Guide to Wine Scores

During retirement, John Little studied winemaking and viticulture at Wenatchee Valley College, honing his skills working with well-known Chelan winemaker Ray Sandidge and grape grower Miguel Martinez.  The Littles began planting wine grapes in 2000 that now total seven acres.  Eventually Rio Vista will be 100% estate grown. Their son (also John), a graduate of the wine … [Read more...] about Rio Vista 2012 Malbec, $32

Flying Trout winemaker Ashley Trout has been a part of the Walla Walla wine industry since age 18.  In 1999, she took a job punching down grapes during crush and has been hooked on winemaking ever since.  In 2004, Ashley started travelling to Argentina during the late winter months to double up on annual harvests (she recently finished her 18th harvest). The Flying Trout … [Read more...] about Flying Trout 2012 Windrow Vineyard Mary’s Block Malbec, $45

Trey Busch’s sure hand in wine garnered attention early on—without an enology and viticulture degree, but through luck, hard work and some chance meetings with the right people. His first act, however, was as a buyer for Nordstrom in Seattle until he eventually sought a lifestyle change.  On a visit to Walla Walla, he became fast friends with the late Eric Dunham at a dinner … [Read more...] about Sleight of Hand 2013 Psychedelic Syrah & 2013 The Conjurer Red Blend

Columbia Winery was a champion of Red Willow Vineyard for many years.  Their early winemaker, David Lake, produced the state’s first vineyard designated Red Willow Cabernet in 1981 and went on to produce Red Willow's first designate Syrah in 1988. This is a truly melodious wine. Columbia Winery 2009 Red Willow Syrah Nose: Dazzling dark fruit, cocoa powder and crushed … [Read more...] about Columbia Winery 2009 Red Willow Syrah, $38

Rich Funk, owner and winemaker of Saviah Cellars is a case of re-invention. A microbiology and chemistry major from Montana State University, this Big Sky Country native was originally more interested in fermenting grains than grapes: Rich and his wife, Anita, had their sights set on starting a microbrewery. Instead, the Funks moved to Walla Walla in 1991, where he worked as an … [Read more...] about Saviah Cellars 2011 The Stones Speak Syrah & 2011 Cabernet Franc

Former Seattle bartender turned golf-pro, Tom Glase moved to Walla Walla for the “L” word: lifestyle.  Marriage and starting a family didn’t mesh with the urban bar scene. “Winemakers came out to play golf. There weren’t many of them then, and they’d bring some wine,” says Glase of his time at the Walla Walla Country Club.  “They were very generous.  That’s how I got … [Read more...] about Balboa 2012 Mith & 2014 Rosé of Syrah

Pondera Winery is a family-run winery in Woodinville's Warehouse Winery District with a deep focus on Bordeaux varietal blends and single red varietals.  Dan and Pat Howard and their son, winemaker Shane Howard, launched the brand in 2005.  This newly released red blend, Livin' the Dream, commemorates the winery's 10th anniversary, a blend using all five classic Bordeaux … [Read more...] about Pondera 2012 LTD Livin’ the Dream Red Wine, $42

Entrepreneurs and owners Paul and Susan McBride find inspiration for their wines from some of the world’s finest vineyards from Cote Rotie, Hermitage, Cornas, Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Bordeaux.  Guided by the belief that great wine begins in the vineyard, they spared little expense in the care and planting of a steep hillside vineyard on Red Mountain. In 2014, management of … [Read more...] about Force Majeure Vineyard 2012 Cabernet & 2012 Syrah

Fielding Hills winery owner Mike Wade is also the CEO of Columbia Fruit Packers, a worldwide purveyor of apples and cherries.  In 1998, he pulled out an orchard of Red Delicious apple trees on family land in the Wahluke Slope AVA and planted Riverbend Vineyard. All Fielding Hills wines are sourced from this single vineyard, an excellent site with southern exposure in one of … [Read more...] about Fielding Hills 2009 Riverbend Vineyard Tribute, $32

Third-generation farmers Doug and Sandy Rowell have spent their lives farming together in the Horse Heaven Hills with two of Sandy’s brothers, Rob and Scott Andrews.  In 1980, the family started growing grapes, continuing to add vineyard blocks over the years.  “Having the fourth generation start farming with us allowed me to get off the tractor and try something new,” says … [Read more...] about McKinley Springs: 2011 Viognier, Estate Red Blend & 2014 Rose

Coyote Canyon was founded in 2006 chiefly as a means for grower Mike Andrews and his family to showcase the quality of the grape varieties that Andrews started growing on his Horse Heaven Hills vineyard over two decades ago.  In 1994 he started with 20 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, and today Coyote Canyon Vineyard grows an astonishing 25 grape varieties, all with outstanding … [Read more...] about Coyote Canyon 2013 Albarino, 2010 Reserve Cabernet & 2010 Reserve Mourvedre

