A note from the Editor

Happy New Year!  I'm writing this in the middle of what seems like an eternity of rain in Seattle and I find myself yearning to drive over the cascades into the big open sky and sunshine. Still it is winter with snow on the ground in some areas, but at least they have the sun. So I prepare to spend a fabulous weekend in the Yakima Valley for the annual Red Wine and Chocolate holiday later this month. The region is awakening and will soon be sharing new releases of the latest vintages. I can't wait.

Take a look at this month's features. Send in your personal wine country photos for our contest. Plan a trip to Washington Wine Country utilizing the many touring companies that are at your disposal. Learn more about Red Wine and Chocolate and other events this month. There's always something happening in Washington Wine Country!

Salut!
Jackie Walsh
Communications Director
Washington Wine Country
jwalsh@winecountrywashington.org

Photo Contest!

Attention Wineries and Wine Country Tourists!

We are in search of photos from Washington's wine country and we're giving up great loot to get them! If you are 1.) a winery with beautiful, original photos of vineyards, grapes, the crush process, etc., we would love to see them. Please note, we are not seeking "staged" shots of your label or bottles, so not to worry, just beautiful pictures of the region. OR 2.) if you are a wine tourist who got some great shots on your last visit to the wine country, send them in!  

Example: Here's a picture I took on a recent visit to Cave B's Inn at Sagecliffe with a view of their Cliffhouses with grapevines in the foreground and the Columbia Gorge in the back (left) and check out this magnificent rainbow over Red Willow Vineyards (below).

What will you win? We have two categories for our contest and will therefore be selecting TWO winners. The first category is for winery submissions. The winning winery will receive a framed Washington Wine Country vintage print for their winery, valued at $700.  The second category is for non-winery/industry submissions. The selected winner will receive a set of three framed Washington Wine Country prints, valued at $250. We will also be selecting additional photos for "honorable mentions." Each selected entrant will receive an unframed Washington Wine Country art print.

To submit your photos or for more information, please e-mail jwalsh@winecountrywashington.org. The deadline for the contest is March 31, 2006.

Note - All submitted photos will automatically become the property of Washington Wine Country and may be used within advertising campaigns, for Web site and newsletter graphic enhancements and/or a wine country touring brochure.

Touring Wine Country

Interested in touring Washington Wine Country but not sure where to go? Worried about tasting and driving or getting lost? Well, fear no more . . . there are those who can help.

Several touring companies have cropped up the past few years to aid visitors in touring once you're in wine country and also companies in Seattle who can take you over. Today there are simply no excuses for not visiting.

"We want to bring tourists here to this side of the state and really offer them a chance to bond with particular wineries, and the wine they produce," said Kerry Warden of Sunset Coach Tours in Prosser.

Kerry and her husband Paul bought a beautiful limo bus originally designed by NBC to be used during the Atlantic Olympics as their VIP lounge. They offer wine country tours in the Yakima, Columbia and Walla Walla Valleys, as well as Red Mountain. Their tours are for groups of 12 or fewer specializing in personal vineyard tours, wine tastings, and winemaker dinners. Visit www.sunsetcoachtours.com for more information.

Another well established touring company is Laura LoPresti's Washington Wine Tours. Offering both private winery tours and a schedule of monthly tours, Washington Wine Tours picks up from both Seattle and within wine country. 

Laura's discovery of the Wine Country came during her time working at Ray's Boathouse and later at the Washington Wine Commission. She took her growing passion for the state's flourishing wine industry and wanted to visit every winery in the state. Now she helps others do the same. Visit www.washingtonwinetours.com for for more information and a schedule of tours.

Also in Seattle, both Alki Tours and the Victoria Clipper have scheduled touring trips to Washington Wine Country. Both focus their tours around regional holiday weekends such as Red Wine and Chocolate rather than private touring.

Sacco's Ultimate Vintage Tours (SUV Tours) in Kennewick offers weekend tours in the Yakima Valley, Tri Cities Area and the Walla Walla Valley. Carmen and Denise Sacco (right) invite tour members to establish which wineries they want to include in their itinerary from a list of recommendations for each tour-package destination. Up to six wineries can be chosen, and voila! - a customized tour for your own small group.

"Wine tasting is a personal venture," insists co-owner Carmen Sacco. "You don’t have to be a wine expert to recognize and appreciate fine wine. Taste and learn for yourself which varieties satisfy your palate."

All tours include an old fashion Italian picnic lunch, bottled water and picture taking. The maximum group size is eight priced per person with a minimum group fare for small groups. For more information, visit www.saccotours.com or call the Saccos at (509) 783-7060.

There you have it folks, several options for assistance in touring Washington Wine Country.
 

Facts & Tidbits

Another Official AVA in Washington State:  The Wahluke Slope

Did you know . . .

In December, Washington added its eight official American Viticulture Area with the designation of the Wahluke Slope, an area in Southeastern Washington. With 5,205 acres of grapes, the Wahluke Slope is known for such white varietals as Riesling, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and the more dominate red varietals of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. The area currently contains 20 vineyards, one winery and and two wine production facilities.

Source: Washington Wine Commission

Living Wine Country

Along The Wine Road

Red Wine and Chocolate

Visit the wineries of the Yakima Valley the weekend after Valentine's Day and experience amazing pairings of chocolate and wine that will send your endorphins sailing.  The natural affinity between dark chocolate and red wine is elegantly explored once again at this historically adored event weekend, February 18-20.

Wine Yakima Valley is offering visitors a "Reserve Ticket." For $20 a person, visitors will be able to experience a variety of specialty Red Wine and Chocolate pairings, library tastings, discounts and tours not available to the public. 

