We spent Memorial Day Weekend visiting the Columbia Gorge AVA. The Columbia Gorge AVA was established in 2004. It runs along the Columbia River and encompasses areas in both Washington and Oregon. The area boasts gorgeous views, numerous outdoor recreation options, quality vineyards, excellent wines, and very friendly folks. We arrived in Hood River, Oregon, […]

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 […]

Va Piano Vineyards, located in Walla Walla, Washington, officially opened its doors in 2005. Owner/winemaker Justin Wylie and his wife Liz planted Va Piano Vineyards in 1999. They built Va Piano’s Tuscan-themed winery and tasting room in 2004. Justin is a native of Walla Walla and was inspired to return home and try his hand […]

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 2005 Columbia Winery Syrah from the Columbia Valley of Washington State. […]

Last Friday, we hosted our monthly wine tasting dinner featuring Washington Syrah from the 2006 vintage. You may remember that we also had Washington Syrah 2006 in our December tasting dinner. Since that was such a stellar tasting, we decided to have another one to try more wines from this vintage that is sometimes forgotten […]

According to the Texas Department of Agriculture, Texas is the 5th largest wine producing state in the U.S. (behind only California, Washington, Oregon, and New York), with more than 180 wineries contributing $1.35 billion annually to the Texas economy. Nearly 1 million travelers a year visit Texas wineries. I would bet that most of our […]

Boudreaux Cellars, located just outside Leavenworth, Washington, was founded by owner/winemaker Rob Newsom in 2001. A Louisiana native, Newsom has lived on the property that is home to both his log home and Boudreaux Cellars since 1981. He began making wine in his garage in 1998 and started building the winery facilities in 2001. Boudreaux […]

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 2007 St. Hallett Faith Shiraz from the Barossa Valley of Australia. […]

Betz Family Winery, located in Woodinville, Washington, was founded by winemaker Bob Betz and his wife Cathy. They have grown steadily since their inception, from producing 150 cases of their first vintage in 1997 to currently producing around 3,500 cases, which is the level they plan to maintain. Betz Family Winery remains a small family […]

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 2007 Boomtown Syrah from the Columbia Valley of Washington State. Our […]