yakima valley winery tour, sept 05 

 

 

Some pictures from a short trip through the Yakima Valley wine country in south-central Washington State. The weather was beautiful, and smell of grapes and apples was in the air, and of course, the wine tasted great!


On the east side of the Cascade mountain is the Yakima ValleyWashington State has becoming the second-largest wine producing region in the United States, after CaliforniaThe Yakima Valley is home to approximately 50 wineriesThe first winery we visited was Windy PointThey specialize in Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and red blends. Interestingly, in the United States, wines are referred to by their grape, while in Europe, wines are referred to by the region in which the grapes are grown.No CaptionNo Caption
No CaptionBonair WineryNo CaptionNo CaptionSilver Lake Winery is now the seventh largest winery in Washington StateIn the past thirteen years, it has grown to more than 25,000 cases of wineNo Caption
Tucker Cellars specializes in Riesling, Pinot Noir, Gerwürtraminer, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, and Muscat CanelliRich and I arrived just in time for a barrel tasting......ahhhh, refreshing!No CaptionNo CaptionSnoqualmie has been a Washington State winemaker for almost 20 yearsNo Caption
No CaptionNo CaptionNo Caption Willow Crest Winery has grown to 5,000 cases in 2004They specialize in Pinot Gris, Syrah, Mourvedre, Cabernet Franc, and Syrah Port. This was perhaps our favorite winery: the wines were excellent, and the tasting room was located in an old farmhouse.The Yakima Valley is one of the most important hop growing regions in the worldApproximately two-thirds of the hops produced are exported to countries world wide
No CaptionNo CaptionThe Terra Blanca VineyardTerra Blanca is an 80-acre vineyard and a winery that produces over 26,000 cases per yearBarrel storage caves are a rarity in Washington StateCave aging of wines provides proper temperature and humidity for good wine makingEach cave is 200 feet long and together they have a capacity of 1000 58-gallon barrels
Rich and I enjoyed the aroma of the nearby apple orchards78,000 acres of Yakima Valley are apple orchardsNot too surprisingly, Washington is the nation's top apple-producing stateWashington apples are sold in all 50 states......and more than 40 countriesNo CaptionHeading through Umtanum Canyon back to Seattle