Here are just a few of the delicious offerings during this decadent holiday weekend:

Historic Hinzerling Winery will be offering Port Sodden Chocolate Cherries, maraschino style cherries that are rinsed and soaked in Three Muses Ruby Port for sixty days and then dipped in a rich chocolate. The bittersweet chocolate, port and cherry make these confections a perfect match for Hinzerling's much awarded Ruby Port. Reserve Ticket Holders will be offered a 15% discount on Saturday evenings winemakers dinner at The Vintner's Inn.

Chinook Winery is open to Reserve Ticket holders only over the Wine Yakima Valley’s Red Wine & Chocolate event weekend from noon to 5 pm each day. Chinook Wines will host Theo Chocolate: Seattle’s newest and extremely exciting importer, roaster & producer of premium, organic, fair trade and specialty chocolate.

Snoqualmie will be offering a new release tasting of 2003 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon to do a side by side comparison with the 2004 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. A decadent flourless chocolate cake will accompany the wine tasting and a 30% discount will be offered on all wine sales to reserve ticket holders.

Windy Point Vineyards is offering savory truffles prepared by  Burhrmaster Baking Company. Reserve Ticket holders will receive gourmet chocolate fondue with "dippers" that bring out the essence of red wine: flavorful strawberries, blackberries, and currants. In addition, Reserve Ticket holders will sit and chat with winemaker Liz Stepniewski while sampling Windy Points stunning red wines.

For more information on the Red Wine and Chocolate weekend and to purchase Reserve Tickets, visit www.wineyakimavalley.org. For information on other romantic gifts and getaways in the Yakima Valley, visit www.visityakima.com/information/rwc06_home.html.

Get a Taste of the Destination

Washington Wine Country Collection

Washington Wine Country Funds City Revitalization

This past summer Washington Wine Country announced its new City Revitalization Fund, a grant program to be distributed to Eastern Washington “wine towns” to fund revitalization projects that inject a wine country theme. Following an application process, the 2005 recipients have been selected and Washington Wine Country is proud to support two exciting projects from the City of Richland and the City of Kennewick.

The largest grant of $15,000 has been awarded to the City of Richland for the design, production and erection of a “Tulip Lane Monument Sign.” The project is intended to recognize a growing cluster of wineries in Richland. Three wineries, J. Bookwalter, Tagaris and Barnard Griffin, and one vineyard, Russell Vineyard, all lie in a single, compact location without adequate signage.

“We believe strongly in the idea of ‘clustering’ as a driving force for tourism and economic development and it is something that we want to encourage and wholeheartedly support,” states Janet Leduc, the founding director of Washington Wine Country.

The proposed monument design (left)  will be 8’ wide by 12’ tall and will be made of a variety of materials including sandstone, stainless steel and copper.

The City of Kennewick, with the second award, will be painting their most highly trafficked areas with Washington Wine Country banners. $10,000 will go towards funding over 100 banners lining the corridor from I-82 along Clearwater Avenue to Columbia Center Boulevard. They will continue along Columbia Center Boulevard into the epicenter of tourism down to the city limits at Highway 240. Banners will also be installed throughout the shopping district and into the new Three Rivers Convention Center.

“The Washington Wine Country “perfectly balanced” campaign will be a definite asset to Southeastern Washington and Northeastern Oregon’s most highly visited shopping and entertainment district,” Stated Carol Evans, Economic Development Specialist for the City of Kennewick.

Columbia Center Boulevard sees an average of approximately 37,000 in daily traffic with peak season traffic reaching over 50,000.

For more information on this program, please contact Communications Director Jackie Walsh at 206-285-0514 or jwalsh@winecountrywashington.org.

Mark Your Calendar

Please submit your upcoming special events or regional events to events@winecountrywashington.org and we will post them in our next issue.

February

2/11 Valentine Winemaker's Dinner at Kestrel Vintners - You and your Valentine won't want to miss this Valentine retreat. Award winning Pacific Northwest chef Jessica Smith will prepare a special six-course meal paired with Kestrel wines. Limited number of $75 tickets. For reservations and more information visit  www.kestrelwines.com

2/11-2/12 Red Wine & Chocolate, Columbia Valley - Celebrate Valentine's Weekend with the Columbia Cascade Wineries. Taste wonderful wine and fine chocolate. A weekend you do not want to miss. For more information visit  www.columbiacascadewines.com

2/14 Valentine's Dinner at the Chateau - Join Chateau Faire Le Ponte for a romantic candlelit dinner. Reservations are limited. For more information visit  www.fairelepont.net

2/15 "Winter Close but no Cigar" Dinner -Twice each year, February and September, Hinzerling Winery combines the pleasures of wine with the pleasures of eating, and fine cigars in a cigar dinner. For more information visit. www.hinzerling.com

2/18-2/20 Red Wine & Chocolate, Yakima Valley - Chocolate lovers, this weekend is for you! Each participating winery pairs sumptuous chocolate desserts with their very own remarkable red wines. Sample some of the Yakima Valley’s finest red wines and enjoy chocolate confections. For more information and reserve tickets, visit  www.wineyakimavalley.org

3/11-3/12 Sweet Retreat - Stop by Oakwood Cellars for a weekend of dry wines with sweet foods. For more information, visit  www.oakwoodcellars.com

View a complete wine country calendar at www.winecountrywashington.org/eventCalendar.aspx.

Formed in 2003, Washington Wine Country is a non-profit association of Eastern Washington businesses promoting wine-related tourism, economic development and recognition of the world-class wine-growing region comprising the Yakima Valley, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley and Red Mountain and the newer appellations of Columbia Gorge, Horse Heaven Hills and Wahluke Slope. www.winecountrywashington.org