Wining is a Washington State of Mind

I have said before on this blog that if you have the freedom to drop everything and take advantage of seat sales, flying can be extremely economical. Which is what I did for a serendipitous trip out to Washington State in when Air Canada offered a return air fare to Seattle equal to a one way fare to Vancouver. This trip resulted in a good visit with friends Daryl and Melanie for a couple of days, some good wine tasting, as well as a quick trip around the Olympia Peninsula. But I am getting ahead of myself.

Because Marie had already booked her full complement of holidays for 2012, she was not able to accompany me on the trip out west. So when I saw the seat sale, I quickly fired off a note to Daryl and Melanie in Vancouver to see if Daryl (or both) would like to join me for some wine tasting in the Yakima Valley of Washington State in early September. I know they both appreciate fine wine so Daryl quickly confirmed that they would join me. I would spend three days on my own doing some touring and then meet them for a couple of days of wine tasting.

As my flight was not going to arrive in Seattle until 8:30 p.m., I went online to TripAdvisor.com to see what fellow travellers were saying about the airport hotels. I have found over the years that Trip Advisor reviews can be counted on to be accurate at least 95% of the time. Based on my budget, I chose the Sleep Inn – it was rated one of the best, had a free airport shuttle (useful when I would return my rental car my last night before the flight home), free breakfast, an exercise room and a pool (not that I planned on using them, but you never know…), had a nearby restaurant (which I also did not need, but if I did…) and provided Aeroplan points for my stay. So I booked my arrival night in Seattle and my last night there as well (well, in SeaTac to be precise, the location of the airport).

Since I wanted to visit Olympia National Park (or at least as much of it as I could with my limited time), I figured I would drive from Seattle to the Park, then to somewhere along the coast south of the park after my first day of touring. I also needed to be within 2-3 hours of Seattle for what I had planned the next day, which was to visit the Museum of Flight, as well at the end of the second day and before it closed, Chateau Ste Michelle in Woodinville, one of Daryl and Melanie’s preferred wineries. I was to meet Daryl and Melanie at a hotel in Bothell/Woodinville later that night as they were driving down from Vancouver.This plan, in hindsight, turned out to be a bit too ambitious, for reasons which will become clear later.

Marie drove me out to the Ottawa airport on Labour Day and I was on my way. At least to Toronto for the first leg.  I had received an upgrade for this portion of my flight and looked forward to a late lunch. I watched as the flight attendants began bringing customized wraps. And then one came to me and my seat partner to announce that they had run out of food and would we like some nuts instead. Well, nuts to that. Air Canada knew how many people were in business class, they just neglected to load enough meals. That is the first time that had happened and I hope the last.

Toronto, as the centre of the Canadian universe, has a large US Customs operation at the airport. After getting undressed to go through US security (shoes, belt, watch, wallet, passport, all have to be put in a bin), it was my turn to talk to the Customs agent.  A single traveller always seems to get more scrutiny from customs agents.  There were questions about what I did for a living (nothing – I’m retired), my nationality (now let me see, what DOES my passport in your hand say), age (check the passport again), where I was staying and for how long and the purpose of my trip. When I said was a tourist going to tour the Olympia Peninsula and then visit friends from Vancouver, he looked at me as if I was a potential terrorist or drug dealer – but as I finished my sentence to say “and do some wine tasting in the Yakima Valley”, he smiled, told me to enjoy my trip and stamped my documents. A fellow oenophile?

A quick trip to the lounge (I had asked for an upgrade but was not yet confirmed on the Toronto-Seattle leg) for a snack to make up for the missing lunch from the first flight and then it was time to go to the gate for the next leg. When I arrived, my name was being called. Now my name is called for only two reasons by Air Canada agents. One, my name (but another Robert Macdonald) is on their internal no fly list and from time to time I get asked to prove that I am not that Robert Macdonald. Or two, I have been successfully upgraded. 

