When you walk through the doors of this downtown Spokane tasting room, it’s clear a lot of love was put into renovating the historic building, originally built in 1911. The tasting room, which hosts live music Friday nights, shows off the original brick-wall construction with open beam supports and vintage hardwood floors. Wine barrels and stainless tanks share the space with customers.
Owners Brian and Melody Padrta met in high school while working at a bridge game tournament in Spokane. The winery they founded in 2005 with a humble 125 cases of Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon has grown; they recently celebrated the grand opening of a new tasting room in the city’s historic downtown.
Brian is a practicing orthopedic surgeon, who says the logistics of running a winery give him a better perspective to see outside of medicine. “Winemaking and orthopedics do share some similarities,” he wisely points out. “With orthopedics, we don’t know the true outcome of a procedure until often a few years later. Likewise with wine, we can get a pretty good idea of how it’s going to taste soon after harvest, but ultimately we don’t know until the wine has time to mature in barrel and bottle.”
Bridge Press Cellars focuses on reds, making small lots of mostly Bordeaux varietals that are barrel aged for 20 months exclusively in French oak. Production has grown to roughly 2,000 cases annually, sourcing grapes primarily from reputable vineyards in Walla Walla Valley and Red Mountain AVAs, like Seven Hills, Pepperbridge, Les Collines, and Tapteil. The quality fruit and attention in the cellar are rewarded with distinctive character behind the wines.
Visit the tasting room at 39 West Pacific Ave, Spokane, www.bridgepresscellars.com
Bridge Press Cellars 2013 Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, $35
Editor’s Choice – Outstanding (91-94 pts.)
Suave and sophisticated, offering complex layers of blackberry, dark cherry, cocoa powder, mulberry and tea leaf flavors. Ultra-refined tannins lend solid grip to the well-structured finish, nuanced with tobacco, spice and caramel notes.
Bridge Press Cellars 2013 Walla Walla Valley Merlot, $25
Editor’s Choice – Excellent (88-90 pts.)
Dusky aromas of red stone fruit and tobacco mingle with expressive flavors of dark red cherry, black plum and crushed gravel on the brightly structured palate. Muscular tannins, along with notes of sage and tea leaf are embedded on the long balanced finish.