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This year, the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) meeting was held in Seattle. This gave us the perfect opportunity to experience one of Washington State's viticultural areas. Until now, the tours had been in Sonoma/Napa CA.
Knowing nothing about Washington State wines we looked at a map and chose the area closest to Seattle. Washington is a big state and we didn't want to lose days driving. We chose the Yakima Valley viticultural area and researched the wineries available. We were really feeling our way on this one.
The participants were Newsom and Beverly Baker (Louisville, TN), Bill and Leah Barr (Atlanta), Chaz and Gael (Atlanta) and Fred and Fran Gunter (Charleston). The Bakers, Cones and Gunters were going to be there for the AAO anyway; the Barrs flew out just for the HOB Wine Tour. This is the Leah and Bill's first HOB Wine Tour; I think they tired of hearing about them and just hopped onboard out of self-defense.
Here's the gang from 2007:
Left to right: Fred, Fran, Leah, Bill, Alli Nicole (who?), Newsom, Beverly, Gael and Chaz
(More about Alli HERE)
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
The AAO meeting ended at noon so we scheduled our kickoff dinner this evening at Boat Street Cafe in Seattle.
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Gael and I had dinner there earlier that week and loved a house specialty; that's why we picked the restaurant. Of course tonight it wasn't on the menu  . I'd describe it for you but both Gael and have forgotten what it was! Regardless, it was an excellent kickoff dinner.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
We picked up everyone in Seattle at the two hotels and began our trek Southeast with the ladies in one minivan and the men in the other. The gentlemen led, of course, and it only took five or six minutes for the ladies to make a wrong turn so they had some catching up to do. With "Leadfoot" Gael at the helm it didn't take long.
Our first winery of the 2007 HOB Wine Tour was Kana Winery located in an office building in downtown Yakima.
We've often said that 50% of the tasting experience is the personality of the person behind the counter and Deborah at Kana was great. The wines were very, very good; it was all we could do to avoid buying anything at our very first stop. That error was remedied on Saturday.
We were hungry so we stopped at a Mexican Restaurant in a boxcar (really); it was very good:
Next was Piety Flats which was unremarkable. As nice as the lady at Kana was, the Piety Flats lady was flat and unconcerned. Being used to Sonoma, we felt that the Yakima area was just getting started in wine tourism.
Did we enjoy this experience? Check the facial expressions...
The third and last winery of the day was Hedges Family Estates:
Yes, they were closed -- but not for our private tasting!
This is a beautiful setting (and quite large!); we were treated handsomely.
This young man was very helpful and thorough.
Not just your everyday tasting, but a complete tour of the winery and vineyards:
I'll brag a bit about the composition of the above!
I told you it was a lovely place!
We'd not yet checked into our hotel in Yakima so we did that. Places to stay were sparse in Yakima (it's a small town). We chose the Oxford Inn and it was a good choice; we requested rooms on the "river" side and the Yakima River ran right beside the buidling. Quite acceptable for $75/night.
After checking in, we went to dinner at Birchfield Manor Country Inn:
This restaurant isn't typically open on Wednesday but they opened for us (by pre-arrangement). It was like dining in someone's home and the food was delicious. Another couple happened by and, luckily for them, were seated as well. When they left, they thanked us for making "our" restaurant available!
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Fred was suffering from a stomach problem so he sat out the day at the hotel. It was a bad day to miss as you'll see.
Our first winery was Snoqualmie Vineyards in Prosser, WA. This was a pretty good drive from Yakima. Their tasting room was built in a northwestern Indian motif and was quite lovely.
But our next stop turned out to be the peak experience of the entire tour. Located in a little strip shopping center in Prosser we found Alexandria Nicole Cellars. You open an ordinary-looking glass door in the face of this strip center and find yourself in an elegant set of rooms. The wines were fantastic and the ladies behind the counter were delightful. The winery is named for the wife of the winemaker, Jarrod Boyle.
Even the spit bucket was pretty!
After tasting (and buying and wine club signing up) we asked where we might go for lunch. They said, "Why not join us for lunch?". Turns out they have an on-premises tapas cafe. They opened a pair of french doors and there was this huge dining room. We purchased another few bottles for lunch and had a great time! Poor Fred..back at the hotel feeling crappy.
