Brian Carter has over thirty years of winemaking experience in California and Washington. He arrived in Washington State in 1980 to be winemaker for Paul Thomas Winery and has since founded Apex Winery and served as consulting winemaker for a number of other wineries. He officially opened his own namesake winery, Brian Carter Cellars, in [...]

Peter Rosback is one of the most well-known and well-respected winemakers in the Pacific Northwest. Rosback got his start in winemaking in 1985 as a home winemaker experimenting with Pinot Noir. In 1986, he began making Old Vine Zinfandel from The Pines Vineyard. Rosback entered the wine business commercially in 1994 when he and David [...]

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 [...]

Ryan and Renee Crane own Kerloo Cellars, located in Walla Walla, Washington. Ryan and Renee relocated from Seattle to Walla Walla to pursue their winemaking dream. Shortly after moving to Walla Walla, Ryan earned an AAAS in Enology and Viticulture. He gained experience working crush under Marie-Eve Gilla at Forgeron Cellars and then served as [...]

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 [...]

Recently, I came across a recipe for beef lettuce wraps with wowee sauce. This sounded delicious and seemed like a great prospect for one of our challenging wine pairings. Seasoned ground beef topped with shredded carrots and sliced water chestnuts garnished with wowee sauce was fabulous wrapped in the Boston lettuce leaves. Wowee sauce is [...]

Cadaretta, located in Walla Walla, Washington, is owned and operated by the Middleton family. The Middleton family has a long history in Washington State. They started the Anderson & Middleton forestry products company in Hoquiam, Washington, in 1898. In fact, Cadaretta is named for a ship that once carried their goods to market. The family [...]

Washington State produces many excellent wines from many different grape varieties. There is much debate as to which red wine Washington does best. Some say Syrah, others Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon, and others red Bordeaux-style blends. Recently, we had what turned out to be a Washington Bordeaux-style red blends showdown in one of our private [...]

Founded by Rich Frank and Koerner Rombauer in 1996, Napa Cellars was acquired by Trinchero Family Estates ten years later. Trinchero Family Estates have been producing wines for over 60 years. Through the years, the Trinchero family and the company have expanded. Today, Trinchero represents over 27 brands in the United States and Australia. Winemaker [...]

As we have said many times before, Washington State produces world-class Cabernet Sauvignon and delivers excellent bang-for-your-buck as compared to other top Cabernet regions around the world. Recently, we had what turned out to be a showdown between two Washington Cabernet Sauvignons in one of our double blind private tasting dinners. We had two wines [...]