Washington Wine of the Week – Selections for Spring, 2025

For the week of June 15, 2025: Windrow Estate Winery 2016 Nebbiolo – OK, so this winery is located a few miles south of the Washington border, west of the town of Milton-Freewater. But the grapes are sourced from the Walla Walla Valley AVA, and the winery is a hidden gem that is absolutely worth searching out. Now about this Nebbiolo: it spent six years in the barrel and the bottle before its release; and the wait time has allowed it to mature into a must-try-it-to-appreciate-it winner. Slightly brickish in color, it smacks of bright red currant and cranberry fruit on the palate, before finessing into a mile-long finish with touches of caramel, toffee, and butterscotch. A scant 45 cases were produced, but the wine is still available. Buy it NOW!

For the week of June 8, 2025 : Kontos Cellars 2021 Malbec – Winemaker Cameron Kontos has crafted an exquisitely balanced wine with this 2021 Malbec, sourced from Seven Hills and Summit View Vineyards. Lots of juicy blackberry, black currant, and blueberry fruits lead off, transitioning to more savory characteristics from licorice and black olive on the finish. A splash of Earl Grey tea and a hint of minerality also come through, framed with nicely integrated tannins on the closing stanza. Operations Manager Eric Tatro notes that the supply for this vintage is winding down, but the 2022 is waiting in the wings, and promises to be another winner.

For the week of June 1, 2025: Bontzu Cellars 2018 Petit Verdot – Over the past decade or so, Washington winemakers seem to have gravitated to more finessed, lighter styles of wines. Walla Walla’s Sorin Dumitru takes a more traditional approach, with minimum intervention that often results in more robust, full-bodied wines. Is there room in the world of wine for both styles? Of course! This Petit Verdot offers everything for those that enjoy big, structured red wines. It’s packed with intense dark fruits of dried cherries, cassis, and black plum, with plenty of tannic backbone to insure that it be kept in the cellar for years to come. Try it with a charbroiled steak, lamb burgers, or a hearty stew.

For the week of May 25, 2025: Mellisoni Vineyards 2024 Sauvignon Blanc – Chelan’s Rob and Donna Mellison carry quite a few varietals in their portfolio, but this is their first-ever Sauvignon Blanc release in the winery’s 20-year history. If you like big, bold, flavorful Sauvy B’s, this one is most definitely for you. Vibrant aromas and flavors of pineapple and lemon/lime citrus fill the glass, and the finish is slightly weighty along with brisk, laser-sharp acidity. Nicely chilled, it’s absolutely perfect for warmer weather, spring and summertime sipping. Sourced from Stillwater Creek Vineyards, located in Washington’s Royal Slope AVA.

For the week of May 18, 2025: Isenhower Cellars 2022 Francisca’s Vineyard Viognier – This Gold medal-winning, 91-point Viognier from the 2024 Pacific Northwest Wine Competition hits all the right notes that will have Viognier lovers swooning. The wine’s heft, with tropical flavors of mango and casaba melon, is balanced nicely with a splash of racy acidity from all things citrus: lemon zest, lemon verbena, and candied lemon. The label carries an enjoyment date through 2029, so there’s still plenty of time to tuck this one away for future tasting. Aged in French oak puncheons for six months and 320 cases produced.

For the week of May 11, 2025: Arenness Cellars 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, Les Collines Vineyards – Newly opened Arenness Cellars should be on your must-try list of Walla Walla boutique wineries, located among the cluster of Airport Incubator Wineries in the space previously occupied by Eternal Wines. Winemaker/General Manager Bob Bailey is off to a tremendous start, sourcing his grapes from some of the state’s top-tier vineyards, including Dionysus, Dubrul, Phinny Hill, and this gem from Les Collines in the Walla Walla Valley. No new oak was used during the aging process, so this wine doesn’t exhibit any heavy-handedness from Les Collines’ sometimes big, super-concentrated fruit. That, in Bailey’s words, “makes it more accessible.” Luscious fruit flavors have come to the surface, particularly blackberry and ripe pomegranate, followed by artful touches of bittersweet chocolate on the finish. This is an absolute stunning Washington Cab, with both instant drinkability and plenty of aging potential.

For the week of May 4, 2025: Maryhill Winery 2022 Pinot Gris – Maryhill’s Richard Batchelor is one of a handful of winemakers whose skills can cover a wide range of varietals and elevate them to medal-worthy status. Originally from New Zealand, he’s now in his 16th year as winemaker for the Columbia Gorge-based winery.