With my new boarding pass for business class in hand, my fellow passengers and I got on board and were ready to go. The door was closed. Then the door was opened. Apparently two people who were supposed to be on the flight were not. So we waited. And waited some more. An hour passed before their luggage was finally removed from the aircraft (where do people GO after checking their luggage for a flight – maybe the oenophile found out they were beer drinkers?) and we were finally on our way. The pilot thought he could make up the time but he never did so it was late when we got to Seattle. By the time I had rented my car and driven to the hotel, it was after 11 p.m. (but in my head 2 a.m. because of the time difference). I did not spend much time confirming the Trip Advisor review of my hotel, but I did get to sleep pretty fast.

The next morning I woke up at 6 a.m. local time and after making myself presentable, headed to the breakfast room. A hot breakfast was a surprise and actually, the scrambled eggs and sausage were pretty good. Suitably fortified, I checked out, started up my GPS and punched in my first destination of the day, the town of Bremerton which was almost 35 kilometres due west of where I was currently. However, with it on the other side of Puget Sound, I had two choices – drive around the bottom of the Sound or take a Ferry across the Sound. With no idea of the Ferry schedules, I opted for the drive of 100 kilometres around the Sound. Since most traffic was heading north to Seattle, I made good time until I got to Tacoma at the bottom of the Sound which is a major port. As I slowly made my way along the I-5, I passed the Tacoma Dome which was advertising an upcoming Justin Bieber concert. Almost across the road, the Emerald Queen Casino was advertising a concert at about the same time with the Commodores. I know which concert I would gamble on as being the best.

As I headed up State Highway 16 across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (the condos along the shore below were pretty impressive, but I am not sure I would want to stare at a bridge all day), I recalled that Bremerton was a US Navy Base and that the US Pacific Submarine fleet was stationed in the area (as well as Missle Cruisers, Escort Carriers and even the large Nimitz Class carriers). I hoped that I would see some subs or other naval ships. When I got to the inlet (Sinclair) that part of the base is on, I could see what looked like small aircraft carriers ahead. However, the highway skirts right along the edge of the inlet and there was no place to stop for photographs (was it designed this way for security reasons?) or to stop for any reason as there was no shoulder, just a concrete barrier along the sea wall. I was thinking about going into Bremerton to see if I could find the ships, however, I still had lots of ground to cover, I did not have my sailor hat with me and as it was 9 a.m., I kept going.

Near Discovery Bay

I turned unto Highway 3 for the run up to Port Angeles where I wanted to visit Olympia National Park.The scenery along Highways 3 and 104 which crosses Squamish Harbour on a long bridge that has a lift in the centre span to allow the Trident nuclear subs and other navy traffic to reach the Bangor (Kitsap) base  and later on Highway 101 is very beautiful. With the ocean (Strait of Juan de Fuca) on one side and the forest on the other, it reminded me from time to time of the drive around the north shore of  Lake Superior.

S'Kallam Totems

When I got close to Sequim, two very striking and colourful totem poles and buildings with Native American designs at Jamestown drew me off the highway (Highway 101, the Olympic Hwy). Located at the head of Sequim Bay, the home of the S’Klallam Tribe (The Strong People) of the Salish Peoples, it is a tranquil and beautiful stop along the highway. Some of the Tribe’s enterprises are located here as well as their administrative offices. I spent about thirty minutes walking around the grounds and reading the well documented history of the Tribe and area. I particularly liked the legend of how the Tribe got its name (you will have to go check it out).

Suitably refreshed (the stop has amenities for travellers), I continued westward on 101 to Port Angeles. As I entered the town, I stopped at a Subway and picked up a sandwich for lunch, thinking that I would have a picnic in the National Park. And this is what I did, but again I am getting ahead of myself.

Hurricane Ridge

I had read that Hurricane Ridge, a very scenic spot that included a picturesque drive up into the mountains of the Park, was well worth a visit. So when I saw the sign to turn left to the road that went into the Park, I did just that. A couple of streets up the hill and I was already leaving Port Angeles (it is a very narrow elongated town running along the water on one side and the mountains on the other), but I stopped at the National Park Welcome Centre (or Center as our US cousins misspell it). I chatted briefly with a Park Ranger who confirmed that the drive up and back, without stops would take about 90 minutes. So back in the car, I headed up the Heart o’ the Hills Road.