Our next stop was Kestrel Wines also in Prosser:
Many wineries have canine mascots; Kestrel's yellow Lab was a good example!
Next was Thurston Wolfe Winery in Prosser.
Our last winery of the day was Terra Blanca Winery in Benton City. What a beautiful facility!
Then it was a hard pull (a bit over an hour) back to Yakima (and poor Fred..)
Fred was feeling better (at least until he heard us rave about Alexandria Nicole) and joined us for dinner. We'd planned on dining at the Shadow Mountain Grill in Benton City but thought we ought to head back to Yakima to rescue Fred, so we ate here.
Wake up, Beverly!
Friday, May 25, 2007
Fred was feeling fine this morning so off we went, again a full complement of eight, to our first winery of the day, Portteus Vineyards & Winery. This one (and the next two) is in Zillah, WA about twenty-five miles from Yakima.
See? Dogs at every winery..
Next was Maison de Padgett Winery less than a mile from Portteus but much a more elegant setting.
Their "thing" was cutesy names for their wines like "Risque Chardonnay", "Sultry Sauvignon Blanc", "Singing Toad" and "Fat Sow". While the labels might be clever, the wines were just so-so. We liked the popcorn (you could buy), though.
We were supposed to go next to Horizon's Edge Winery but it was nearing lunchtime and we all agreed it was worth the trip to go back to Alexandria Nicole for lunch -- and so Fred could enjoy the experience. What the heck, it's only 33 miles!
We called ahead so they would be expecting us (hell, they're used to us by now)!
On the way back to Alexandria Nicole in Prosser, we were a little early so we stopped at Apex Cellars. Their wines were tasty (another surprise):
..but the coolest thing was this nifty "how to carry a bottle and four glasses" gizmo:
We were only a short distance from Alexandria Nicole and we arrived right on time. As we entered the winery, we saw that the whole winery staff was gathered around a table with a dozen wine bottles with their labels and foils taped over. They were doing their quarterly blind tasting of their wines against their competitors.
We had an excellent lunch and got to meet Alexandria Nicole (Mrs. Jarrod Boyle, the owners) herself. She's a very atractive size zero. Near the end of lunch, one of the tasting room ladies asked if we'd like to try some of the blind tasting wine that was left over. Would we! Would we! Afterwards we learned that we liked Alexandia Nicole's wines best (no surprise!)
During lunch, Bill and I were seated at opposite ends of the table, pretty much out of earshot. I heard him say "Chaz!" and I looked down the table. He said "Alexandria Nicole?" and cut his eyes to her across the room. I said (instantly) "Hot, Hot, Hot!". He may have been referring to the wine but I was (for sure) referring to the adorable Mrs. Boyle.
You had to be there.
Before leaving Prosser, we stopped by Willow Crest Winery though I think we were pretty well "wined-out" for the day.
Finally (for today) we drove thirteen miles to Sunnyside, WA for Tucker Cellars.
Thirty-eight miles later, we're back at the Oxford Inn, getting ready for dinner at
.. Greystone Restaurant & Bistro.
Saturday, May 27, 2007
Time to check out of the Oxford Inn (farewell, Yakima!) and head back to Seattle for our final tasting experience of HOB 2007. It was a happy coincidence that the 2007 HOB Wine Tour coincided with the annual Washington Wine Highway extravaganza on the property of Chateau St. Michelle near Seattle. We'd planned to visit that winery anyhow, but the fact that the Washington Wine Highway was held on their grounds was wonderful.
The WWH gathers wineries from all five of the Washington State viticultural areas for tastings (along with food) -- all in one place. This was a real treat for us as we'd only been able to experience wines from the Yakima Valley area. Now we can taste them all!
We got there minutes before the event opened, stayed much of the day. What a trip!
Our traditional closing dinner is usually at an upscale restaurant. We chose Brasa in Seattle:
.. and it was frankly a let down after the Washington Wine Highway and (of course) Alexandria Nicole.
Nonetheless, Everyone had a great time on HOB Wine Tour 2007 and got a real appreciation for some excellent wines from a place about which we knew little going in. Wonder where we'll go in 2008?!?
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