Guide to Wine Scores

Editor's note: Since this article was published, Den Hoed Winery has closed their South Seattle tasting room. For information on the winery, please visit their website at www.denhoedwines.com. “Our annual Wallula Koning Club event offers live music, dancing, great wood fire, grilled food and endless wine with charter buses to and from the hotel,” says general manager Traci … [Read more...] about Den Hoed Wine Estates Opens Seattle Tasting Room

There have been changes afoot at Basel Cellars, headquartered in Walla Walla on a sprawling 96-acre complex boasting a vineyard, estate mansion and tasting room built in Northwest lodge fashion. This past summer the winery opened a third tasting room, this one in Leavenworth, managed by longtime wine ambassador Sue Quigley. General manager Ryan Sams comments on the … [Read more...] about 3 Releases From Basel Cellars

Brett and Denise Isenhower are the rare couple that make wine together, along with handling the many details involved in running a thriving family winery—yet they always take time to get to know their customers, many on a first name basis. During harvest they may walk you through the barrel room of the Walla Walla production facility, showing you what fruit is being crushed and … [Read more...] about 5 Releases From Isenhower Cellars

Before the wine business, Al Mathews had a construction company and his wife, Kathy, was an interior decorator; both indispensable skillsets for building a winery and planting a vineyard from scratch with their own hands. Another set of pluses: Kathy was born in the Napa Valley and had a working knowledge of what it took to grow grapes, and Al had a degree in microbiology which … [Read more...] about Malaga Springs Expands Again

After years of winemaking for friends and family, father and son team Mike and Ryan Seal, along with Ryan’s childhood friend Scott, founded Sigillo Cellars in 2010 (an Italian translation of their last name). “Our belief is wine should be experienced,” says Mike Seal, head winemaker. He opened the winery’s first tasting room in the historic Sunset Theater in the heart of … [Read more...] about Releases from Sigillo Cellars

Josh and Cheryl West were pursuing successful careers in Houston (he was a commodities trader and she was in non-profit fundraising) when they became consumed by everything wine and food. Josh read numerous books on wine, tasted wines from all over the world, fastidiously took thousands of tasting notes, and built a collection of wine. Josh and Cheryl travelled to wine regions … [Read more...] about 3 Wines From Elephant Seven

Winemaker Co (Coman) Dinn says he strives for classically styled wines with exceptional balance, finesse and character. Indeed, if his wines were a silver screen star, they would be a leading man like Cary Grant, exuding that classic, suave radiance about them with faultless delivery. Holding a master’s degree in winemaking from UC Davis, Co has been making wine since 1989, … [Read more...] about Co Dinn Cellars Lands In Sunnyside

Located in the fast growing Artisan Hill Warehouse District of Woodinville, owner and winemaker Lisa Callan is a proven talent whose time has come to shine on her own. Recently the assistant winemaker for Red Sky Winery (where she worked since 2013), Lisa came to a crossroad when her boss decided to retire and close the winery. “This is where the wheels really started turning,” … [Read more...] about 3 Releases From Callan Cellars

Southwest Washington’s newest winery and event center is grand enough to live up to owner Dave Kelly’s vision of “Napa meets the Northwest.” After retiring from over 30 years in the pet food business, Dave looked at doing something different on his land (formerly used as a Christmas tree farm) besides turning it into housing developments. “I wanted to create a place where … [Read more...] about Windy Hills Winery Comes To SW Washington

Archeus Wines may be a newcomer to Washington's wine scene, but the story behind the vino is twenty years old. Co-founders Donn Hogan and Erik Geiger met in medical school on a Southern Caribbean Island in 1997. Through the trials and tribulations of living abroad and the stress of attending medical school, a close friendship was formed. That bond held tight even as they went … [Read more...] about Archeus Wines Inaugural Releases

The Horse Heaven Hills AVA (American Viticultural Area) is a sprawling winegrape growing region and home to a number of the Mercer family’s foundation vineyards. Spice Cabinet is a prime 18-acre vineyard on a gentle slope rising above the Columbia River on the Mercer family farm, where the grapes get an average of 6-9 inches of rainfall yearly. The vineyard name was inspired … [Read more...] about Mercer Estates 2017 Spice Cabinet Vineyard Rosé

