A Note from the Editor

Stay Home for the Holidays: Top Ten Ways to Eat, Drink, and Travel Locally

It's good for our families, our communities, and the planet - and lucky for us, Washington is one of the best places on Earth. This year, stay home for the holidays. Here are ten ways to eat, drink, and travel locally this season. Enjoy!

1. Make your own holiday grape vine wreath: This weekend, November 15th and 16th, make your own holiday wreath at Silver Lake Winery in Zillah, using grape vines from their Roza Hills Vineyard. A wreath making expert will be on hand to help you craft your creation. The cost is $5 and clippers will be provided or you are welcome to bring your own, along with a food donation to support Northwest Harvest.

2. Skip the stores for Thanksgiving in Wine Country: Forget "Black Friday." The day after Thanksgiving, pack some turkey sandwiches and take in the gorgeous fall foliage along the scenic drive to Yakima for Thanksgiving in Wine Country. More than 50 Yakima Valley wineries participate in this annual event. Meet winemakers and chefs, taste library wines and new releases, nibble on gourmet foods, learn how to pair holiday dishes with wines, tour the wineries, receive discounts on wine purchases, and more.

3. Ski, spa, and sip - all in one day: Tired of the crowds at Stevens and Crystal? Just 45 more minutes in the car and you’re at White Pass Ski Resort, 12 miles southeast of Mt. Rainier National Park. Snowboard, ski, or snowshoe the day away on this glorious, roomy mountain. After the last run of the day, drive into Yakima for a Hot Stone Massage at Ummelina Spa, with complimentary Shea Butter hydration and Desert Water, a natural anti-aging body mask honoring the desert dry Yakima Valley. Then stroll down the street to Masset Winery and cozy up on one of the couches with an appetizer and a glass of wine. White Pass Season Pass holders get discounts here, as well as at Kana Winery, Hogue Cellars, and others.

4. Stock up your cellar with the savings: At Holiday Barrel Tasting in Walla Walla on December 5th and 6th, you'll get discounts on new releases, library wines, and more. Over 50 Walla Walla Valley wineries will be open with winemakers on hand to introduce their new wines and discuss the creative winemaking process. Try the new vintage and take home wines that are only available at the wineries and tasting rooms. (Bonus: festive holiday displays. Dunham, Reininger, L’Ecole, and others really dress up for the season!)

5. Give unique wine country gifts: Foodies and wine lovers will rejoice over the gift of a wine club membership, offering them a full year of exclusive discounts, tastings, special event invitations, and more. They'll also love restaurant gift certificates, and, of course, wine!  More great gifts include a jar of Sagecliffe's Gala and Fuji applesauce blended with Chardonnay grape juice, a really great pepper mill, Walla Walla Sweet Onion Mustard, artisan Petits Noirs chocolates, or a subscription to Edible Seattle, Wine Press Northwest, or Wino Magazine. Also, don't forget about Washington Wine Country's latest vintage print - a beautiful addition to any wine lover's home. 

 6. Get away from the big city bustle: Just 20 miles from Walla Walla, Waitsburg is a small town (population: 1,223) with a big appetite for good food and great wine. Monteillet Fromagerie makes fresh, artisanal goat and sheep cheeses. Visit the farm and buy some Chevre, Larzac, or Sauveterre to take home. You can also taste their cheese at the local watering hole, Jimgermanbar. The mostly local menu of “Etruscan Snacks” will pair oh-so-nicely with your favorite Walla Walla Valley wine. Need a little Southern comfort food instead? Go to the Whoopemup Hollow Café for Jambalaya, Mac ‘n Cheese, and cornbread. Their house red is made by Walla Walla’s own Balboa Winery. 

7. Pledge to eat and drink locally this holiday season:  When you eat and drink locally, you help maintain our local farms, vineyards, and open spaces, help reduce greenhouse gases caused by transporting food and wine from far away, and help create a food system that is good for people, our environment and our economy. Need another reason? Washington produces some of the best foods and wines in the country. Make your pledge at www.winecountrywashington.org. Bon apetit!

8. Relax and recharge at Yakima's hippest new tasting room: Following an afternoon of holiday shopping in downtown Yakima, relax at Gilbert Cellars' new swanky, organic-modern tasting room. On November 15th, they'll begin pouring several new releases: a 2006 Estate Malbec, a 2006 Estate Syrah, a 2006 Allobroges (a lovely blend of Syrah, Grenache, and Mourvedre), and a 2007 Chardonnay. Pick your favorite and then hunker down at a table with a few dishes from their Autumn menu - Bacon-wrapped Dates with Gorgonzola Mousse, Kabocha Winter Squash Bisque, or, for your sweet tooth, a Decadent Chocolate Syrah Brownie with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. Go on. You deserve it.

