08:08:08 08/08/08
Not too many people were excited about the string of eights in the morning Friday, but I pinged them anyhow.
This weekend the weather was so-so to rain in the Cascades so we decided to head for central WA and do some bicycling in wine country and camp out.
We rode in the Rattlesnake Hills region south of Yakima, the following is our route and tasting ride:
1) Bonair Winery http://www.bonairwine.com/ This is where we started. We parked the car there. We really liked the Chardonnay.
2) Wineglass Cellars http://www.wineglasscellars.com/ Despite the name we really liked this place. They are a small family operation and we talked a bit with a son. Angie liked the '06 Sangiovese and we both recommend the "Capizimo"
3) Hyatt Vineyards was next. The only notable thing there was when I dumped my wine into the fresh water pitcher :) ha
4) Sheridan Vineyard (Kamiakin) http://www.sheridanvineyard.com/kwines.html Not even 4 miles from the beginning of our ride we arrived at Sheridan where they have two lines, the value Kamiakin and the namesake Sheridan. The Kamiakin was a big find for us, it is our favorite Rattlesnake Hills label now. We usually shy away from Merlot, but the 2006 Kamiakin Merlot was exceptionally robust and we enjoyed the Cabernet Sauvignon & red blend immensely. We'll be stocking up on it. The Sheridan label wines were very good, but more $$.
5) Two Mountain Winery was 5th on the route. We liked the 4 big dogs there. I saw some former managers at my work enjoying the wines.
6) Maison de Padgett Winery was next, we really wished we would have skipped it. We tasted some bad wines by this point, but this was worse. I'm embarrased that it is legal to sell a fortified wine in the USA as "Port" when it is not from the Douro appalachen in Portugal. This is a complete rip-off.
7) Paradisos del Sol. The employees there were very nice and they tried to pair their wines with nibbly bits. I can recommend the Artichoke Crab Dip.
This weekend the weather was so-so to rain in the Cascades so we decided to head for central WA and do some bicycling in wine country and camp out.
We rode in the Rattlesnake Hills region south of Yakima, the following is our route and tasting ride:
1) Bonair Winery http://www.bonairwine.com/ This is where we started. We parked the car there. We really liked the Chardonnay.
2) Wineglass Cellars http://www.wineglasscellars.com/ Despite the name we really liked this place. They are a small family operation and we talked a bit with a son. Angie liked the '06 Sangiovese and we both recommend the "Capizimo"
3) Hyatt Vineyards was next. The only notable thing there was when I dumped my wine into the fresh water pitcher :) ha
4) Sheridan Vineyard (Kamiakin) http://www.sheridanvineyard.com/kwines.html Not even 4 miles from the beginning of our ride we arrived at Sheridan where they have two lines, the value Kamiakin and the namesake Sheridan. The Kamiakin was a big find for us, it is our favorite Rattlesnake Hills label now. We usually shy away from Merlot, but the 2006 Kamiakin Merlot was exceptionally robust and we enjoyed the Cabernet Sauvignon & red blend immensely. We'll be stocking up on it. The Sheridan label wines were very good, but more $$.
5) Two Mountain Winery was 5th on the route. We liked the 4 big dogs there. I saw some former managers at my work enjoying the wines.
6) Maison de Padgett Winery was next, we really wished we would have skipped it. We tasted some bad wines by this point, but this was worse. I'm embarrased that it is legal to sell a fortified wine in the USA as "Port" when it is not from the Douro appalachen in Portugal. This is a complete rip-off.
7) Paradisos del Sol. The employees there were very nice and they tried to pair their wines with nibbly bits. I can recommend the Artichoke Crab Dip.
8) Severino Cellars. http://www.washingtonwine.org/profiles/severino-cellars/ Now we started to close the loop. We rode probably over 3 miles just to get there. This was the longest dry run of the day for us. :) The wines were fine and the daughter of the family there was very friendly. They are a small startup, I recommend giving them a try if you can find them.
9) Claar Cellars. Last but not least (see #6). OK. We biked the rest of the wine off back to Bonair.
9) Claar Cellars. Last but not least (see #6). OK. We biked the rest of the wine off back to Bonair.
Getting away to the sunshine, agriculture (apples, pears, grapes, hops, corn...), and unique geology of eastern Washington & its own soothing rhythm is such a nice escape now and again.
On our tour we heard about a wine and food fair happening on the Prosser High School football field. We knew it was going to cost more than the $10 we spent in total together tasting nealy 40 wines in the Rattlesnake Hills, but when we got there the food was pretty poor and so we walked out and got our $50 back. Not much is going on in Prosser WA.
We camped at Yakima Sportsman State Park http://www.parks.wa.gov/parkpage.asp?selectedpark=yakima+sportsman. It is one of two public camping spots in the whole region. (We never figured out where the other was). It is pretty basic with about 15 spots for tent camping, the rest RV. Reservations can be made. Luckily we stopped and grapped one of two spots on our way through Yakima around 2:00 pm.
Sunday we drove back through Mount Rainier NP, leaving the glorious sunshine for low misty clouds, and hiked up Shriner Peak, 3000'+ vertical. There was a nice fire lookout on top (5800'+ ft) and backcountry camping. The views would have been fantastic, but we settled for flowers and deep green.