Tunnel Ahead

One more stop to pay an entrance fee at the Park entrance where the Ranger guessed that I was Canadian (the car had Washington plates, but it must have been my accent, eh?), and it was upward and onward on a windy, yet well maintained two lane road. I did not pass many people coming down the hill, there just wasn't that much traffic as the main summer season was over. Another benefit of travelling during off peak times. Shortly after leaving the Park entrance, I came to an overlook where I stopped to, well, look over the valley below. Port Angeles was below and across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, I could see Victoria, British Columbia in the hazy distance. 

Carrie Glacier

Just past this lookout, the road went through a tunnel before continuing on, climbing through several switchbacks up to the top where another Visitor Centre is located and the road (paved) ends. From here, you can easily see the Carrie glacier (what is left of it) on the mountain of the same name across the Elwha River Valley below. The Visitor Centre is located in an Alpine meadow, with several walking trails around that radiate around the meadow. The Centre is also the trail head for backpackers. I walked around a couple of the trails, marvelling at the stupendous views of the mountains and forests (and towns far below on the coast) as well as some of the wildlife.

Oh Deer

After my walk, I grabbed my sandwich and sat at a picnic table and ate lunch. It was a pretty spectacular place to have a picnic with the mountains all around, the sun shining and the bracing mountain air. After spending an hour at the top, it was time to descend back to Port Angeles and to continue on my way as I still had pretty far to go before I would stop for the night and it was almost two p.m.

Hurricane Ridge Visitor Centre

Shortly after leaving Port Angeles on Highway 101, I came to Lake Crescent, a fjord like lake that is very beautiful. Unfortunately, the road here hugs the side of the lake and is very narrow with no places to pull off to admire the view or take photos. So I had to be content with quick glances at the lake as I snaked along the shoreline and tried not to run into the scores of trucks hauling logs that were coming the other way.

Once past the lake, the road enters the Sol Duc Valley and follows the Sol Duc River for some distance all the way to the Town of Forks, Washington. As I pulled into town, I noticed that several stores and other commercial establishments had the word “Twilight” in their names. As I waited for the only traffic light in town to turn green, I noticed a “Twilight Tours” sign on the shop to my right. I thought to myself that twilight is a strange time to take a tour, and then it hit me. I was in the town where the Twilight vampire stories were written. Not having read them, I had no reason to stop in Forks (and one can never be too careful of a town reportedly full of vampires and werewolves) so continued on my way.

National Park Beach

Now heading south, the highway passed through more forests and then headed out to the coast for a few miles where it re-entered the National park. Several beaches, which are curiously numbered but not named can be found here, but it was pretty foggy as I drove along the coast so when I stopped to have a look, the fog made it difficult to photograph (and made it cold as well). As it was now 4 p.m. and I still had ninety minutes of driving to go to get to Ocean Shores, my next stop for the night, I kept on going. As soon as the highway headed inland again, the fog disappeared and the sun came out. There was not much to see (logged out areas, small communities) along this part of Highway 101 so I made pretty good time until I cut across country on smaller roads (I was now in Humptulips County, perhaps so named by a randy Dutchman) out to the coast again. And back into the fog as I approached my next stop, Ocean Shores.

Ocean Shores Birds

Ocean Shores Beach

With the summer beach season over, Ocean Shores was deserted. I pretty much had the motel I stayed in to myself. Only one other couple was there. After settling in, I went out for a walk to the beach, crossing the substantial sand dunes behind the motel to get to it. The description of the hotel was right in a manner of speaking; it did say it had an ocean view. If you had a telescope and if you were able to climb up on the roof of the hotel to see over the dunes, you could see the ocean (on non foggy days). There were not many people on the beach; there were more cars and horseback riders than others on foot like me. There were lots of birds however, running into and out of the surf as they looked for food. With the wind and foggy and wet conditions, I did not stay long as it was quite cold and I had only packed a light nylon pullover as I expected it to still be summer in Washington State. So I headed back to the motel, then out for a Chinese dinner later on before calling it a night.

