The Wine Knows

I'm going to be in Prosser on Friday night with my wife and another couple. Where's a nice place to eat? Or to stay at such a late date? (The B&Bs seem booked up.)

On Saturday, we're joining the Horse Heaven Hills Roundup.

I am making a trek to Woodinville to check out the wine scene. Any suggestions of places I should check out? I am just going to make a one day trip out of it. For sure I am going to head to William Church Winery. What I have tasted so far has been very yummy.

In Andy's video of Dunham Cellars, he mentions that they were one of the first 10 wineries in the area.

Does anyone know who the other 9 are? Leonetti, L'Ecole, Waterbrook come to mind, but I'm not sure of the others.

I've just started reading "Washington Wines and Wineries, The Essential Guide," by Seattle Times wine columnist and Wine Enthusiast PNW scribe Paul Gregutt.

I love these survey type books, whether they be about wine or jazz recordings, and have found that to find them useful (not to mention entertaining) one doesn't need to agree with the author, but only to know what the author does and doesn't like, and why.

I am looking for a good wine shop that either specializes in vintage wine or has a very good and old stock. Could someone please point me in the right direction? I really need to find a very good wine shop in the Seattle area; I am willing to travel but no more than 50 miles.

Friday, January 19
Bookwalter Winery and Gathering Place
Tulip Lane, Richland
6:00 to 8:00 pm

Join Grammy winning fingerstyle guitarist and composer, wine connoisseur, and raconteur Eric Tingstad for an evening tasting a sampling of eastern Washington red blend wines, including Bookwalter non-vintage Lot 20, Wineglass Cellars 2000 Rich Harvest, Sandhill 2002 Cinnamon Teal, Hedges 2004 CMS, and Hedges 2002 Three Vineyards.

We went to dinner last night at the neighbors' house. I brought a bottle of bubbly (Domaine Ste. Michelle Brut) and a Chester-Kidder 2003 red wine.

Chester-Kidder is a blend of Cab, Syrah, Merlot, Cab Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, so it's not simple to categorize. But is one easy to like. It is showing a lot of oak right now, but it's also loaded with dark, spicy fruit, thanks to the Cab and Syrah. Once everybody at the table got a taste of it, they kept going back to it until the bottle was empty. It went well with the beef and the tiramisu.

When wine tasting in the Yakima Valley, there are two wineries one really should not miss. Wineglass Cellars (Zillah) and Windy Point (Wapato) not only produce a very nice array of quality wines but always make the tasting experience a true treat. The owners, who are also the wine makers, work in their own tasting rooms and are enthusiastic about talking about their products and making sure the visitor enjoys their experience. Unfortunately, as this area has grown, not all the wineries of the Valley provide positive customer service and some can be outright haughty.