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Columbia Valley

After looking at the list of wineries that were involved in the catch the Crush weekend, I was surprised so few actually participated. The event almost might be called Tri-cities catch the crush. Are not many wineries part of the Columbia valley Association? Isn't it the largest AVA in WA? Why aren't more wineries members? The association website lists only 13 members.
http://www.columbiavalleywine.com/map.htm
I understand that there is a difference between the association and the viticulture area, but participation by the wineries is way low. I am also surprised other AVAs don't host their own Crushes. (Like I need a reason to taste wine..)
David

By dvolmut at Sep 30 2008 - 11:04pm | General wine discussion | previous forum topic | next forum topic | 939 reads

Catch the Crush

Hey David,

I didn't attend Catch The Crush, but after reading your comment, I did check out the website, and you are right! There are only 13 members of the organization, although there were 16 participating wineries listed. That does seem like a miniscule amount of wineries involved in the event. I wonder why? Hmmmmm........

Upon reading the list, I was reminded of my first visit to Red Mountain (where several of these wineries are located). The first winery we visited was Buckmaster Cellars, housed in an old doublewide trailer just as you head up Sunset Road. There was an old dog wandering around, hoping someone would drop a cracker or something. The people there (don't know their names) were very nice and spent a lot of time talking with us and our friends. They really made some interesting wines, fairly heavily oaked, but very tasty, and their prices were very reasonable. I remember leaving there with nearly a case of wine, a great taste in my mouth, and learning that I should never judge a book by its cover! The same lesson applied to Oakwood Cellars, one of the very first wineries in that area. I believe the owner/winemakers name is Eppie, or something like that. The tasting room is located in the daylight walkout basement of her home, which is just across the road from Terra Blanca. She is very gracious and pretty darned funny, too. Plus, she makes some really nice wines at great prices! I am a lemberger fan, and she makes one of the best. She also makes a rose' of lemberger (!), which absolutely rocks. We also visited Vine Heart that day, an out-of-the-way winery with some decent wines and some great smoked meats and cheeses. Maybe my desire to support these "little guys" goes back to my fledgling days as a wine geek, but I love chatting with "real people" (not that other wineries aren't filled with "real", great people) who are creating wines purely out of a passion for the fruit of the vine, not because of a corporate decision. Plus, you just never know what you may find in the most unlikely of places! (Now Blackwood Canyon.... that was another story all together...!)

Here's to the little guys,
Tim

By timinspokane at Wed, 10/01/2008 - 7:55am | login or register to post comments

Eppie

Eppie is a treasure. Her husband started the winery and when he passed away, she took over. She has had no formal training, just helped and watched her husband and learned to make some very very good wines. She is a sweetheart. We didnt go by this year, but her Crush celebration is really rocking with live music and a caterer!

By cjmath at Fri, 10/03/2008 - 6:13pm | login or register to post comments

Crush participants

Tim,

Catch the Crush is an event put on by the Columbia Valley Winery Association, which once was known as the Tri-City Winery Association. The new name would lead one to believe that it has a 3 million acre footprint when, in fact, it comprises the wineries of the Tri-Cities and Red Mountain.

Despite its large size, the Tri-Cities actually has few wineries. This isn't unlike Santa Rosa, Calif., which is the largest city in Sonoma County but actually has few wineries (yet has several regions surrounding it, such as Russian River, Dry Creek, Alexander Valley, Healdsburg, etc.).

Thus, Catch the Crush typically includes fewer than 20 wineries. Despite this, it often attracts thousands, both locally and regionally.

By aperdue at Wed, 10/01/2008 - 8:10am | login or register to post comments

Tri-Cities wineries

We went back to Powers and Badger Mountain..buried in a the middle of a housing development on the side of Badger Mountain. Always good wines and always friendly hosts. Their cheese buffet looked like it had been hit hard by visit ( you know who I thought of right away!)

Ordinarily I would snort at the idea of box wine, but Badger Mountain has Pure Red and Pure White in a smallish box. The wines are excellent, do not oxidize and I can pour "just a taste" without having to open a brand new bottle. I did buy several bottles, too, for later.

By cjmath at Fri, 10/03/2008 - 6:24pm | login or register to post comments

Badger Mountain and Eppie

Hey there!

So, the Badger Mountain wines are pretty decent? Are they worth buying for a daily drinker? I have bought both Powers and Badger Mountain wines in the past (it has been a few years) and they really didn't rock my world. Maybe they are better today or my palate has changed.

As for Eppie, yes, she is a treasure! She is funnier than heck and really does make some nice wines, especially for the price. I always end up buying at least a half case when I visit there. And I never regret it.

Cheers!
Tim

By timinspokane at Fri, 10/03/2008 - 7:20pm | login or register to post comments

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