Washington Wine Country Archives - Wine Country Getaways

Yakima Valley Wine Country instead of the Napa Valley? We Say Yes!

October 10, 2018 by Joe Becerra 2 Comments

Are you and friends planning a trip to the Napa Valley? Be prepared to spend a small fortune and battle hoards of tourists. Your money might be better spent by taking a trip to the Northwest, to the Yakima Valley wine country in Washington State. Yakima is off the radar for most wine country travelers, but it has so much to offer to the wine enthusiast. We spent five days in Yakima, and we are now deeply enamored by this wine region. Napa Valley is historic, but the Yakima Valley also has some great wine adventures in store for visitors.

Joe and Janelle in the Yakima Valley – Elephant Hill Vineyard

Yakima Valley Wine country

A good look at one type of soil profile in Yakima Valley wine country. Vineyard belongs to Owen Roe

Yakima Valley Terroir

The wines in Yakima Valley wine country are extraordinary and match up with Napa Valley wines. It is not just Chardonnay, Cabernet, and Merlot in Yakima; its diverse soil and weather give it the ability to produce several varieties at quality levels.

Did you know that Yakima Valley is a desert? The Cascade Mountains to the west bring rain and snow to the coastal side, but only a mere 5 to 6 inches to the Yakima Valley. The dry climate means no mold or mildew, and very few insects. That is why sustainable farming is attainable in the Yakima Valley.

The soil varies from vineyard to vineyard with silt, loam, loess, and cobblestone. The diverse soils side-by-side are due to volcanoes and the ancient Missoula Flood waters. Our visit to Owen Roe’s vineyards displayed each of these soil types in separate plots of the vineyards.

Rivers run east to west providing south-facing hillsides. Red grapes love the sun and get plenty of it facing south. Also, because of the latitude, there are more daylight hours for the red grapes. The evenings cool down, and there you have the ideal climate for red grapes. The Yakima Valley is at the same latitude as Burgundy and Bordeaux.

Yakima Valley Wineries

In our most recent trip to Yakima Valley, we visited several wineries and sampled a large number of Yakima Valley wines and other Washington wines. The quality is there and, for the most part, not at the huge price tag of Napa Valley wines.

There are 60 wineries in the Yakima Valley and nearly 19,000 acres of vineyards. The wineries are small and family owned. The tasting room fees are low, usually between $5 and $10, and waived with a purchase of wine. It is not uncommon to find the winemaker and/or owner pouring in the tasting room.

The Yakima Valley extends 85 miles in length and is wide enough to fit the length of the entire Napa Valley within its width. Besides vineyards and wineries, the Yakima Valley is an agricultural bonanza. Napa Valley has only vineyards, and rightly so. Yakima is diverse, with vineyards and many other crops growing side-by-side. These crops include cherry trees, apple trees, hops, and pears.

Yakima vineyards in Yakima Valley wine country

Vineyards on the hillside; apple orchards are below along with other crops

Two red wines that I found extraordinary are the Merlot and Syrah varieties. I found these two wines to be much more exciting than any I have tasted in Napa, Sonoma, Paso Robles, or elsewhere in California. The layers of flavors and structure of the wines offer an exciting taste profile. The Merlots are soft, balanced, and particularly food friendly. The Syrah comes in a few styles, but I love the meaty Syrahs. By meaty, I mean smoky and bacony. One of my fellow tasters described the aroma of one Syrah wine perfectly, “It smells like tires burning rubber on a peel out.” It sounds awful, but no, it is quite enjoyable. You must taste to appreciate. White wines are also abundant, especially Chardonnay, but reds receive most of the attention. See the list of wines of Yakima Valley.

Merlot is excellent in Yakima Valley wine country

Yakima Valley Apples

Most of the vineyards are on hillsides. Down below on the valley floor are apple orchards and hop orchards. Ninety percent of the world’s organically-grown apples are from the Yakima Valley. The apple growers are continually tinkering with apples to make them more crisp, firm, juicy, and tasty. Just try a Honey Crisp or Ambrosia apple from Yakima!

There are also small, somewhat ugly looking apples that may not look appealing in the grocery store. It turns out; these apples are just perfect for hard cider folks. Yakima Valley is big on hard apple cider.

hard cider in Yakima valley wine country

These little apples make great cider

Hops and more hops

Hop orchards abound and grow up to 18 feet in height. Brewers flock to the farms just before harvest to sample the different hop varieties. They crush and smell the hops in their hands and choose their hops for purchase. In Seattle and Portland, countless small brewpubs benefit from Yakima Valley hops. Yakima Valley produces 75% of the nation’s hops. More on Hops.

Just one of many varieties of Hops in Yakima Valley wine country

How to get to the Yakima Valley

The easiest way to travel from California is by air. Tri-Cities Airport in Yakama is the best option for flying into the wine region. Some airports offer direct flights to Tri-Cities, but the usual way is to connect in Seattle or Portland. Many wine country tourists drive from Seattle or Portland. Another adventurous trip for Californians is to head up to Walla Walla via Highway 395 and then west to Tri-Cities. Homeward bound, head west to Portland and take Highway 5 to California.

