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It has long been rumored that the few rows of vines at the entrance to Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville, Wash., were required so the winery could be called a "chateau."
PROSSER -- Construction is expected to start soon on the next phase of what backers say will be the state's premier educational and promotional center for Washington's wines and food products.
The first big wine outing of the year begins Friday, kicking off a weekend that always draws thousands of wine lovers to the Yakima Valley.
The 21st annual Spring Barrel Tasting, despite its age, remains the largest of Washington's wine touring events.
Twenty-four members of the Yakima Valley Winery Association and five other Yakima Valley wineries will take part in the three days of festivities. Furthermore, nearby Columbia Valley wineries that aren't in the Yakima Valley will also be welcoming guests.
To help plan a tour, you can pick up a copy of the new Yakima Valley Wine Tour guide at any member winery, local chambers of commerce or the Tri-Cities Visitor and Convention Bureau. The new Wine Press Northwest magazine touring guide, which lists all Yakima Valley wineries, also is available at the Tri-City Herald office in downtown Kennewick or at the Visitor and Convention Bureau at Vista Field in Kennewick. Almost all the wineries are within a mile or two of Interstate 82.
Such a fee has become common in California's crowded Napa Valley, but it's relatively new to Washington wine country.
Hours for the three days of tasting are generally from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday is usually the least crowded. A number of Yakima Valley establishments will be offering picnic and gourmet fare for visitors. Not all wineries are able to accommodate bus groups, so it is required that any large groups make advance arrangements with each winery they plan to visit.
Visitors are encouraged to buy a souvenir wine glass for $5 or bring their own. Because of the crowds, the wineries often don't furnish tasting glasses. Also, it's important to have a designated driver, and try not to visit too many wineries in a single day.
Here's a list of the wineries and what they plan to offer:
Kiona-Benton City area
Sandhill Winery will be conducting its first barrel tasting. The new winery on Sunset Road is near Hedges Cellars.
Its 2001 cabernet sauvignon will be sampled from the barrel, with 1999 cabernet sauvignon and merlot from the bottle and perhaps a sample of 2001 pinot gris.
There will be some olive oils and bread for sampling.
Terra Blanca Vintners will be opening its storage caves with barrel tasting at the cave entrances of two different clones of its 2001 syrah.
Bottled wines will be served in the winery tank room and the tasting room.
A popular feature will be repeated, with a special area designated for a fee of $5 to taste reserve wines, including the 1998 Onyx red blend and two ice wines.
Chez Chaz Restaurant will be selling tapas appetizers.
Oakwood Cellars will be tasting its 2000 lemberger from the barrel. From the bottle, it will offer 2000 lemberger blanc, 1997 chardonnay and 1998 merlot.
Monterosso's Restaurant and Atomic Ale and Brew Pub will offer gourmet food Saturday and Sunday. The Blue Canary Quartet, featuring Ray from Washington State University, is providing live music.
Seth Ryan Winery will have a barbecue dinner Friday for $20 that will feature a 10-year-old cabernet sauvignon. Call 588-6780 for reservations. Its 2000 merlot will be sampled from the barrel. Wines from the bottle will include 1999 cabernet franc, 2000 chardonnay, 1998 Rapture red and 1999 gewrztraminer.
Snacks and live music will be provided.
Kiona Vineyards Winery will compare 2000 cabernet sauvignon in barrels from different vineyards with its 1999 blended cabernet sauvignon in the bottle.
Blackwood Canyon Vintners will concentrate on wines 10 or more years old and will compare how leaving chardonnay and semillon on the lees (pulp) for different time periods affects the wines.
There will be tastings from the bottle of select wines and a special library tasting for a $20 fee of aged cabernet sauvignon and merlot.
Various cheeses will also be available for sampling.
Hedges Cellars will be featuring its 2001 cabernet sauvignon and 2000 syrah from the barrel. Wines from the bottle include the 2001 fume-chardonnay blend, 1999 Three Vineyards red blend and 1999 Red Mountain reserve red, along with the 2000 CSM, a cabernet sauvignon-merlot blend.
A special feature will be the viewing of the new Hedges wine library, which has a capacity for 12,000 bottles. Certain wines from the library will be available for sampling for a $5 or $10 fee.
There will be piano music to entertain, along with snacks.
Prosser-Grandview area
Hogue Cellars will feature its lineup of red wines, 2000 cabernet sauvignon, merlot, syrah and lemberger from the barrel. They will be compared with their bottled counterparts, the 1998 cabernet sauvignon, 1998 merlot, 1999 syrah and the 1997 and 1998 lemberger.
There will be a special case sale of these four reds. Hogue will also serve its lineup of white wines.
The Washington Beef Commission will show off samples of precooked beef dishes. There will also be the popular deep-fried asparagus.
Thurston Wolfe will be charging a $5 entrance fee, which will be refunded if a purchase is made.
Kestrel Vintners will be sampling its 2000 River Bend Vineyard cabernet sauvignon from the barrel.
Wines from the bottle include the 2000 syrah, 1998 chardonnay and 1997 merlot. Reserve wines will be available for sampling for a $5 fee.
A variety of fine Old World cheeses will be sampled.
Hinzerling Winery will be showcasing the next-door Hinzerling Inn, with dinners Friday and Saturday that feature various asparagus dishes. The cost is $23.95, which includes some wine. Call the winery for reservations. The inn will also be serving lunches during the weekend.
Wines from the barrel include two young ports, a syrah and a merlot. The three Muses Ports will be served from the bottle. A fee will be charged to taste library ports and other wines.
