Guide to Wine Scores

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

After earning a BS in Biology at WSU, winemaker Kelly Johnson spent 14 years working in and managing the winemaking lab at the Napa Valley-based Trinchero Family Estates. She returned to her hometown of Lyle, Wash. to launch Tetrahedron Wines in 2015. She offers lab services to the array of wineries in the area, too. Tetrahedron Wines 2016 Graves Vineyard Chardonnay, … [Read more...] about Tetrahedron 2016 Graves Vineyard Chardonnay, $28

Software executive Mike Martin and winemaker Ali Mayfield admit they share an insatiable curiosity and passion for crafting great wine. Perfectionism might be added to the list, too, based on the mix of exciting reds and whites most recently sampled from this new winery in Walla Walla. If the wines could speak, they’d sound like an eloquent and enlightened conversation with the … [Read more...] about The Walls Vineyards in Walla Walla

In the nearly nine years that I have been sampling John Bookwalter wines, I can honestly state that I have never been disappointed with a single one, and in fact they typically over deliver and bring about stimulated conversation among the tasting group.  Truth be told, his wines continue to raise the bar with successive vintages, proving him to be among the state’s finest star … [Read more...] about J. Bookwalter 2014 Suspense & 2014 Readers

Goose Ridge Vineyards made history recently when it became the first winery in Washington to have four stand-alone tasting rooms—Woodinville, Richland, Leavenworth, and now the newest one in downtown Walla Walla. While each tasting room has its own personality, they all share common qualities that include service for tastings, a varied selection of wines paired with light bites … [Read more...] about Goose Ridge Opens 4th Tasting Room