Have you ever visited AppellationAmerica.com? It's a Web site that is a terrific resource for winery information as well as well-written articles.

For the past half-decade, a group known as the Washington Wine Ambassadors has worked diligently to promote Washington wine by volunteering at events. It has been a wonderful program and has operated under the umbrella of the Washington Wine Commission.

Tim Ray, our man in Spokane, attended Sunday night's Taste Washington event at the fabulous Davenport Hotel and took some photos, which we have posted here.

Dusted Valley Vintners of Walla Walla, Wash., known for its superior-quality Syrahs and other reds as well as its value Boomtown label, is opening a tasting room across the Cascade Mountains in Woodinville.

Apparently, our report last week that Ste. Michelle Wine Estates was planning to discontinue its Stimson Estate Cellars line struck a chord with wine lovers.

I half-jokingly refer to my dad, Ken Degerman, as the North Idaho bureau chief of Wine Press Northwest. Well, dear old Dad came up with something that was news to me.

After 29 years of providing a venue for tasting Oregon wines, the Oregon Wine Tasting Room is closing down June 22.

Dear Europe: We realize you have been making wine for a long time. We appreciate that. We also realize that a number of folks here in the New World misappropriated some of your names and perhaps sullied them a bit.

Are you looking for a way into the Northwest wine industry? Here's a business opportunity: Napa North, a wine shop in Klamath Falls, Ore., is up for sale. The owners are relocating to the Midwest and are, shall we say, motivated sellers.

Last week, we chatted with Charlie Hoppes, owner/winemaker of Fidelitas Wines on Washington's Red Mountain. He and longtime Yakima Valley grape grower Dick Boushey have planted three acres of Cabernet Sauvignon on his five-acre property on Sunset Road.

It has been a cool spring again this year in Washington's Columbia Valley, with bud break occurring a couple of weeks later than usual. Winemaker (and now grape grower) Charlie Hoppes said vines are about as far behind as he can recall in his two decades as a Washington winemaker.

Cal Knudsen, a Northwest forest-products exec, lawyer and Oregon wine pioneer, passed away April 24 in California after a battle with cancer. He was 85.

John Newhouse 50, passed away Tuesday after a farm equipment accident.

Two years ago, we reported the somber news that Walla Walla, Wash., producer Bunchgrass Winery was closing because founder/owner/winemaker Roger Cockerline had decided to retire.

We are in the heart of wine competition season in North America.

The federal government has approved the Lake Chelan American Viticultural Area, making the region in north-central Washington the state's 11th appellation.

A lot of good things have happened at Columbia Winery since Ascentia Wine Estates purchased the longtime Washington winery.

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates announced last week that it will be the exclusive U.S. distributor of Nicolas Feuillatte, France's No. 1-selling Champagne brand (and No. 3 internationally).

We have launched a new wine events calendar on winepressnw.com.

Maryhill, our 2009 Washington Winery of the Year, has announced its summer concert series:

The always anticipated Chateau Ste. Michelle summer concert schedule has been released:

I enjoy Northwest seafood - and there's little I love more than clam chowder.

The Olympic Peninsula Wineries Association is putting on a great event this weekend, and I wish I could be there.

Pacific Rim Winemakers, the Randall Grahm-owned winery in the shadow of Washington's Red Mountain, has plans to be more than just a Riesling producer.

Spring has been a bit late throughout the Pacific Northwest, and that goes for here in Washington's Columbia Valley, too. Normally, bud break will occur around April 10, but we are about a week or two behind.

Last week, we created a Facebook fan page for Wine Press Northwest.

For as long as I can recall, the Tri-Cities Wine Festival has been at the Red Lion Hotel in Pasco, Wash. For the 31st edition of the Northwest's longest-running wine fest, this post-harvest celebration will move across the Columbia River to the magnificent Three Rivers Convention Center.

Baker City, Ore., isn't exactly in the midst of classic Northwest wine country. This city on the Oregon Trail has a lot more in common with Idaho's Snake River Valley than the Willamette Valley. But that doesn't deter the folks in this western town from enjoying the finer things in life.

I'll bet Bob Bertheau is wearing a muscle shirt around Chateau Ste. Michelle today. If he isn't, he should be.

Here in Washington's Columbia Valley, we're still five weeks away from the Pasco Farmers Market opening (typically on the weekend nearest to Cinco de Mayo), but I'm already getting in the mood for creative cooking with regional ingredients.

Barnard Griffin came home with the best red wine of the 2009 Monterey Wine Competition in California. The Richland, Wash., winery won for its 2006 Reserve Merlot, which retails for $30.

Today is the last day of the printed Seattle P-I. Starting today, the city's oldest daily newspaper switches to an online-only publication.

If you spend much time in the Walla Walla wine industry, you're bound to run into Jeanie Inglis-Chowanietz. She's one cool cat and has been in and around the wine scene here for many, many years.

The Willamette Valley Wineries Association has released its 2009 touring guide, and you can order yours online for no cost.

Wine lovers thought it was crazy enough when Zinfandel crossed the California border into Oregon (which, frankly, has been growing Zin in the Gorge for a century).

Columbia Winery in Woodinville, Wash., will be going through some remodeling over the next few months.

Pacific Northwest wines fared extremely well last week at the Grand Harvest Awards wine competition in California's Sonoma County.

This economy has taken its toll on another favorite restaurant. This time, it's Pearl's on Pearl in downtown Ellensburg, Wash.

I've been working on a new feature that compiles feeds from a variety of blogs whose posts focus on Northwest wine.

It was with great sadness that I learned this morning of the passing of Gary Andrus, who owned Archery Summit Winery until 2001 and later Gypsy Dancer.

Walla Walla Wine News is reporting that 26 Brix is closing its doors.

Snipes Mountain is Washington's newest appellation, approved by the federal government. This American Viticultural Area is within the Yakima Valley, near the town of Sunnyside. It is the third AVA within the larger Yakima Valley.

The USDA this afternoon released its annual grape harvest report for Washington state, and Riesling has surpassed Chardonnay as the Evergreen State's No. 1 wine grape.

We have added a new feature to Wine Press Northwest, which I call "Wine Funnies."

Mike Paul, one of the Walla Walla Valley's pioneering winemakers, passed away Friday. He was 58.

Chuck Reininger is one of those mild-mannered winemakers down in Walla Walla, Wash. He started (adult) life as a mountain climber, then considered becoming a microbrewer before catching the wine bug while working harvest.

The results are in at the 2009 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, which wrapped up around noon today in Cloverdale, Calif.

It was another year of interesting stories and big news in Pacific Northwest wine country. Weather was a big issue for growers and winemakers throughout the region. Wineries and vineyards came under new ownership, a giant in the B.C. wine world stepped away, and we lost Papa Pinot.

We published a story this morning about student winemakers who fared well against the pros in last month's Tri-Cities Wine Festival Competition.

For just the sixth time in its storied history, Chateau Ste. Michelle will produce an ice wine, thanks to our Arctic freeze.