The next morning I woke up again in a fog – literally. It had not dispersed overnight, so after eating breakfast, I headed out towards Seattle and my next stop, the Museum of Flight. First though, I needed gas for the car as the night before in the heavy fog, I had made it to town with very little left in the tank. There was a gas station at the corner about a mile away where I turned away from the coast so I pulled in. It did not look very promising, but it was open, so I picked up the pump nozzle and pushed the start button. As I pumped the gas, I noticed that the gallons and price gauge was spinning erratically. Indeed, when the tank was full, I had put over 100 gallons into it and the bill was over 300 dollars. I went in to pay and the attendant gave me the real price, closer to 35 dollars. Perhaps the pump was just forecasting the future price of gas.

Nieuport 28 C.1

Original Boeing Bldg

The drive to Seattle was fairly uneventful although much of it was spent driving through the fog that thickened each time the road got close to the water. After I passed through Aberdeen, a fairly large community, the road headed inland once again and the sun came out. I made good time despite the increasing traffic, particularly after passing by Olympia, the State Capital. I stopped for a bathroom break and to eat an apple just before Seattle at a rest stop and to let some of the rush hour traffic (or what I took for rush hour) to diminish. I arrived at the Museum of Flight at 10:30 a.m. It is located right at Boeing Field and the Boeing Aircraft Manufacturing Complex. Indeed, the original Boeing Shed where William Boeing built his first airplanes is part of the Museum. I spent the next 4 hours at the Museum touring its inside and outside exhibits. I particularly liked the way it presented its aircraft often putting them into diaoramas complete with sound effects to support their histories. Canada is represented at the Museum with a couple of exhibits. The last Sabre flown by Canada and retired in 1974 (CL13B Mk 6) and then by Boeing as a chase plane until 1991 is done up in RCAF insignia. Outside in the Air Park, a Canadian Pacific Super Constellation passenger plane has just been restored (it used to be on the Constellation Hotel near Pearson Airport) and displayed.

Flight Line

I left the museum at 3:30 to head up to Woodinville and the Winery. Despite having put "no tolls" into my GPS, at some point I drove across a bridge that later cost me $13 to cross (there were no signs anywhere indicating tolls). With the desperate shape of some cities in trying to repair their infrastructure, unseen tolls seems like a throwback to the old speedtraps of small southern towns). Anyway, I did not know that I had crossed a toll bridge, so continued to the St Michelle Winery's commercial store and property. It was a beautiful place and the wine tasting was quite enjoyable, particularly after the lady that was helping me found out I was from Ottawa (she was from Ogdensburg New York). She gave me a couple of other samples to taste that were not included in the official tasting fee, one of which I later bought to share with Daryl and Melanie later on that evening.

St Michelle Winery

I left the winery as it was closing at 5 p.m. and drove the short distance to the hotel. Daryl had picked a good one that was located close to restaurants (I ate at a Thai restaurant - when travelling, particularly in the States, it is difficult to get vegetables except at Asian restaurants) and then relaxed until Daryl and Melanie arrived. They brought their glasses up to my room and we toasted each other with an excellent wine and some hors d'oeuvres I had (peanuts that Marie had thrown into my suitcase) before we called it a night.

The next morning, we ate "breakfast" in the lobby of the hotel - a muffin and a coffee. Daryl was the only one who had a chair - this was the only downside to the hotel - no breakfast room. But it was a beautiful day, so we checked out and started our trip to the Yakima Valley - by going back to the St. Michelle winery. Daryl had a shipment waiting for him there as he and Melanie are members of the wine club. While he went in search of the wine, Melanie and I took a quick walk to get some exercise. After he picked up his shipment, we crossed the road to the Columbia Winery to get another shipment that was waiting for him but this one eluded us as no one was around the wine room.

