The Wine Knows

Are you looking for a way into the Northwest wine industry? Here's a business opportunity: Napa North, a wine shop in Klamath Falls, Ore., is up for sale. The owners are relocating to the Midwest and are, shall we say, motivated sellers.

Looking for some bargains? I've prepared the annual Washington Wine Month list - the prices for Washington wines at state liquor stores.

You can download the PDF here.

You could almost set your calendar by the emails either I or Tasting Editor Bob Woehler get in late July or early August. It always comes right after Bob writes his annual "Washington Wine Month" column about the great bargains at the state-owned liquor stores.

You might recall awhile back that I posted a list of Northwest wine shops, wine bars and wine clubs, seeking feedback on which I might be missing. I received information on more than 50 places I didn't know about.

As a follow-up to last week's blog item about how interest in Syrah appears to be waning in the marketplace, I got the following note from Chuck LeFevre, owner of Esquin Wine Merchants in Seattle.

With high gas prices and flying becoming increasingly less convenient, many folks are staying close to home this summer.

If your travels keep you within the Pacific Northwest and you decide the Oregon Coast is your destination, be sure to stop by The Wine Shack in Cannon Beach. Dean Reiman has operated this wine shop in the downtown area of this resort town for several years and provides an eclectic collection of regional and international selections.

If you've read about those self-serve wine-tasting machines but haven't yet seen one in action, check out our video below.

The Enomatic has been around for at least a couple of years and has been in action in various areas of the country. Now, it's in Oregon wine country.

Jeff Hellam is the owner of Hellams Vineyard, a wine shop in La Conner, Wash., that specializes in Northwest selections.

Wine Press Northwest correspondent Jon Bauer recently caught up with Jeff at his wine shop and asked him to talk about some of his favorite picks from Washington.

The Toasted Oak restaurant and Wine Country Welcome Centre wine shop in downtown Oliver, B.C., is up for sale. No price is listed, but you can view the listing here.

We're busy working on giving our Web site an overhaul. Part of this will be a much easier-to-use searchable database of wine shops, wine clubs and wine bars.

I have compiled a list of 161 wine shops, wine clubs and wine bars from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Idaho. I am inviting you to look over the list and let me know of any I'm missing.