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 […]

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? If so, you might want to check out the 2011 Dry Creek Vineyard Heritage Vines Zinfandel from Sonoma County in California. Our selection criteria include: A very good Quality rating […]

Taste Washington, held in Seattle annually, is the nation’s largest single-region wine and food event. This past weekend brought Washington wine lovers from around the country to Seattle to drink, eat, and be merry. The event spanned two days with Seminars offered each morning followed by the Grand Tasting each afternoon. Hosted by Seattle’s Convention […]

Washington State Cabernet Sauvignons are among the best in the world, and they are much better values (higher QPR) than most Cabs in other wine regions of the world. And, the 2007 vintage was one of the best vintages in the history of Washington State. We featured 2007 Washington Cabernet Sauvignon in one of our […]

Managing partner Marty Taucher and winemaker/partner Chris Peterson founded Avennia Winery in 2010. Located in Woodinville, Washington, Avennia made an impressive debut with their first releases in the fall of 2012. The winery name was inspired by the Roman name for the city of Avignon and is a nod to Old World winemaking. Winemaker Chris […]

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 […]

This year’s Open That Bottle Night was last Saturday, February 22. Open That Bottle Night, created by former Wall Street Journal wine columnists Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher, is the one night a year that we are all encouraged to get out that bottle of wine that is so special that no occasion seems special […]

Recently, a recipe for braised beef short ribs caught my eye. It sounded delicious, and I thought it would make for a good challenging wine pairing dinner. The Wine Peeps like just about any cut of beef, so I’m always looking for beef recipes that we haven’t already tried. Even better—this was a simple preparation […]

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 is a bona fide Washington wine superstar. Their beautiful winery is located south of downtown Walla Walla near the Washington/Oregon state line. Billo serves as winemaker and Pinto as managing partner, but the brothers collaborate on every aspect of the business. They both have […]