Plumb Cellars 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon, $42 Editor’s Choice – Outstanding (91-94 pts.) Lean and focused, with a sultry mix of black raspberry, dark berry and cassis flavors tightly wrapped around a structured core of tobacco, loamy earth, tea leaf and slate. Vivid and expressive, with fine-grained tannins that linger on the cedar-lined finish. Plumb Cellars 2013 Damn … [Read more...] about 5 Releases From Plumb Cellars

Owners Bob and Lauren Bullock of Woodinville-based Eye of the Needle Winery continue to raise the bar with these offerings sourced from premium vineyards in the state.  These two new releases were pulled from their finest barrels: a reserve Cabernet and a special reserve bottling of their popular blend, "The Point." The Reserve Cabernet is a blend of fruit from Dineen … [Read more...] about 2 Reserve Wines From Eye of the Needle Winery

Located on the Washington side of the stunningly gorgeous Columbia Gorge AVA, this family-owned boutique winery was founded in 2007 by Brad Gearhart.  He named the winery after his two sons, Jacob and William.  The winery sources grapes from the Columbia Valley and Columbia Gorge AVAs, producing a distinctive array of red and white wines. You can find and taste these artisan … [Read more...] about 5 Releases from Jacob Williams Winery

It could be said that Succession Wines was born out of the ashes of adversity. Three years ago, Brock and Erica Lindsay experienced two major life-changing events: they welcomed their first child into the world, and not two weeks later, lost their home to the Carlton Complex fire, the largest wildfire in the history of Washington State. “Experiences such as these cause great … [Read more...] about Succession Wines Finds New Life At Lake Chelan

Winemaker Roger Rezabek, with Czech roots in Bohemia, grew up in the Midwest where he majored in Math with a minor in Botany. His love for and passion about wine came after a three-year stint in the Air Force in the Azores, where Portuguese Rosés, German Rieslings, and French Bordeauxs were very accessible. During the early 1980’s, he planted his first vineyard—60 grape vines, … [Read more...] about 4 Releases from Rezabek Vineyards

Tertulia, a Spanish term meaning a gathering of friends, operates three tasting rooms in Walla Walla, Dundee, and most recently, Woodinville. Winemaker Ryan Raber was the first employee when the winery started over a decade ago. “The thing I love the most about winemaking is the intuitive/artistic process,” says Ryan. “Working with the wines to get the best out of them, you … [Read more...] about Tertulia Cellars Opens in Woodinville

Welcome Road is a boutique urban winery making about 700 cases of wine annually. In 2017 they moved from Woodinville to the laid-back neighborhood of West Seattle, where visitors will find a welcoming yet unpretentious, relaxing French ski lodge-inspired bar. Winemaker Leigh McMillan is a graduate of the WSU Enology program and works in marketing during the day, and co-owner … [Read more...] about Welcome Road Leads to West Seattle

In 2015, Dr. Fredric Stern and his wife Ana purchased 21 acres of former orchard property on the south shore of Lake Chelan (next to Tsillan Cellars) with plans to someday plant vines and build a tasting room on the scenic site. Fredric, a well-respected cosmetic surgeon in Bellevue, earned his enology certificate from WSU in 2011 and became a garagiste winemaker. The wines … [Read more...] about 4 Releases From Noviello Vineyards

Winemakers Loft in Prosser has welcomed Ginkgo Forest into its charming complex of tasting rooms in a Mediterranean-inspired courtyard setting (the other wineries are Martinez & Martinez, McKinley Springs and Coyote Canyon). Founded by Central Washington farmers Mike and Lois Thiede, Ginkgo Forest produces a prolific lineup of 34 small-lot wines, plus a wide selection of … [Read more...] about Ginkgo Forest Winery Arrives in Prosser

Basalt Cellars is currently the only winery located on the Washington side of the newly official Lewis-Clark Valley AVA. Winemaker Rick Wasem, a pharmacist, has been crafting wine for three decades and commercially since 2004. His commitment to excellence shows up in every bottle, at least the ones submitted to the magazine for our review. The wines we sampled were serious … [Read more...] about Basalt Cellars in the Lewis-Clark Valley AVA