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Yakima Valley winery tops Capital Food & Wine Competition

By on April 9, 2014
Coyote Canyon Vineyard is in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA of Washington state.

Coyote Canyon Vineyard is in the Norse Heaven Hills south of the Yakima Valley town of Prosser, Wash. (Photo by Eric Degerman/Great Northwest Wine)

A Yakima Valley winery using estate grapes from the Horse Heaven Hills earned best in show at the annual Capital Food & Wine Festival Competition.coyote-canyon-winery-albarino-2012-bottle

Coyote Canyon Winery, whose tasting room is in the Vintners Village in Prosser, earned the nod from the judging panel for its 2012 Albariño, a bright white wine that has a history of scoring well in competitions.

The results of the competition were revealed last week during the 25th annual fundraising event held at Saint Martin’s University in Lacey, Wash., near the capital city of Olympia.

Albariño, a racy Spanish variety that has gained a toehold in the Northwest in the past decade, has consistently earned gold medals for owner Mike Andrews, who also farms more than 1,000 acres of wine grapes in the Horse Heaven Hills south of Prosser. In 2011, the 2010 vintage earned a unanimous Double Platinum award from Wine Press Northwest during its annual “best of the best” judging.

A chocolate-infused fortified dessert wine from Horizon’s Edge Winery in the Yakima Valley earned a gold and best dessert wine, nearly winning the top prize in this competition for the second consecutive year.

Here are the complete results.

Best in show/best white

Coyote Canyon Winery 2012 Albariño, Horse Heaven Hills, $22

Best red

Agate Creek Cellars NV Floodstick Red 2.0, Columbia Valley, $24

Best dessert

Horizon’s Edge Winery NV Wishful Thinking Chocolate Port-style, Rattlesnake Hills, $20

Best rosé

Kaella Winery 2013 Ciel du Cheval Rosé of Sangiovese, Red Mountain, $18

Best fruit

Westport Winery NV Rapture of the Deep, Washington, $26

Gold

Capstone Cellars 2007 Boushey Vineyards Syrah, Yakima Valley

Ginkgo Forest Winery NV Raspberry Sensation, Wahluke Slope, $22

Heymann Whinery NV Just Peachy, Washington, $16

Hiney Wine 2007 Big Red, Walla Walla Valley, $15

Horizon’s Edge Winery 2012 Late Harvest Muscat Canelli, Rattlesnake Hills, $14

Kyra Wines 2010 Sangiovese, Wahluke Slope, $18

Madsen Family Cellars 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, Horse Heaven Hills

Mosquito Fleet Winery 2011 Meritage – Portside, Columbia Valley, $34

Palouse Winery 2010 Red Satin Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington

Palouse Winery 2010 Eclipse, Washington

Patterson Cellars 2012 Late Harvest Roussanne, Columbia Valley

Sleeping Dog Wines 2005 Merlot, Yakima Valley, $23

Sovereign Cellars 2011 Syrah, Red Mountain, $30

Sovereign Cellars 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Mountain, $35

Walter Dacon Wines 2009 C’est Syrah Belle, Columbia Valley, $30

Walter Dacon Wines 2009 GSM, Columbia Valley, $38

Wilridge Winery 2012 Crawford Vineyard Pinot Grigio, Yakima Valley

Wilridge Winery 2010 Wilridge Vineyard Nebbiolo, Naches Heights

Silver

Agate Creek Cellars 2010 Merlot, Columbia Valley, $24

Bavarian Cellars NV Naked Raspberry Port-style, Rattlesnake Hills, $25

Capstone Cellars 2009 Capstone Red, Yakima Valley

Elegante Cellars 2012 Strawberry Wine, Walla Walla Valley, $24

Elegante Cellars 2009 Sangiovese, Walla Walla Valley, $26

Ginkgo Forest Winery 2009 Wildwood Blend, Wahluke Slope, $24

Heymann Whinery NV Cranberry Wine, Washington, $16

Kaella Winery 2011 Conner Lee Vineyard Cabernet Franc, Columbia Valley, $32

Kyra Wines 2013 Chenin Blanc, Columbia Valley, $13

Maison de Padgett Winery NV Smoking Gun Coffee Port-style, Rattlesnake Hills, $20

Marshal’s Winery 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Rosé, Columbia Valley

Mill Lane Winery NV Raspberry Wine, Washington, $16

Mosquito Fleet Winery 2011 Sophia, Columbia Valley, $29

Mosquito Fleet Winery 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Mountain, $39

