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, [...]

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 [...]

During my recent media trip to Chile, I had the pleasure to visit a number of its wineries and vineyards and meet many of the movers and shakers in the Chilean wine industry. I am individually highlighting some of the wine regions we visited including reviews of wines I tasted from those regions. Today, I [...]

Jones of Washington is a small, family-owned winery located in Quincy, Washington. The Jones Family has been farming in the Columbia Basin for over 50 years. In 1997, Jack Jones started planting wine grapes in the Wahluke Slope AVA. At first, they sold their grapes to other wineries. Then, in 2001, Jack decided to start [...]

Chateau Ste. Michelle is Washington State’s founding winery with its roots dating back to the repeal of Prohibition. In 1976, Ste. Michelle built a French-style chateau in Woodinville, just northeast of Seattle. While all of Chateau Ste. Michelle’s vineyards are located on the east side of the Cascade Mountains, all of their white wines are [...]

During my recent media trip to Chile, I had the pleasure to visit a number of its wineries and vineyards and meet many of the movers and shakers in the Chilean wine industry. I am individually highlighting some of the wine regions we visited including reviews of wines I tasted from those regions. Today, I [...]

Eight Bells Winery is a small urban winery located in the Roosevelt/Ravenna neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. It is jointly owned and operated by Tim Bates, Andy Shepherd, and Frank Michiels. The trio got their start as home winemakers. In 2009, they moved from their garages into a commercial space to start Eight Bells. Since their [...]

Nota Bene Cellars is a small, family-owned winery located in Seattle’s South Park neighborhood. Owner/winemaker Tim Narby and his wife Carol Bryant founded Nota Bene in 2001. Tim got his start in winemaking over 15 years earlier in the Boeing Employee’s Wine and Beermaking Club. When their youngest child was out of preschool, they decided [...]

Recently, Dad (John), Colby, and I spent three jam-packed days in Portland, Oregon, for the fifth annual Wine Bloggers Conference. Over 350 fellow wine bloggers, wine industry participants, and media members participated in tastings, keynote addresses, breakout sessions, and visits to local vineyards and wineries. [See the bottom of this post for a recap of [...]

The day before the recent Wine Bloggers Conference in Portland, Oregon, Colby and I had the pleasure to attend a culinary bus tour hosted by Wines of Chile. We boarded the Double Decker tour bus at the DoubleTree Portland and headed off for a wonderful afternoon enjoying Portland’s diverse food options paired with some wonderful [...]