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| Columbia Crest |
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| We arrived the day after Columbia Crest's Silver Solstice Celebration. What a difference a day makes! Over 500 guests attended the Solstice Celebration. The next day Columbia Crest was once again a tranquil and beautiful winery to visit. Their vineyards were planted over a four year period from 1978-1981 and their first commercial wine was released in 1985. Part of the Ste Michelle group from the beginning, Columbia Crest has become one of the largest wineries in Washington. With winemakers like Doug Gore, Ray Einberger and others who have apprenticed at Columbia Crest before moving on to other projects, Columbia Crest has all of the necessary tools to produce top-notch wine. With no appointment we ventured into the tasting room to find they were offering a tutored vertical tasting of their signature Walter Clore Red Wine! With grapes sourced from the finest Columbia Crest vineyards this has long been one of our favorites. With tasting notes we worked our way through vintages 2000-2004. Our favorite was the 2002 with the 2000 also showing beautifully right now. Here is how Wine Spectator rated these wines: 2000 Walter Clore Red - 92 Points Wine Spectator $35 2001 Walter Clore Red - 92 Points Wine Spectator $35 2002 Walter Clore Red - 93 Points Wine Spectator $35 2003 Walter Clore Red - 90 Points Wine Spectator $35 2004 Walter Clore Red - 90 Points Wine Spectator $44 But believe it or not Columbia Crest is known perhaps more for their value priced wines than their top-tier releases. With recognizable labels like Horse Heaven Hills (H3), Grand Estates and Two Vines, Columbia Crest puts out some of the best $15 and under wines in the country. The Grand Estates label alone regularly puts out red and white wines in the $10 price range that score highly with the critics and wine drinkers alike. If you have not checked out the H3 label please do so. At a $15 price tag this is great wine. Both the Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon scored 90 points in their current releases. Here are some of Columbia Crest's value wines to look for: 2006 H3 Chardonnay - $15 2005 H3 Cabernet Sauvignon - $15 2006 Grand Estates Chardonnay - $11 2005 Grand Estates Merlot - $11 2005 Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon - $11 2006 Two Vines Vineyard 10 White Wine - $8 2006 Two Vines Vineyard 10 Red Wine - $8 Needless to say Columbia Crest is a must see while traveling in Eastern Washington. We stop here on a regular basis while venturing to the Red Mountain or Walla Walla AVA's. We encourage you to visit the Columbia Crest link on this page to find out more about this fabulous winery and the people responsible for these great wines. Northwest Wine Fan has very limited quantities of these and other Columbia Crest wines available for purchase. Inquire by email or by telephone. |
| Columbia Crest Highway 221 - Columbia Crest Drive Paterson, WA 99345 509-875-2061 Tasting Room Hours Open 7 days a week 10 - 4 Excluding major holidays Winemaker: Ray Einberger |
| The Columbia Crest Links: |
| Talk to the Cellarmaster: |
| Name: |
| Tim Sinniger |
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