We’ve had our eyes on Robert Ramsay Cellars for quite some time now and have declared it a “Winery to Watch” in the past. With the current releases, Robert Ramsay continues to impress. Robert Ramsay Cellars, located in Woodinville, Washington, is named for winemaker Bob Harris’s great uncle Mason Ramsay. When asked about the name, [...]

Metropolitan Market, founded in 1971, is an award-winning grocery store with six locations in the greater Seattle area. They sell more than 1,200 different wines and beers and have recently added spirits as well. Seattle Magazine has recognized Metropolitan Market as the Grocery Store with the Best Selection of Washington Wines three times. Recently, I [...]

Watermill Winery is located in Milton-Freewater, Oregon, in the heart of the Walla Walla Valley AVA just 10 miles from downtown Walla Walla, Washington. The Brown family, a third generation apple-growing family and the owners of Blue Mountain Cider, founded Watermill in 2005. Rich Funk of Saviah Cellars initially oversaw the winemaking operations until Andrew [...]

Founded in 2007 by brothers Pinto and Billo Naravane, Rasa Vineyards has already become a superstar on the Washington wine scene. Their beautiful winery is located south of downtown Walla Walla near the Washington/Oregon state line. Both Pinto and Billo have engineering and mathematical backgrounds and worked in the computer industry. As for their official [...]

For many, Oregon wine is synonymous with the Willamette Valley. However, there are exciting things happening elsewhere in the state, including the Columbia Gorge, Southern Oregon, and, of course, the Oregon side of the Walla Walla Valley. Today, Oregon boasts over 400 wineries and 16 AVA’s (American Viticultural Areas). With those AVA’s found in both [...]

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 [...]

Washington Syrah compares favorably with the best in the world. Washington Syrah generally falls somewhere in between the jammy Shiraz of Australia and the more austere Syrah of the northern Rhone. It generally has good acidity and tannins. The common denominators of our favorite Syrahs from Washington have been deep, dark purple color and luscious [...]

Maison Bleue, founded by owner/winemaker Jon Martinez in 2008, is located in Prosser, Washington. Martinez changed careers to venture into winemaking, giving up a successful dental practice. He has become a bona fide winemaking star and his Maison Bleue wines have been the buzz of the Washington wine industry the past couple of years. Maison [...]

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 [...]

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 2008 Plantagenet Hazard Hill Shiraz from Western Australia. Our selection criteria [...]