Westport Winery Garden Resort NV Rapture of the Deep Carbonated Cranberry Wine, Washington, $28

The Roberts family, which spent much of its life on Maui, is into its second decade as members of the Washington wine industry and making wine in Grays Harbor County. The vast majority of their fruit comes from the Columbia Valley and famed growers such as Red Willow Vineyard and Discovery Vineyard, but they continue to pay homage to the “Cranberry Coast” of Washington with this remarkable expression with local cranberries. There’s a purity of fruit within this fun, frothy and lip-smacking cranberry wine. It’s more Craisin than cocktail juice with its touch of cranberry-skin tartness, which, when combined with its refreshing, makes for a long and brisk finish that nicely balances the 12% residual sugar. Without such a level of sweetness, the natural bitterness of the raw berry would be overwhelming. This spring, it earned a gold medal and the award for best sweet wine at the Capital Wine and Food Festival Wine Competition. The only two days when the winery’s Sea Glass Grill in Westport is closed are Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, and Rapture of the Deep would be a fine accompaniment to that holiday bird. These wines also are available at their tasting rooms on the Oregon Coast in Seaside and on Cannon Beach.

Rating: Outstanding!

Production: 206 cases

Alcohol: 10%

Winery website

Subscribe to our Wine of the Week newsletter