9. Check off one New Year’s resolution with a visit to Sagecliffe: Get a head start on 2009 with a Winter Retreat or GORGEous Girls Getaway at the Cave B Inn at Sagecliffe, poised 900 feet above the Columbia River. Slough off the past year with a Grape Seed Salt Scrub in the spa, nourish your body with Tendrils Restaurant's house-made pastas, organic meats, and fresh fruits, veggies, and herbs from the chef's garden, and center yourself with a guided meditation walk, river hike, vineyard tour, or bicycle ride. Also watch their calendar of events for special experiences including “Yoga and Wine,” which shows you how to let the practice of yoga bring you into the present moment and help you to fully appreciate all that wine country has to offer.

10. Grab a deal now on your next trip to wine country: It's easy with one-stop-shopping travel packages. The Tri-Cities Visitor and Convention Bureau offers a "Vintage Marriott Getaway" that includes one night in a suite at the Richland Marriott with a fireplace, whirlpool bath, and breakfast for two, plus a bottle of wine, free tastings, a $10 gift certificate for the bistro, and 10% off any purchase at Bookwalter Winery. The Yakima Valley Visitors and Convention Bureau offers similar packages, including a weekend for two of great wine, food, and music. Spend two cozy nights in the Wine Country B&B, enjoy dinner at The Greystone, and get two tickets for a concert and two glasses of wine at The Seasons Performance Hall. Happy New Year!

Facts & Tidbits

Did you know?

The greatest gift you can give this season is the gift of a donation to a cause.

Join in the goodwill this season and give your employees, friends, and family the gift of a $20 tax-deductible donation to Washington Wine Country on their behalf.

This is a wonderful gift on its own – or attached to your favorite hand-picked bottle of Washington wine! Simply send us your tax-deductible $20 donation(s). For every $20 donation, we will send you a special Washington Wine Country gift card and wine gift bag, along with a letter acknowledging your donation for tax purposes.

Today’s economic climate poses a great challenge for agricultural regions across the country. Here in Washington, however, we are fortunate to have a wine industry that provides an unparalleled economic opportunity to meet that challenge. Washington’s world-class wine growing region:

Living Wine Country

Along the Wine Road

CorkWest, the Pacific Northwest’s first premium natural cork producer, began operations on October 1, 2008 in the Port of Kennewick.

The company took over the equipment that the Port inherited when Corticas Janosa, a Portuguese wine cork company, ceased operations in 2006. The Port of Kennewick had numerous offers from companies wanting to purchase this equipment and move it to other states. However, Port officials held out for a company that would lease the equipment and space in the Oak Street Industrial Park. Their mission was to find a manufacturer who would use the equipment to create local jobs and promote economic development through the rapidly expanding Washington wine industry. This is the only regional wine cork maker outside Napa Valley, California, so it is an important step in helping lower the delivery costs paid by winemakers in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.   

CorkWest is a new division of CorkTec, a branding, treating, finishing and packaging supplier of natural cork wine stoppers headquartered in Stafford Springs, Connecticut. CorkWest will operate under the direction of Adam Schulz of Walla Walla, WA, who has been involved in the production, sales and marketing operations for several wineries in Walla Walla Valley.
 

Get a Taste of the Destination

Dan McCarthy's Top Ten Washington Wines for the Holidays:
Following is a list of Dan McCarthy’s favorite Washington wines for the holidays, available at his shop, McCarthy and Schiering Wine Merchants, with two locations in Seattle. Stop by for a free tasting - every Saturday from 11am to 5pm.
 

Washington Wine Country Collection

As we plan ahead for the coming new year, it is natural to reflect on the past twelve months and take stock of some of our accomplishments. For Washington Wine Country, 2008 was another remarkable year. Some of our successes include raising nearly a half million dollars at the Wine Country Celebration Grand Gala Benefit Dinner and Auction, expanding and enhancing the Regional Partnership Fund program, and launching a new collaborative public relations campaign with key partners from across the vineyard region. One of our most significant accomplishments, however, is the continued growth and development of our corporate sponsorship program.

Washington Wine Country's sponsors are truly our partners, whose vision and belief in our work is essential to our success. We are grateful to the following companies for their ongoing support, generosity, and commitment to Washington Wine Country. We encourage you to support or patronize these companies whenever possible.

                                

In-kind and Media Sponsors
KIMA 29  ·  KEPR 19  ·  Yakima Herald-Republic
FIJI Artisan Water  ·  Chukar Cherries

Friends of Washington Wine Country
AEGON Agriculture Investments · Almon Commercial Real Estate · Campbell & Company
Ciatti Company · Columbia Winery · Coventry Vale Winery
D and M Winery Systems, LLC · Ford of Walla Walla · Gene & Diane Mayer
Industrial Service & Electric · Moss Adams of Yakima · Pacific Rim Financial Group
Paintsmith Company · Precept Brands · Prudential Agricultural Investments
Stokes, Lawrence, Velikanje, Moore & Shore · Trilogy Partners
Vigneron Management, LLC ·  Wyckoff Farms