Welcome to a Virtual Taste Washington!

As we all know, Taste Washington, the country’s largest single region wine event, was cancelled this year due to the outbreak of COVID-19. This weekend, we’ll be bringing you a taste of Taste Washington by posting information about some of the wineries that were planning to participate. This information was requested and collated by the Washington State Wine Commission, and is being shared in partnership with their ‘A Taste of (Taste) Washington’ digital showcase on various social media channels (InstagramFacebookTwitterNew Epicenter site).

Wineries were asked: 1) How would you describe Washington wine in one word? You will see that word at the beginning of most of the posts below. 2) What makes you / your wine unique? They were also asked about promotional programs they were running. Below are some of their responses. This is not a comprehensive list of all wineries that were planning to participate. Just a taste. More to follow throughout the weekend.

Saturday and Sunday night we’ll also be doing a ‘Virtual Grand Tasting’ on FacebookTwitter, and Instagram, drinking wines from 2020 Taste participants (see list here) starting at 6:30pm Pacific. Join us!

Chateau NoElle

Collaborative. No zero sum game here.  The rising tide lifts all boats.  Wineries and vineyards working together to achieve the best possible wines. Chateau NoElle wines are crafted from grapes we grow and source that allow us to produce truly food friendly wines featuring nuanced flavors and aromatics that emphasize both diversity of fruit and earth while balancing palate cleansing acidity with moderate alcohol.  Chateau NoElle Vineyards & Winery is a place to relax and share stories among the vines. Come for the wine. Stay for the community. We’re fulfilling our inaugural wine club orders this month.  Sign up to be a part from the beginning https://chateaunoelle.com/apps/wine-club.  Shipping to Washington residents is available or pick up at the winery.   If neither of those options work, we’re offering free delivery within the greater Seattle area.

Columbia Winery

Collaboration. Columbia Winery is and always has been about Washington wine. We were the first to plant Cabernet Franc, Syrah, and Pinot Gris in the state. With much collaboration and innovation our founding members would plant and grow the grapes in eastern Washington and transport them back to Seattle for full wine production and aging. Acknowledging the fact that doing something so unusual would take a large amount of courage, innovation, knowledge, and experimentation from all involved. We’re so proud to be an inaugural part of Washington wine history and strive to continue the legacy.

Cote Bonneville

Exceptional. #WAWine is exceptionally unique, dynamic, innovative, and fun.  Quality is exceptionally high across the board. Côte Bonneville is unique because we craft world class wines from our spectacular, distinctive DuBrul Vineyard.  Where else in the world can you grow this diversity of grapes, from Riesling to Cabernet, and have them all be amazing?  Our mostly female team makes wines of balance and finesse that stand the test of time.  We were planning to showcase this range at TasteWA with our fresh, new Cab Franc Rosé poured beside our flagship Côte Bonneville Bordeaux blend from 2012.  We’re sorry to miss it!

Devison Vintners

Unstoppable. Devison is a husband and wife team. Started from scratch, by hand, this is our combined vision of winemaking. Spontaneous, untouched, heart and palate driven. We were looking forward to celebrating our official launch at Taste Washington, in the heart of our community, among new and old friends. While our hearts are slightly broken this amazing event had to be canceled, we are moving forward strong and ready to launch virtually! Our website is live and taking orders for direct shipment, wine club and newsletter sign ups! We would love to get to know you over social, email or phone. Get in touch at www.devisonvintners.com and if you come to Walla Walla make sure to drop us a line!

Doubleback

Exciting. Bledsoe Family Winery is a family of wines all from the beautiful Walla Walla Valley. Brand new in 2017 NFL Quarterback Drew Bledsoe and his Wife Maura introduce wines with an elegant expression from some of the oldest vines in the Valley and our very own estates. Completing the Walla Walla Valley roots of Drew’s hometown, the wines are made by Walla Walla native, Josh McDaniels.

Drum Roll Wine

Embarrassment-of-riches. We chose the name Drum Roll Wine because of wine’s capacity to surprise. We make wine to look forward to and we get the whole family involved (whether the kids like it or not). Plus, we’re the only winery we know of with its own music video!

Ducleaux Cellars

Genuine. We are a unique Wife/Husband winemaking team with six kids through a blended family (“aka The Brady Bunch”).  We make great Walla Walla Rhone inspired wines, but more importantly are focused on fun wine experiences at our small estate winery in the Walla Walla Valley area.

Dunham Cellars

Passion. The Walla Walla lifestyle is about relaxation and a slower pace of life. People come here to escape; to relax in the vineyards, drink wine and enjoy food crafted by world-class chefs. It’s very much about enjoying the best that the world has to offer at a leisurely pace… And we think Dunham is just a part of that equation. After 25 years we just want to keep doing what we are doing, have fun doing it, and enjoy life.

Dusted Valley

Undiscovered. If you remember one thing about Dusted Valley and Boomtown, I would ask that it be the personality of the wines. Wines that show freshness through and through and are seriously meant to be enjoyed. Wine needs to be celebrated but also be accessible. Thank you for sharing our story and enjoying what we work hard to deliver!

Eight Bells Winery

Our vineyard affiliations are the cornerstone of our winery. By having exclusive access to grapes from premier vineyards in Washington’s Yakima Valley it allows us to produce wines of depth, complexity and character.

Eleven Winery

Fun. At Eleven Winery, we believe wine is for everyone. We are dedicated to producing great wine and making sure that everyone has a great time drinking it. We believe that anyone who tells you that wine tasting is serious business or makes you feel bad about your level of wine knowledge is just plain missing the point.

Eternal Wines

Creative. Between the students and professors trying to push the envelope and the winemakers who are never happy to do the same thing; you get a wide array of flavors and styles. We have the freedom in Washington to be as creative as we want and our customers appreciate that too. I have 2 labels, both with very different goals and styles. Eternal is all single vineyard wines with an emphasis on Rhone varietals. These are small lots of age worthy wines. Drink Washington State focuses on AVA’s in WA and a more ready to drink style. We host a weekly Thursday night concert/ food truck series at the winery.

Figgins

Precision. An ambitious single vineyard project by the Figgins Family of Leonetti Cellar. The wine is uniquely located at the foot of Walla Walla’s Blue Mountains and is the highest elevation vineyard of substance in the state. Our tightly focused portfolio consists of our flagship Bordeaux blend – FIGGINS Estate Red, and FIGLIA, a blend of Merlot and Petit Verdot, plus a micro-production dry Riesling.  Our wines are known for their exceptional power and elegance while being terroir driven – a result of Chris Figgins’ realization of developing his dream vineyard site. We are now about to begin construction on a state-of-the-art new winey featuring the first excavated wine caves in the State of Washington underneath our vineyard.