Chukar Cherries will offer samples of its chocolate-covered cherries and preserves.
Yakima River Winery is doing its traditional vertical comparison of cabernet sauvignon starting with the 2001, 2000 and 1999 from the barrel and the 1998, the double-gold medal-winning 1997 and 1996 from the bottle.
Other wines include the 2000 soft lemberger and the 1998 John's port.
Pontin del Roza will be tasting its 2001 sangiovese from the barrel. Its 1999 gold medal-winning cabernet sauvignon and 2000 chenin blanc and pinot grigio will be available for sampling from the bottle.
There will be sculptures on sale and probably fresh asparagus.
From the bottle will be 2000 syrah and 1999 pinot gris. The 1999 syrah that won best of show at the Tri-Cities Wine Festival last fall will be available for sale in limited quantities.
Catering to You will sell appetizers.
Sunnyside-Granger
Paradisos del Sol is taking part in its first barrel tasting. The winery is on Holmason Road not far from Tucker Cellars. Barrel samples of 2000 cabernet sauvignon and 2001 lemberger will be tasted.
Wines from the bottle include 2000 rose, 1993 semillon, 1999 Red Sun Cab and the 1999 Angelica dessert wine.
There will be a variety of appetizers on hand.
Tucker Cellars will be sampling a wide variety of new releases, including 2001 gewrztraminer, 2001 muscat canelli, 2000 lemberger, 2000 cabernet franc and 2001 late-harvest riesling. From the barrel, the 2001 syrah will be tasted.
As always, one of the main features at Tucker's will be Anthony's Home Port Restaurant of Seattle, which on Saturday and Sunday will be dishing out barbecued salmon, iced prawns and oysters on the half-shell, while the Yakima Valley Dairy Federation will be sampling and selling cheeses, including Cougar Gold.
Tucker is also a produce stand and will have seasonal produce, including fresh asparagus.
Washington Hills Cellars again is combining asparagus goodies with wines. Wines to be sampled from the barrel include 2001 Outlook Vineyard Syrah that will either end up as an Apex or W.B. Bridgman wine.
Other wines from the barrel include Apex 2000 merlot and Bridgman 2000 viognier.
There will be wine and food pairings in the tasting room kitchen. The Spotted Owl Jazz band has been booked to play.
Foods include pork and chicken kabobs, rice and beans.
Eaton Hill Winery is expected to feature a 2001 and 2000 cabernet sauvignon from the barrel. Wines from the bottle will be nonvintage apple riesling, 2000 riesling and 1997 and 1999 cabernet sauvignon.
A specialty bean soup and garlic cream dip will be served as appetizers.
Zillah-Yakima area
Yakima Cellars is a new entry in the barrel tasting weekend sweepstakes. It is in downtown Yakima at 32 N. Second Ave.
The winery will feature 2001 sangiovese and 2001 syrah from the barrel. From the bottle, it will offer 2000 sangiovese, Red Willow Vineyard, 2000 syrah and the barrel-fermented 2000 semillon.
Snacks will be served.
Horizon's Edge Winery will be sampling the 1998 reserve port from the barrel. Wines from the bottle for tasting include the 1998 Monster chardonnay, 1997 pinot noir and about 10 other wines.
There will be live music and snacks.
Portteus Vineyards plans to sample 2000 and 2001 cabernet sauvignon from the barrel. Wines for tasting from the bottle include 2000 chardonnay, 2000 syrah, 2000 zinfandel and 2000 merlot reserve.
Metzoff sauces and salsa from Seattle will be for sale and sampling.
The Blue Tropics jazz and light rock band will perform, and the Cattleman Barbecue Co. will offer barbecued foods for sale.
Wineglass Cellars will be sampling 2000 Eldering Vineyard cabernet sauvignon from the barrel. The winery will charge $5, which will be refunded to those who purchase wine. Wines from the bottle include 1999 merlot, 1998 Eldering Vineyard cabernet sauvignon and nonvintage Capizimo, a blend of cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, zinfandel and merlot, although this version has no pinot in it.
Bonair Winery will feature a 2001 merlot from the barrel. Bottled wines include the gold medal-winning 1998 cabernet sauvignon from Morrison Vineyards, 1998 merlot, 1999 reserve cabernet sauvignon and nonvintage Bonnie Bonair, a blend of cabernet franc and gamay beaujolais.
Homemade cabernet and sausage soup with bread will be available for sampling.
Silver Lake at Roza Hill has taken over Covey Run Winery and hopes to sample 2001 merlot and chardonnay from the barrel. Wines from the bottle include 1996 claret, cabernet sauvignon-merlot blend, 1997 Founder's reserve cabernet sauvignon and a 1999 Founder's chardonnay.
There will be a catered lunch for sale to enjoy on the winery deck, which features a panoramic view of the Yakima Valley and the Cascade Mountains.
Sagelands Vineyard will sample 2001 cabernet sauvignon from two different American oak cooperages and offer a new release of 2000 merlot and a 1999 cabernet sauvignon from the bottle. They also plan to offer two ports to taste for a $2 fee.
Corner Bistro of Yakima will be selling food, and Nibbs Mendard, a local guitarist, will be featured.
Claar Cellars, at the former Zillah Oaks Winery along Interstate 82, will feature 2001 chardonnay and 2001 cabernet sauvignon, Hillside Vineyards, from the barrel.
Wines from the bottle include the double gold medal-winning 2000 Johannisberg riesling and the 2001 late-harvest riesling. Cafe Melange (Deli de Pasta) will be selling appetizers.
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