Best Buy! This winery on the western edge of Washington's warm Wahluke Slope is named for the Ginkgo Petrified Forest. The forest is considered one of the world's most unusual fossil forests because petrified ginkgo wood is rare. The winery, near the town of Mattawa, grows 28 acres of grapes. This Merlot opens with aromas of Beech-Nut chewing tobacco, pepper and cherry, … [Read more...] about Ginkgo Forest Winery 2008 Merlot, Wahluke Slope, $15
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Latah Creek Wine Cellars 2011 Muscat, Washington, $11
Best Buy! This marks the 25th vintage of Spokane vintner Mike Conway producing a Muscat, but it wasn't easy as winter kill winnowed his sources. And yet, he and daughter Natalie pulled it off by getting Morio Muskat (55%) from Newhouse Vineyard, Muscat Canelli (25%) from Coventry Vale and both Orange Muscat (10%) and Muscadelle de Bordelaise from Lonesome Spring. There huge … [Read more...] about Latah Creek Wine Cellars 2011 Muscat, Washington, $11
Kana Winery 2011 Zillah Ranch Vineyard Katie Mae Riesling, Yakima Valley, $14
Best Buy! Ben Grossman created this for the downtown Yakima winery prior to pursuing a career as a brewer in Walla Walla. There's much to like in the aromas of fruit cocktail, mango, Wrigley's Spearmint gum, candy corn and dry mustard. It's deliciously fruity with Red Delicious apple, white peach and Limeade flavors to balance the residual sugar of 3%. Rating: … [Read more...] about Kana Winery 2011 Zillah Ranch Vineyard Katie Mae Riesling, Yakima Valley, $14
Latah Creek Wine Cellars 2011 Moscato d’Latah, Washington, $15
Best Buy! Moscato-style wines have been the recent rage among drinkers, but this Eastern Washington winery has been making them deliciously for nearly 30 years after being inspired while touring Piedmonte. Its pedigree is identical to the regular Muscat, but this is built more as a brunch wine with its low alcohol and high residual sugar of 10%. That gives it aromatics of dusty … [Read more...] about Latah Creek Wine Cellars 2011 Moscato d’Latah, Washington, $15
W.B. Bridgman 2010 Chardonnay, Columbia Valley, $11
Best Buy! If Walter Clore was "the father of Washington wine," then William Bridgman surely was its grandfather. The two-time mayor of Sunnyside first planted wine grapes on Snipes Mountain in 1917 and later provided advice and cuttings to Clore, the Washington State University scientist who encouraged wine grape plantings in the '50s, '60s and '70s. This label was launched by … [Read more...] about W.B. Bridgman 2010 Chardonnay, Columbia Valley, $11