There are many excellent places to stay in Richland. The Columbia River in Richland is very inviting. For touring, rent a car, hire a wine tasting service, or hire Uber.

The Yakima Valley wine scene is still in its infancy. Much more can be accomplished by growers and winemakers. The best is yet to come with Yakima Valley wines. Get to Yakima Valley and experience a different lifestyle of slow and relaxed. The word “snobbery” is unknown in the Yakima Valley wine country.

Woodinville – a wine tasting haven

October 2, 2012 by joe

Who would ever believe that a small city with over 100 tasting rooms could exist without a single vineyard nearby? We are talking about Woodinville, WA, a town with a population of 11,000, situated 30 minutes from downtown Seattle. It all started when Columbia Winery and Chateau Ste. Michelle set up shop in Woodinville many years ago. Slowly but surely, tasting rooms began to spring up here and there. Today Woodinville is a mecca for small family-run wineries. I doubt if there is any city in the U.S. that has more tasting rooms per capita than Woodinville.

We spent two days in Woodinville last week, barely enough time to get the lay of the land. We visited several tasting rooms, having a most enjoyable time and discovering the boutique wines of Washington.

There are a few tasting rooms scattered here and there in Woodinville, but most of them are congregated in two areas, the Hollywood Hills and the Warehouse District.

Hollywood Hills

This area is a mix of tasting rooms, small shops, restaurants and wine bars. Four complexes within walking distance of each other make up the Hollywood Hills area. We started our exploration at the Purple Café and War Bar at 14459 Woodinville Redmond Rd. NE. “The Purple,” as the natives call it, has four locations all centered around the Seattle area. It is a terrific wine bar and one of the best we have experienced. The food is delicious as well. Just a few storefronts away from the Purple, we found very nice wines at the Sparkman Winery and William Church.

In another complex is the Station Pizzeria with the Gorman tasting room and Phillips tasting room adjacent. The three share a patio, and one can order from the Pizzeria and then order samples of wine from either tasting room. No worries about the weather because the heat lamps are always at the ready. It is a very relaxing way to spend an afternoon.

Patio at Station Pizzeria and the Gorman and Phillips tasting room

Warehouse District

The Warehouse District is a breed of a different color than the Hollywood Hills area. It is in a commercial area and as far as I could tell, has nothing but wineries in the industrial complex, perhaps as many as 50. Most of these are working wineries, making their wine in the back of the warehouse and showcasing their wines up front in their tasting rooms. Tasting rooms vary from elaborate to quite simple. At first, we thought the place was a little depressing with no scenic views of hillsides or vineyards. We arrived a little before noon, and the area seemed desolate, with very few wineries open. When we left, hours later, the warehouse area was packed with wine tasters. Since the wineries are small, you are likely to find the family members and winemakers working the tasting room. That makes for a much more enjoyable visit.

Owner Karen Wagner works the tasting room at Alta Cellars

The wineries of the Warehouse District are open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays from 12 to 5 pm, or for special evening events. All the wineries get their fruit from eastern Washington. At harvest, the grapes are shipped to wineries in the Warehouse District in less than four hours. We ran into one tour van that shuttled visitors to the various tasting room locations with a Hop-on-and-off type tour.

One of the wineries we enjoyed on our Woodinville journey was Page Cellars. Here in a one-minute video where the owner and winemaker Jim Page tells us about his winery and others in the Woodinville area.

Take a look

Wineries in the Columbia River Gorge

August 30, 2012 by joe

Following the Wine Bloggers Conference in Portland, Oregon, we took one last look at the Northwest wine country with a trip to the Columbia Gorge wineries in Oregon and Washington. These wineries are about an hour to an hour and a half just east of Portland on Highway 84. What a terrific and scenic ride along the Columbia River! Without a doubt, this is one of the most different and varied wine countries we have visited in recent memory.

Jim Holmes: The Man Atop Red Mountain AVA

July 9, 2010 by joe

When we were in college we used to drink Red Mountain wine, a very bad tasting but cheap gallon of wine you could buy at Walgreen’s for $1. It was bulk wine from the Central Valley in California made by Gallo and now a long discontinued label. Last week in the Yakima Valley we tasted several wines that had on the label the designation “Red Mountain.” We could not help but chuckle a bit as we thought about those long-ago Red Mountain college days in contrast to the wines we now tasted from the Red Mountain AVA vineyards of the Yakima Valley. These wines are lush and complex and some of the best wines we have ever tasted. The man most responsible for the development of the prized-Red Mountain AVA is Jim Holmes, who began growing grapes here in 1975. We were lucky enough to do a vineyard walk and listen to how he manages and grows the grapes of his Ciel du Cheval Vineyards.

