RICHLAND, Wash. — When the 3100 Cellars 2017 Whitewater methode Champenoise won the Cascadia International Wine Competition sweepstakes by a landslide vote, it meant the judging panel had selected a wine from Idaho as best of show for the second straight year. And for the first time in the event’s 10-year history, a bottle of bubbles burst through as the top wine of the … [Read more...] about Idaho bubblehouse 3100 Cellars tops 10th annual Cascadia International Wine Competition
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Palencia Wine Co. 2016 El Viñador Petit Verdot, Wahluke Slope $40
Jones of Washington earned the 2012 Washington Winery of the Year award from Wine Press Northwest magazine thanks in large part to the winemaking by Victor Palencia with fruit off the Wahluke Slope. His talents prompted the two-decade publication to name Palencia Wine Company as its 2019 Pacific Northwest Winery of the Year, and he's garnered several gold medals for this Petit … [Read more...] about Palencia Wine Co. 2016 El Viñador Petit Verdot, Wahluke Slope $40
Clearwater Canyon Cellars 2018 Umiker Estate Vineyard Coco’s Reserve Selway, Lewis-Clark Valley $45
The Selway River tumbles at the Montana/Idaho border and later meets the Clearwater River, down the hills from Coco & Karl Umiker's century farm in the Lewiston Orchards. Coco's approach to this is Meritage in style, and while her 2017 led with Carménère from Washington's famed Phinney Hill, here it is all from the Umiker estate, so there's a special sense of pride in this … [Read more...] about Clearwater Canyon Cellars 2018 Umiker Estate Vineyard Coco’s Reserve Selway, Lewis-Clark Valley $45
Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery 2020 Optimum Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, $16.99
Some of the Pacific Northwest’s finest white wines appear annually when Gordon and Walter Gehringer release their stable of reliable Riesling, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc and Auxerrois. This year's Cascadia — a three-day tasting — was only a few hours old when the brothers Pinot Gris program had already won two gold medals. The 2020 Optimum appropriately sports that name with … [Read more...] about Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery 2020 Optimum Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, $16.99
Mt. Hood Winery NV Van Horn Estate Vineyard Estate Brut Cuvée, Columbia Gorge, $50
Hood River Valley native Rich Cushman crafts the wine along Van Horn Drive for the Bickford family, and the fifth-generation orchardists replaced some of their pears with cool-climate varieties in this block in 2007. Among the many gold medals earned at the Cascadia by Cushman was this methode Champenoise from Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris, which went onto sweepstakes as the … [Read more...] about Mt. Hood Winery NV Van Horn Estate Vineyard Estate Brut Cuvée, Columbia Gorge, $50