This delicious Pinot Gris earned Double Gold Medals at both the 2024 Pacific Northwest Wine Competition and Great Northwest Wine Platinum Awards. A lovely fragrance of orange blossoms leads off, with generous flavors of baked apple, pear, and gooseberry. The wine displays exceptional length, with leesy notes and a mouth-coating, full-bodied finish that’s also slightly and pleasantly unctuous.

For the week of April 27, 2025: A Toast to Spring Releases – For the Washington wine industry, springtime means warmer weather, more events at tasting rooms and wineries, and a chance for consumers to try a bevy of new releases. The 2024 vintage is out in force with a variety of whites and rosés to taste, and 2023 and prior vintages of reds are also popping up on tasting room menus. The Yakima Valley just wrapped up its annual Spring Barrel Weekend and the Walla Walla Valley kicks off its annual Spring Release Weekend on May 2. Many wineries are back to full-time hours and reservations are often encouraged to secure the tasting times you want. Customer service and great new wines are front-and-center, and this is arguably one of the best times of the year to go exploring and experience what Washington has to offer. Grab some friends, get out there, and start tasting!

For the week of April 20, 2025: Northstar Winery 2021 Cabernet Franc – Northstar has been a fixture on the Walla Walla wine scene for 20+ years, and during that time, winemaker David “Merf” Merfeld, has earned a reputation for crafting a long list of gorgeous red wines.

This true-to-the-varietal Cabernet Franc will have lovers of the grape quietly moaning inside with its perfect combination of both savory and fruity elements of taste. Violets on the nose, along with black olive and raspberry flavors come to the forefront. The finish concludes with nice, spicy touches of white pepper and cardamom along with a streak of acidity and pliable tannins. Get the grill ready for some beef or lamb to pair with this one!

For the week of April 13, 2025: Desert Wind Winery 2021 Mourvedre – This mind-blowing Mourvedre from the Prosser, Washington winery excels on every sensory level. Perfume-like aromatics of fresh, red raspberry and bing cherry are followed by an explosion of raspberry/chocolate cordial flavors, bramble, and white pepper. A layer of slightly chalky tannins fuse with brisk acidity for a nicely complex finish. The sum of the parts is an exquisitely balanced, crowd-pleasing, dark ruby colored wine that will win you over to Mourvedre if you’ve never experienced this varietal. 93 points and a Double Gold medalist at the 2024 Pacific Northwest Wine Competition.

For the week of April 6, 2025: Cougar Crest Estate Winery 2020 Block Eleven Syrah – Cougar Crest owner/winemaker Debbie Hansen hits it out of the park with this amazing, Double Gold-winning Syrah. Lots of berry aromatics and flavors upon entry: blueberry, blackberry, and raspberry, and then a nice juxtaposition of smoky/roasted coffee elements with bright pomegranate on the finish. There’s also nuanced touches of herbs and baking spices that make this wine pair surprisingly well with pork tacos and Spanish rice. Long, rich tannins also give it excellent aging potential. Cougar Crest features Washington tasting rooms in Walla Walla, Woodinville, and Spokane, along with a Lake Oswego, Oregon location.

For the week of March 30, 2025: Structure Cellars 2022 Oculus Viognier – Brian Grasso and Brandee Slosar are making all the right moves at their Seattle-based winery (which has now expanded to a second location in Tacoma); wine-centric events, an engaged wine club, and, naturally, some awfully good wines. This Viognier earned Double Gold honors at last year’s Pacific Northwest Wine Competition, and the judges loved its weightiness, supplied by ample flavors of Golden Delicious apple, peach, and pear fruit. In addition to the yummy finish of creamsicle, hazelnut, and sweet spices, the wine also carries a bit of a steely character to balance everything out. Sourced from Conner Lee, Olsen, and Boushay Vineyards.

For the week of March 23, 2025: Turtle Wines 2021 Chardonnay – Newcomer David Hess is off to great start as the Turtle winemaker, and he recently opened his first tasting room in downtown Walla Walla. If you like properly oaked Chardonnays, this one is absolutely dreamy. Peachy/nectarine flavors come to the forefront and meld into more tropical fruits of papaya and mango as the wine gently warms. A delicious slice of pineapple upside-down cake follows, with both creamy and mineral notes on the extreme finish. This wine scored a Silver at the 2024 Pacific Northwest Wine Competition, but the additional year of maturity could very well push it into the Gold category today. A steal at only $25 a bottle.