Jim Holmes at his Ciel du Cheval Vineyards

Yakima Wine Country and DuBrul Vineyards

June 25, 2010 by joe

We are attending the Pre-Conference session of the Wine Bloggers’ Conference. It is a tough and challenging day of tasting fabulous wine and gourmet fare. Here we are in the Yakima wine country at the DuBrul Vineyards, what many think are among the very best vineyards in the state of Washington. The vines are growing on hillside terrain that overlooks the Yakima Valley. The vineyard owners, Hugh and Kathy Shiels, planted these vines in 1992. The Shiels have the label, Cote Bonneville, and after careful selection of grapes for their label sell the rest of the vines by rows to several wineries. Fortunately for us, we were able to sample some of the Cote Bonneville wines at lunch, and they are amazingly delicious. We would never be able to afford these wines at $120 for a beautiful red blend and $50 for a delightful Chardonnay.

dubrul

We join a vineyard walk led by DuBrul’s vineyard manager Larry Dolan. As we walk, Larry points out that to our right is a Syrah row of vines and to our left is a row of Riesling vines. It is somewhat remarkable that six varietals of grapes grow here and equally produce beautiful wines all within the same climate and soil conditions. As we walk across the rows, we can see down below that a crew of women is working to thin the vines. We move closer as Larry explains that some of the women have been at DuBrul for 15 years. They are well trained and need no directions from Larry. They work quickly in 90-degree heat and with precision cut the shoots that don’t belong to these prized grape vines. We hope these women are paid well; what they do is nothing short of extraordinary.

Now it is off by bus to taste more Yakima wines at the Vintner’s Village in the town of Prosser. Prosser is a unique concept. About 12 wineries have set up shop here within a small area. Visitors can walk to each winery to taste wines and watch wine production in action. At the Milbrandt winery, all the vintners from the Vintner’s Village and other nearby wineries poured samples of their wines. We were particularly impressed by the overall quality of these wines. Our favorites were the Bordeaux blends which most of the wineries seem to produce. The wines are complex and most often smooth wines. In short, the Bordeaux blends of the Yakima Valley are outstanding wines. The day’s events have provided us with an excellent way to experience these wines.

Wine Adventures in Washington

June 24, 2010 by joe

We are in the state of Washington until Monday for the 3rd annual Wine Bloggers’ Conference. We have tasted Washington wines before but never to the extent that we will be tasting over the next few days. Over 50 wineries are set to pour and entertain 300 wine bloggers. I’m anxious to find out about Washington wines and the geology and climate of the region. I want to learn all about the Yakima Valley and where that is in relationship to the Columbia Valley. And what about the Walla Walla wine region? What makes the Red Mountain such a highly-prized AVA? What issues do these winemakers have compared to elsewhere? It is dry and hot for sure. On Wednesday, a pre-pre-conference day for us, we visited three wineries in the Tri-Cities area near the Pasco airport. The first two wineries we visited had the Alsace Varietals of Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Gris. I asked our host where these grapes were grown in relation to the red varietals. “Oh,”she said, “in the same area.” I doubt if that is the case but we plan to find out over the next few days. One thing I do know right off is that the days are much longer here than in California and thus affect the growing season. This morning I was awakened shortly after 5 am with a warm sun piercing through my window. Last evening we had a beautiful sunset overlooking the Columbia River at about 8:45. That is a lot more sunshine than we get in California.

On Wednesday we started our Washington wine journey by visiting three wineries in Richland. They are all in the same area, and all three are within walking distance from each other. There are just a few vineyards in this area, and these three wineries get all their grapes from outside the area. Tagaris Winery is our first stop because they also have a restaurant and we are ready for lunch. With our lunch, we enjoy a glass of the Tagaris Gewurztraminer. The wine was very pleasant but lacked that Lychee nut characteristic that we like so much in this varietal. If you are in the area, we highly recommend Tagaris for lunch or dinner. The patio and inside area are very beautiful. At Tagaris we tasted six wines for $7.00. According to our host, almost all wineries in Washington have a tasting fee. Most return the fee with a purchase of wine.

Next door, we visited the Bernard Griffin Winery. Things picked up here. The staff was very warm and friendly, and the majority of wines were very good to excellent. We thought the Grenache, Petite Verdot, and the Malbec were all very good wines. It is amazing to us that being treated well in a tasting room can make the wines and the experience so much more enjoyable.

Bernard Griffin Tasting Room

Our last stop was the Bookwalter Winery. Here they have two levels of tasting, and we chose the $5 tasting for their three top wines, all Bordeaux blends. Yes, these wines were excellent, smooth, velvety and complex. Perhaps a little too robust but very exciting wines. The price for each of these wines is $50. At Bookwalter, as was the case with Tagaris, our host was wine knowledgeable but lacked that inner quality to make us feel welcome and comfortable.

Bookwalter Tasting Room

Today is the pre-conference day for the Wine Bloggers’ Conference and about 50 of us will be bussed out to the Yakima Valley for a visit to wineries and a vineyard walk and lunch. We can’t wait to be entertained!