So we started the drive to Yakima. Daryl drove and I was the navigator. And stick man, although Daryl would probably argue I was more of a thick man as he had to ask several times on the trip for me to shift gears for him. Melanie graciously gave up her seat for the back of the car (where we soon learned she had cached home made baking and other goodies).

As it was rush hour, we took back roads from Woodinville through Redmond, then a beautiful drive (except for the construction) along the east side of Lake Sammamish with its beautiful homes (Microsoft Corporation Headquarters is on the other side of the lake, in case you were wondering), eventually connecting with Interstate 90. From here it was all up hill. We spent the next hour climbing up into the Cascade Range, entering the Wenatchee National Forest and continuing up to Snoqualmie Pass (921 metres) where there is a large ski resort. From here, it was then all downhill to the Yakima (pronounced Yak ima) Valley. As we exited from the National Forest and entered the rain shadow, the vegetation quickly changed from trees to brush and then to desert scrub. The temperature had also climbed from the 22 C of Seattle to 30 C. We turned off I-90 at Ellensburg unto the I-82 and the run into Yakima, the largest city in the valley.

Yakima, before it became a wine growing area, was an agricultural area primarily growing fruit. We walked by a large and noisy Del Monte fruit company plant later in the day. We could see lots of what appeared to be pears heading up a conveyor belt into the plant. All of this agriculture, including the growing of grapes, requires irrigation from the Yakima and other rivers as the valley receives less than 25 centimetres of rain a year with much of that coming in the winter.

Tallest Building in Yakima

We found our hotel but as we were too early to check in, I popped in to the lobby to ask about a good place to eat lunch. The clerk suggested the Powerhouse Grill which was just across a couple of parking lots so that is where we went for hamburgers and fries. After lunch, it was time to start our wine touring and we did not have to go far, just downtown to where some Wineries had their tasting rooms. We had done some research and had selected three to visit. The first, Gilbert Cellars, was near the old train station. We chose our samples to try and spent some time comparing the cabs to the malbecs and syrahs. We all agreed that none really stood out for us (although if memory serves, Daryl did buy a couple of bottles).

Kana Tasting

We left Gilbert Cellars and headed east on West Yakima Avenue to our next stop, Kana Winery. Kana makes many blended wines, but their Syrah was better than Gilbert's offering and I really liked their Tempranillo. The tasting room is interestingly decorated as well, located on the ground floor of the Larson Building, the tallest building at 11 stories in Yakima, an Art Deco inspired brick edifice.

Now fortified after two tastings of several wines in fairly rapid order, we set out to find the third candidate, Treveri Cellars. We headed West on West Yakima, stopping for a few minutes to walk along the shops and restaurants of Track 29, which is comprised of old railway cars as the base. Very few of them were open, however, as the summer season was past.

Backside of Track 29

With the sun beating down, we continued west to 2nd Avenue, turned south and walked for another three blocks (which are, being out west, quite large) until we came to Treveri located in the back of a non-descript low rise building. Treveri's speciality is sparking wines and I could tell from the developing sparkle in Melanie's eyes that she was looking forward to trying them. I am not big on white sparking wines, but Treveri makes sparkling reds as well, so I was game to try them. With Daryl being a good designated driver, I had to keep Melanie company as we tasted both white and reds.  I actually enjoyed the sparkling Syrah. Melanie declared the sparkling whites to be good quality as well so Daryl added a few more bottles to the box he was now carrying on his lap. Good thing too, because by this time in our tasting day, I am not sure I could safely help to carry the several bottles he had acquired at the three wineries as we headed back to the car.

While we had been getting ready to hit the wineries, Daryl had noticed on the back of a Yakima Promotional brochure an ad for the L'Il Brown Smoke Shack, which promised good cigars. So we plugged the address into the GPS and headed for the hills as it was located outside of town, on the side of the hills that form part of the Yakama Indian Reservation.

