapes for their own winery operation. We also had the opportunity to meet and visit with Beverly’s father, Roger, who is the winemaker for Williamson Vineyards. While we would not hesitate to recommend any of the five wines we tasted at Williamson, our favorites were the 2005 Williamson Syrah and the NV Williamson Doce Dessert Wine (Ruby style Port). I believe that Williamson is an up-and-coming winery that merits watching. I’d like to come back in five years and see the progress that they have made.

Note: A few days after these visits, we also visited another Idaho winery, Camas Prairie Winery in Moscow, Idaho, but we did not taste any wines. When we entered the tasting room, the owner was serving some other folks so we didn’t expect instantaneous service. But when he finished their tasting, he said he was going to pass them off to the checkout clerks, implying that he would then serve us. However, instead he went over to the checkout with them and continued to visit, totally ignoring us. But the straw that broke the camel’s back for us was when another employee came in, and instead of spelling him at the checkout desk or serving us, she waited on another customer who had come in after us. When that happened, we left. There are too many other wineries with good wine and good service to put up with that. I could not recommend Camas Prairie Winery to anyone.

Here’s a breakdown of the Idaho wines that we tasted. Under each Quality heading, the wine name will be listed along with price and QPR rating. Wines in bold type received a QPR rating of 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5).

Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
2004 Carmela Reserve Merlot, $25, QPR: 5
2004 Ste. Chapelle Winemaker Syrah, $11, QPR: 5
2004 Ste. Chapelle Ice Wine Sauvignon Blanc, $20, QPR: 5
2005 Williamson Syrah, $18, QPR: 5
NV Williamson Doce Dessert Wine (Ruby style Port), $25, QPR: 5

Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
2004 Williamson Cabernet Sauvignon, $25, QPR: 5
2006 Williamson Late Harvest Viognier, $22, QPR: 5
2004 Carmela Red Meritage, $17, QPR: 4
2006 Williamson Viognier, $15, QPR: 3

Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
NV Carmela Cabernet Merlot, $10, QPR: 5
2005 Ste. Chapelle Winemaker Cabernet Sauvignon, $11, QPR: 5
2001-02 Carmela Merlot, $17, QPR: 4
2000 Carmela Cabernet Franc, $17, QPR: 4

Quality: 2.5 stars (out of 5)
2003 Carmela Cabernet Sauvignon, $17, QPR: NR
2006 Ste. Chapelle Winemaker Merlot, $11, QPR: NR

Quality: 2 stars (out of 5)
2003 Carmela Pinot Noir, $17, QPR: NR
2006 Carmela Semillon, $13, QPR: NR
2006 Ste. Chapelle Sauvignon Blanc, $9, QPR: NR

Have you ever had Idaho wine? If so, how did you like it? What was your favorite?

Road Trip: Idaho was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.

As with any event like this, it is impossible to taste all of the wines offered. So Colby and I chose to visit the booths for wineries whose wines we had not previously tasted or had not tasted in a long time. We made a few discoveries and look forward to picking up some bottles and adding them to our blind-tasting lineup to see how they stack up against some of our proven favorites.

Our most exciting discovery of the day was Chandler Reach Vineyards. I had not previously tasted (nor even heard of) their wines. We tasted the two red wines they were offering, the 2005 Corella (72% Sangiovese, 23% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Syrah) and the 2005 Monte Regalo (63% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, 5% Syrah), and loved them both. Chandler Reach is located in Benton City, Washington, along the Yakima River. Inspired to start his own winery during a trip to Italy, owner Len Parris set his sights on “bringing Tuscany to Washington.” Founded in 1997, Chandler Reach’s winemaking focus is on Italian-style wines and their tasting room resembles a Tuscan villa.

In order to keep these notes from being unwieldy as we tasted 20 different wines, I have broken down the list into Quality rating categories. Under each Quality heading, the wine name will be listed along with appellation/region, price and QPR rating. Wines in bold type received a QPR rating of 5 bangs for your buck (out of 5).

Quality: 4 stars (out of 5)
2005 Chandler Reach Corella, Yakima Valley, $16.35, QPR: 5
2005 Chandler Reach Monte Regalo, Yakima Valley, $20, QPR: 5

Quality: 3.5 stars (out of 5)
2005 Patit Creek Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla Valley, $29, QPR: 5
2005 Saint Laurent Estate Syrah, Wahluke Slope, $22, QPR: 4
2006 Alamos Seleccione Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina, $14, QPR: 4

Quality: 3 stars (out of 5)
2007 Tilia Malbec-Syrah, Mendoza, Argentina, $9.50, QPR: 5
2003 Kiona Cabernet-Merlot, Washington State, $11.99, QPR: 5
2005 Sawtooth Viognier, Idaho, $8.49, QPR: 4
2005 Waterbrook Melange, Columbia Valley, $15, QPR: 4
2005 Zerba Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla Valley, $30, QPR: 4
2006 Maryhill Viognier, Columbia Valley, $14.99, QPR: 3
2005 Glen Fiona Walla Walla Syrah, Walla Walla Valley, $19.99, QPR: 3
2002 Kiona Red Mountain Estate Cabernet, Red Mountain, $35, QPR: 3

Quality: 2.5 stars (out of 5)
2004 Sawtooth Syrah, Idaho, $12.99, QPR: NR
2006 Waterbrook Reserve Syrah, Columbia Valley, $22, QPR: NR
2005 Zerba Columbia Valley Syrah, Columbia Valley, $28, QPR: NR
2002 Glen Fiona Cabernet, Columbia Valley, $29.99, QPR: NR
2002 Terra Blanca Block 8 Syrah, Red Mountain, $40, QPR: NR

Quality: 2 stars (out of 5)
NV Kestrel Lady in Red, Columbia Valley, $15, QPR: NR
2002 Terra Blanca Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Mountain, $35, QPR: NR

Toast to the Northwest was originally posted on Wine Peeps. Wine Peeps - Your link to great QPR wines from Washington State and beyond.