The Wine Knows

We have long touted the greatness of Barrister Winery, a boutique producer in Spokane, Wash. Since its first vintage, Barrister has been producing some of Washington's finest red wines, particularly its Cabernet Franc, which has won an astonishing number of awards.

Dusted Valley Vintners of Walla Walla, Wash., known for its superior-quality Syrahs and other reds as well as its value Boomtown label, is opening a tasting room across the Cascade Mountains in Woodinville.

After 29 years of providing a venue for tasting Oregon wines, the Oregon Wine Tasting Room is closing down June 22.

The operation, owned by Myron Redford of Amity Vineyards in Amity, Ore., was the first tasting room owned by a winery that provided samples from competing wines.

The federal government has approved the Lake Chelan American Viticultural Area, making the region in north-central Washington the state's 11th appellation.

The 24,040-acre AVA is entirely within the Columbia Valley. It is home to 15 wineries and 260 acres of vineyards. Such grapes as Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Malbec, Merlot and Syrah are planted in Lake Chelan.

We have launched a new wine events calendar on winepressnw.com.

We'd like your help testing it out.

Our old system consisted of wineries, wine shops and organizations submitting their items on a form, then us adding them to a page in chronological order. When an event passed, we had to manually remove it. It was an arduous system that wasn't exactly friendly to us or to you.

Maryhill, our 2009 Washington Winery of the Year, has announced its summer concert series:

The always anticipated Chateau Ste. Michelle summer concert schedule has been released:

The Olympic Peninsula Wineries Association is putting on a great event this weekend, and I wish I could be there.

The wineries around Port Townsend and Port Angeles are playing host to the Northwest Wine & Cheese Tour. Each winery is pairing up with a regional artisan cheese producer.

For as long as I can recall, the Tri-Cities Wine Festival has been at the Red Lion Hotel in Pasco, Wash. For the 31st edition of the Northwest's longest-running wine fest, this post-harvest celebration will move across the Columbia River to the magnificent Three Rivers Convention Center.

Baker City, Ore., isn't exactly in the midst of classic Northwest wine country. This city on the Oregon Trail has a lot more in common with Idaho's Snake River Valley than the Willamette Valley. But that doesn't deter the folks in this western town from enjoying the finer things in life.