Cigarette Drive Though

As can be found everywhere in the Land of the Automobile, the Smoke Shack has a drive through window. As we were not driving a pick-up truck, we ignored the line and went in. Daryl made a bee line for the large walk in humidor and Melanie and I followed him in. We were soon joined by a clerk who at first seemed to me to be a bit unreceptive, perhaps he did not take us for smokers (which is accurate for Melanie and me). But Daryl soon warmed him up, particularly when he started ordering 5 of this cigar, and 5 of that as the two of them discussed the merits of several types and countries of origin (not Cuba of course, although I bet he had Cubans somewhere in the store). With several cigars in hand (or in a large bag - I think Daryl bought over two dozen), a couple of lighters and a cutter thrown in for good measure, we left the shop and headed back to the hotel for a much needed rest. Later that evening, we had a good dinner at Gasperetti's, an Italian restaurant that specializes in seafood that was recommended by the hotel clerk.

Lake Myron Reflections

The next morning, we grabbed a continental breakfast at the hotel and before heading out of town to Rattlesnake Ridge where most of the wineries we wanted to visit were located, we decided to take a walk along the Yakima Greenway Trail that we had seen the day before. It was just across the road from the hotel, so we crossed and headed through a parking lot and complex of small offices thinking we could get to the trail along Lake Myron at the back of the complex. No such luck as we gazed forlornly at the lake through the chain link fence. Retracing our steps, we found the small, almost hidden entrance to the trail and headed down and around the Lake for a pleasant morning walk. We emerged from a small copse of trees back into industrial blight, walking between two large manufacturing buildings and crossing the street again to the hotel.

It was now time to set out for the wineries as they would be opening around 10 a.m. and we had to drive about 30 minutes south of Yakima to get to the Rattlesnake Hills where most of the local wine growers have their properties and tasting rooms. As we drove along Interstate 82, we passed several large fruit processing facilities that were busy with the harvest of pears, plums, apples, and peaches. The processing plants, which were probably either canning the fruit or making jams, jellies and juices, were surrounded by large wooden bins, each the size of a van, which had recently been full of fruit that had been trucked to the plants. The Valley grows a lot of produce starting in the spring. It also grows 80% of the US hop production although we did not see any growing during our travels.

Rattlesnake Hill Vinyards

We exited Interstate 82 at the town of Zillah (where the famous Church of God, Zillah, is located) and, turning north, headed up the small farming roads into the vinyards of the area. The vinyards occupy the southern facing slopes of the Rattlesnake Hills and are interspersed with fruit orchards. We could see that there was a lot of picking going on, mostly of fruit as it was a bit early still in the year for the grapes to be picked although the grapes we passed appeared to be quite ripe.

Ripening Grapes

The 17 wineries and 29 vinyards of the Rattlesnake Hills American Viticulture Area (AVA) are located at about the same latitude as the Burgundy region of France. The soils of the hills are volcanic which certainly enhances the quality of the wines from this fairly young wine producing area. Unlike most European wine appellations of origin, an AVA specifies only a geographical location from which at least 85% of the grapes used to make a wine must have been grown. An AVA does not stipulate what kinds of grapes can be grown, nor what kind of wine can be made from those grapes. Indeed, in the Rattlesnake Hills, the wineries primarily produce Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot and Syrah reds and Chardonnay and Riesling whites. Some speciality wines are also made; we tasted a fine Port style wine at the aptly named Portteus Winery. I liked it so much that I bought a bottle of it. (I could only bring two bottles back with me on the plane; unfortunately most of the growers in the Yakima Valley do not ship to Canada although some of the grapes grown here do end up in wines that are available at the LCBO vintages stores in Ontario (St Michelle and Columbia Crest brands for example).

Mt Ranier

 There were lots of signs pointing to wineries in this area so it is fairly easy to find them; we had selected a few based on some research we had done before our trip. We had decided that we could probably fit four wineries into our tasting schedule for the day before we would have to head from the hills back to the big city.  . It was a beautiful fall day and as we climbed in elevation, we could see far off to the west, Mounts Adams and Ranier (the latter about 170 km away as the crow flies).

