Washington State - Great Red Wines

We had some fantastic red wines in Washington State. We stayed a few days in the Tri-cities and visited the Walla Walla and Red Mountain areas. Both were great but I'd give the edge to Walla Walla for their cabs, cab blends and syrah.

The area is very hot and sunny which helps the wine grapes get dark and concentrated. The region gets 300+ days of sun each year, and the temp was a pleasant dry 88 degrees when we were there.

Some of our favorite wineries were Woodward Canyon, Dunham, Hightower and Terra Blanca, and our absolute favorite was Long Shadows. This winery employs several wine-makers from around the world to each make a specific wine. The cab (made by Randy Dunn from Caymus) was wonderful. The bordeaux-style blend ("Red Wine" made by Gilles Nicault) was fantastic. After we purchased some wine, we were introduced to Gilles and he signed one of the bottles! 

The harvest is coming a few weeks early this year because of the hot weather this summer. We were lucky enough to witness some grapes being de-stemmed and crushed at Hightower of Red Mountain, a small winery run by a husband and wife team (and their yellow lab Riley). 

Freshly picked Merlot grapes waiting to be crushed

About half of the merlot harvest from this small winery

Winemaker/owners Kelly and Tim Hightower 
Winemaking isn't a glamorous as it sounds!

Overall, it was a great wine experience. We'll compare to Oregon and California and report back.

Cheers!