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 […]

The 2010 Iron Vintner Challenge, hosted by Willows Lodge in Woodinville, Washington, features cooking competitions that occur on three consecutive Wednesdays in June at Fireside Cellars, followed by a Championship Winemaker Dinner at Barking Frog to benefit Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center. Participating local Woodinville winemakers include: Mark McNeilly of Mark Ryan Winery, Brennon Leighton […]

When you attend a large public event like Taste Washington, there are a handful of wineries where the lines are extremely long and the wine runs out quickly. DeLille Cellars is in that elite group. DeLille Cellars, located in Woodinville, Washington, was founded in 1992 by the late Charles Lill and his son Greg, along […]

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 2009 Corvidae Crowe White Blend from the Columbia Valley of Washington […]

We have had beautiful warm weather in Seattle lately, so I decided that this month’s challenging wine pairing should be something easy and light that would call for refreshing white wines. My family and I love Asian food, so I decided to prepare a chicken stir-fry with rice and egg rolls. All items were easily […]

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 […]