Old Wine Tank

Our first stop was at the Silver Lake Winery and we arrived right at 10 a.m. Nothing like getting started early, I say. Silver Lake is somewhat unique in that it is owned by wine consumers, about 1,200 at last count. We tried some of the cask wines (ready to drink right away) and worked our way up to the reserve wines which can be cellared. Daryl picked up a few more for his collection, and then it was off to Portteus Wineries which is smaller in size. A large, yet very friendly dog welcomed us as we walked to the tasting room; it was a counter located in what appeared to also be the shipping room. Less pretentious than Silver Lake, nevertheless, we found the wines to be a bit better than Silver Lake's (maybe we got to taste the better ones as we were actually talking to the wine maker). As mentioned earlier in this blog, we found out that Portteus made a port style wine, and after tasting it, I decided to buy a bottle. I bought a bottle of his Portteus Port, 2007. During our conversation, we asked about some of the other wineries in the area. He suggested we make a change to our list and told us that we had to go visit his buddy's operation as he said he was making some really good wines. As Melanie was posting with her blue monkey (see photo below of blue monkey), the owner told us a story about how a small stuffed Teddy Bear makes it rounds among several of the wine producers and invited us to take the Teddy Bear down the road to his buddies which we agreed to do.

Cultura Gas Pumps

That is how we found the best wines as we all agreed (at least on this tasting trip). Cultura Wines is a small husband and wife operation. Located in what was formerly a car repair facility, with old gas pumps still located outside, when we pulled into the yard we were not sure if it was even open as there was no one about. However, the owner soon appeared from his house to welcome us. Tad Fewell turned out to be a great host as well as an excellent winemaker. Daryl hit it off right away with him particularly since Tad was sporting a Perdermo Cigars T-Shirt. Cultura Wines is a small two person operation, just Tad and his wife Sarah make small lot handcrafted wines with a distinct European style. Sarah was off at her regular job and we were lucky to find Tad at home as he is usually working at his family's fruit farm during the fruit harvest. After we had spent some time in his wine tasting room sampling his excellent wines, and after buying a few bottles, Daryl invited him to smoke a cigar with him.

At Cultura Winery

So we went back out front to some tables on a small patio and he brought us some really good local cheese and fruit and ice water that we ate and drank while Daryl, Tad and his brother-in-law (who raced over when he found out a fellow cigar aficionado (Daryl) had dropped by) smoked their cigars and even traded some. We were having such a good time that I think Tad was a bit disappointed when another car of wine tasters dropped by and he had to go play host with them.  Unfortunately, we had to break up the impromptu cigar party as we still wanted to visit one more winery that was on our original list. So we said goodbye to Tad and his brother-in-law and headed up the road to the Two Mountain Winery.

We again were greeted by a large dog (one of several that wander in and out of the tasting room and facilities) as we drove into the Two Mountain Winery parking lot. Sampling the Two Mountain wines bought to a close our wine tasting as we had to get back to Seattle in time for dinner before Daryl and Melanie headed home to Vancouver. By this time Daryl had a trunk load of wine from the two days of tastings, as well as a bag of cigars.  So with Melanie and I feeling pretty mellow from the day of wine tasting (Daryl again  had played the responsible role of designated driver, reducing his tasting after the Cultura experience), we  headed back to Seattle, arriving just in time for rush hour. We had dinner at a restaurant near where I had left my car and at 7:30 p.m., I said goodbye to Daryl and Melanie and headed off to my hotel in Sea Tac where I dropped off my luggage, then took the rental car to the airport and caught the shuttle bus back to the hotel. By the time I settled in, it was after 10 p.m. and as I had an early flight the next morning to Vancouver and then to Ottawa, I packed it in.

It was a good week spent in Washington State and |I am glad I went out. I enjoyed the great company of our good friends (and the wine tasting as well). If you ever get out that way, say hello to Tad for us - you certainly won't want to miss his winery or several of the others in the area.