Walla Walla natives Jody Middleton and Jeremy Petty covered each other’s backs from the beginning, and the friendship that started on the football field in middle school continues today in business as winemakers and co-owners of J&J Vintners. Both men are graduates of the Walla Walla Community College Enology and Viticulture program.  During their first year of the … [Read more...] about J&J Vintners 2012 Les Collines Syrah, $30

Not many couples get married and apply for a bonded winery license within the same year, but that’s precisely what Brian Grasso and Brandee Slosar did in 2011. Grasso had taken winemaking courses at South Seattle Community College several years earlier and then spent time refining his abilities working as a cellar hand at various Woodinville wineries like Baer, Darby, and … [Read more...] about Structure Cellars 2012 Foundation Merlot & 2012 Bauhaus Syrah

Basel Cellars has been a destination in the Walla Walla Valley since 2002 after Greg Basel transformed the 97-acre Double River Ranch property into a winery with estate vineyards and a luxurious 13,800 square-foot estate mansion.  He invited Steve and JoMarie Hansen of Vancouver, Wash. to come aboard as investors two years later.  The couple eventually took full ownership of … [Read more...] about Basel Cellars Vineyard-Focused Releases

“The thought of making wine was always in the back of my mind,” admits Steve Stuart, owner and winemaker of Elevation Cellars.  After breaking his leg while working on a ski race crew in Colorado, Stuart returned to engineering and accepted a job at a start-up company in Woodinville.  Stuart started making wine in his garage as a serious hobby in 1999.  Ten years later he … [Read more...] about Three Must-Try Wines From Elevation Cellars

High in the hills above Manson sits a slice of Germany that is Atam Winery. As owners Denis and Irmi Atam proudly note, the wines are bilingual, projecting the distinct Chelan terrior via classic German winemaking techniques. Five miles and 1,800 feet up from the lake, Atam Winery seems plucked from a German winery tourbook. Vast grounds contain a growing estate vineyard, … [Read more...] about Atam Winery Brings a Slice of Germany to Lake Chelan

On the north side of the Lake Chelan, the community of Manson, Wash. houses a number of wineries.  The tasting room for C.R. Sandidge sits on the town’s main drag in a modest building that only hints at the global success of its winemaker. After a 30-year career that has earned him awards and accolades enough to fill a barrel, Ray Sandidge now crafts his superb wines in … [Read more...] about C.R. Sandidge Comes Full Circle to Chelan Origins

Owner/winemaker Angela Jacobs is a veteran of the Washington and Oregon wine regions who came to Manson, Wash. in 2010 to pursue her potential in the Lake Chelan Valley AVA. WineGirl reflects the work-around-the clock attitude of its owner. Located on Manson’s main street in a former garage, the winery combines tasting room and production. Crush gear jostles with cases and … [Read more...] about WineGirl Wines 2013 Rosé & 2011 Kamari Reserve Cabernet Franc

When Craig and Vicki Leuthold established Maryhill Winery in 1999 there were barely a hundred wineries in Washington State. I recall my first sip of their signature red blend, Winemaker’s Red, at a culinary event hosted at one of Seattle’s large downtown venues in the early 2000s. Like so many countless others, I instantly became a fan and follower of one of the state’s most … [Read more...] about Maryhill’s Classic Series of Red & White Wines

Advanced Sommelier Christopher Chan and co-founder, Peggy Reddy, established Coral Wines in 2013. Fueled by their shared interest to create a Provence style Rosé with grapes sourced from Washington vineyards, their inaugural releases include both a white and red Southern Rhone style blend alongside the Rosé. Chan was formerly the wine and spirits director at Seattle’s … [Read more...] about Coral Wines Launches Three Shades of Coral

John Haw has been making wine since 1972 and his career includes stints at Sokol Blosser and Maryhill Winery among others, before joining owner Brad Gearhart over a decade ago.  Applying careful vineyard selection, he coaxes distinctive site characteristics into the wines, focusing on red Bordeaux varietals like Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, but also including … [Read more...] about Jacob Williams 2010 Reserve Zinfandel, $35

Bob Lorkowski took over Cascade Cliffs in 1997 and has re-energized the pioneer winery/vineyard into a powerhouse with a reputation for Piedmont varietals: Barbera, Nebbiolo and Dolcetto. The 23-acre estate vineyard includes Sangiovese and a mix of non-Italian varietals like Merlot, Grüner Veltliner and a rarely heard of grape in the Pacific Northwest, Symphony, a cross between … [Read more...] about Cascade Cliffs 2013 Columbia Valley Sangiovese, $45