Mosquito Fleet Winery 2011 Meritage – Starboard, Columbia Valley, $34

Mt St Helens Cellars 2011 Spirit Lake Fire Mountain Red, Yakima Valley, $28

Naches Heights Vineyard & Winery 2012 Pinot Gris, Naches Heights, $13

Northwest Totem Cellars 2012 Salish Riesling, Columbia Valley, $16

Patterson Cellars NV Due Anni, Columbia Valley

Scatter Creek Winery 2011 Sweet BJ, Yakima Valley, $25

Skylite Cellars 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla Valley, $29

Sleeping Dog Wines 2013 Malbec Rosé, Yakima Valley, $18

Sleeping Dog Wines 2012 Sweet Aurora, Yakima Valley, $18

Sovereign Cellars 2011 Finnigan’s Daughter Claret, Red Mountain, $25

Stottle Winery 2011 Sugarloaf Vineyard Tempranillo, Yakima Valley, $29

Vino Aquino 2012 Paradise, Washington, $13

Walter Dacon Wines 2009 C’est Syrah Beaux, Columbia Valley, $38

Westport Winery 2012 Captain Gray Gewürztraminer, Yakima Valley, $25

Westport Winery 2011 Swimmer Syrah, Wahluke Slope, $29

Bronze

Barrage Cellars 2010 Outcast Cabernet Franc, Yakima Valley

Barrage Cellars 2009 Double Barrel Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley

Bavarian Cellars 2003 McHargue True Friendship Malbec Port-style, Rattlesnake Hills, $24

Bavarian Cellars NV Pleasure Point Peach Port-style, Rattlesnake Hills, $20

Capstone Cellars 2009 Boushey Vineyards Sangiovese, Yakima Valley

Coyote Canyon Winery 2011 Life is Rosé, Horse Heaven Hills, $18

Coyote Canyon Winery 2011 Tres Cruces, Horse Heaven Hills, $25

Ginkgo Forest Winery 2010 Ginkgo Red, Wahluke Slope, $15

Heymann Whinery NV 3-Sum, Yakima Valley, $27

Horizon’s Edge Winery NV After Glow Raspberry Riesling, Rattlesnake Hills, $13

Kaella Winery 2011 Ciel du Cheval Sangiovese, Red Mountain, $25

Elegante Cellars 2008 Merlot, Walla Walla Valley, $28

Madsen Family Cellars 2008 Cabernet Franc, Washington

Maison de Padgett Winery NV Pillow Talk Vanilla Port-style, Rattlesnake Hills, $20

Mill Lane Winery 2012 Full Court Press, Washington, $26

Mill Lane Winery 2012 3-Pointer, Washington, $16

Naches Heights Vineyard & Winery 2012 Can-Can, Yakima Valley, $12

Naches Heights Vineyard & Winery 2011 Two Dancers, Yakima Valley, $18

Northwest Totem Cellars 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, Yakima Valley, $39

Northwest Totem Cellars 2009 Cabernet Franc, Columbia Valley, $39

Palouse Winery 2013 White Bluffs Vineyards Cloud 9 Riesling, Washington

Patterson Cellars 2011 Tempranillo, Columbia Valley

Scatter Creek Winery 2010 Dave’s Rajin Red, Yakima Valley, $18

Scatter Creek Winery 2011 Peach Breeze Chardonnay, Yakima Valley, $14

Skylite Cellars 2009 Soiree, Walla Walla Valley, $24

Stina’s Cellars 2010 Millennium Vineyards Baco Noir, Washington, $18

Stina’s Cellars NV Sweet Beginnings, Washington, $16

Stottle Winery 2012 Elerding Canyon Vineyard Viognier, Yakima Valley, $25

Stottle Winery 2012 Lucille Late Harvest Viognier, Yakima Valley, $20

About Andy Perdue

Andy Perdue is the editor and publisher of Great Northwest Wine. He is a third-generation journalist who has worked at newspapers since the mid-1980s and has been writing about wine since 1998. He co-founded Wine Press Northwest magazine with Eric Degerman and served as its editor-in-chief for 15 years. He is a frequent judge at international wine competitions. He is the author of "The Northwest Wine Guide: A Buyer's Handbook" (Sasquatch, 2003) and has contributed to four other books. He writes about wine for The Seattle Times. You can find him on Twitter and .

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