Killah Zillah!

Big Red and I recently went wine tasting in Zillah, WA. Not familiar with it? It is about two hours east of Seattle, between Yakima and Walla Walla. It was fantastic;  the wine makers were super friendly, the juice was terrific and we got to stay in a luxury teepee. (Big Red wasn’t as delighted as I was because teepees are noisy in the wind, but if you are a heavy sleeper you will be thrilled).

We visited four wineries, starting with Two Mountain.

Two Mountain is owned by two brothers, who operate the winery and estate vineyard (i.e. they grow their own grapes). They have one of the coolest tasting rooms I have been to with super friendly staff (hey Kelly!), two dogs, great wines and funky signage.

I am not usually a Riesling drinker, but theirs was sublime. I bought two bottles on the first day and then after dreaming about it went back for six more. It is fruity but not overly sweet with a hint of spice (cardamom?) that was really unique. If you are in the Developed Tribe like me I would highly recommend you get your hands on a bottle.

The folks at Two Mountain recommended a new winery called J Bell Cellars.

When we visited we learned that although the winery has only been around for a couple of months, the owners have been making wine as a hobby for years. I loved hearing their stories and their winemaking philosophy, which is to let the natural ingredients do their thing without adding a lot of chemicals. Thumbs up to that!

From J. Bell Cellars we hit Dineen Vineyards, another family-owned winery with estate-grown grapes which they sell to other winemakers and use for their own small batch wines.

We loved these wines and walked away with a few bottles of the 2009 Heritage Red, the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon and lots and lots of the BBQ wine which, while a bit silly, is really good and for those of you who are pairing-impaired, this is the wine for you!

Our last stop was at the place that everyone was buzzing about: Treveri Cellars. Folks in the Yakima Valley are really proud of this winery; two of their wines are being poured at White House receptions.

All of their wines are sparkling and even better, everything is under $20. The wines that made it to the White House are the Extra Brut Chardonnay ($13.99) and the Syrah Brut ($19). Neither was my favorite (what does the government know anyhow?) but I was a huge fan of the Sparkling Pinto Gris.

Overall, I found that I love me some Zillah wine. If you are down with adventure, interested in chatting up winemakers and being the first of your friends to discover some up and coming wineries then this is the trip for you. Cheers!