HOOD RIVER, Ore. — Bobby Richards of Seven Hills Winery grew up in the Willamette Valley, and yet his passion as a Walla Walla Valley winemaker is Merlot. Turns out he’s got a flair for Carménère too, using the lesser-known Bordeaux grape to win best of show at the 11th annual Great Northwest Invitational Wine Competition — an international judging staged this fall for West … [Read more...] about Seven Hills Winery uses Carménère from Walla Walla Valley to win Great Northwest Invitational
Archives for 2023
Bobby Richards turns 4 entries into 4 golds, best of show for storied Seven Hills Winery
WALLA WALLA, Wash. — Few jobs are as pressure-packed as working the line at a popular restaurant or the crush pad at a famous winery. For a couple of years, Bobby Richards somehow did both before turning in his apron and settling in at Seven Hills Winery in downtown Walla Walla. “I don’t really remember how I did it, and I don’t know that I’d want to,” Richards says … [Read more...] about Bobby Richards turns 4 entries into 4 golds, best of show for storied Seven Hills Winery
Mosquito Fleet Winery 2020 SS Carlisle Petite Sirah, Rattlesnake Hills $40
Dr. Brian Petersen ranges far beyond his Kitsap Peninsula winery in Belfair, Wash., and works with a growing collection of the state’s top vineyards for high-scoring juice. That helps explain the labeling confusion/miscue and mispelling surrounding this remarkable Petite Sirah, which is entirely from second-generation Lonesome Spring Ranch in the Yakima Valley — not the … [Read more...] about Mosquito Fleet Winery 2020 SS Carlisle Petite Sirah, Rattlesnake Hills $40
Chateau Ste. Michelle 2019 Cold Creek Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley $40
One of the Washington state wine industry’s most important vineyards was planted twice — first in 1973, and much of its 500 acres were again because of the winter kill from December 1978. Since then, Ste. Michelle has expanded the site west of the Vernita Bridge beyond 800 acres. Its remarkable versatility and impact go well beyond the namesake bottlings, including this … [Read more...] about Chateau Ste. Michelle 2019 Cold Creek Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley $40
Cooper Mountain Vineyards 2021 Biodynamic Tocai Friulano, Willamette Valley $30
By his standards, these 20-year-old vines of Tocai Friulano planted by Dr. Robert Gross at his Johnson School site are middle-aged. (His original vineyard west of Portland — he now owns seven — was established in 1978.) In Italy, the variety is labeled simply as Friulano because of European Union restrictions. Elsewhere, it might be referred to as a Sauvignon Vert, even though … [Read more...] about Cooper Mountain Vineyards 2021 Biodynamic Tocai Friulano, Willamette Valley $30