The Wine Knows

Diane Cooper-Knutz loves Northwest wine. She runs restaurant wine lists for Hilton Restaurant Group. She also loves horses. Now she has combined the experiences.

Cooper-Knutz has created Muscat-Dun Horseback Vineyard Tours near Echo, Ore. It's a seven-hour experience from saddling up through the last cup of coffee and includes a ride through retired NFL great Drew Bledsoe's vineyard overlooking the Umatilla River.

I've heard a lot of folks talk about Saffron Mediterranean Kitchen in Walla Walla, Wash., for the past year or so, and I finally had the opportunity to have dinner there last week.

I was not disappointed.

Two years ago, Steve Roberts embarked on a journey of Washington wine country. His goal was to create a guidebook that focused on wine tourism. Steve ended up breaking the state into a dozen regions and 32 "wine trails," basically a touring guide.

If you're one of the thousands coming to Eastern Washington this weekend for Yakima Valley Spring Barrel Tasting Weekend, it's good to have strategies. Here are a few to consider.

The Yakima Valley Community College's teaching winery will be open this weekend during Spring Barrel Tasting. The first vintage by this new winemaking program bottled its first vintage last week and is excited to share it.

Have TSA restrictions changed the way you buy wine when you're visiting another wine region?

According to a survey by BottleWise, a company that makes wine carriers, many wine travelers have significantly changed the way they handle wine purchases. Here are the results of a survey conducted last month by BottleWise:

Col Solare on Washington's Red Mountain has produced a sole wine per vintage since starting the Opus One-like operation in 1994, a Cab-based blend that retails for $70. That will change with the release of a second label called Shining Hill.

Col Solare is the international collaboration between Ste. Michelle Wine Estates of Woodinville, Wash., and Marchese Antinori of Tuscany. A year ago, the new $6 million winery opened on Red Mountain.

I've written with some frequency about finding your niche in the Northwest wine industry, and I love to highlight those who are.

In 2005, Heather Lewis saw a need that wasn't being filled in her hometown of Walla Walla, Wash. She was frustrated because she couldn't get the information she wanted about local wineries. The Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance did a good job with maps, brochures, etc., but everything was moving so fast, that kind of info was out of date soon after it was printed.

The skies above Washington's Columbia Valley have been clear and blue for the past several days. We wake up each day with frost on the ground, but the temperatures often reach 50 by early afternoon.

With Snoqualmie Pass relatively clear of snow these days, it would seem to be a perfect time to get in a little winter wine touring.

I love going wine touring in winter. Not only are there zero crowds, but there's also something fun about stopping at a tiny tasting room along some back road while it's cold and/or rainy.

As wine lovers wrap up their visits this weekend to Oregon's Willamette Valley and Washington's Yakima Valley, many are thinking ahead to next weekend's Walla Walla Valley Holiday Barrel Tasting Weekend.