Swiftwater Cellars, located off Interstate 90 near the towns of Roslyn and Cle Elum may well be the state\u2019s quintessential destination winery.<\/p>\n
With first-class accommodations, recreational activities, restaurants, and, oh yes, an excellent winery, this is a location worth searching out for a relaxing getaway.<\/p>\n
The winery features three labels: the entry level No. 9<\/strong> (in reference to the nearby long abandoned Roslyn No. 9 mine), Zephyr Ridge<\/strong>, and the top-of-the-line Swiftwater Cellars<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Today I\u2019ll conclude my two-part series by focusing on some of the \u201cbest of the best\u201d wines I sampled with winemaker Linda Trotta during a recent visit.<\/p>\n Trotta\u2019s philosophy about winemaking: \u201cI like acidity and like tannins, but I don\u2019t want them to insult you. I think of (my wines) as an \u2018Evita\u2019 style: powerful but with finesse.\u201d <\/p>\n With a relatively small production of about 4,500 cases annually, her deft touch and focus on producing flawlessly balanced wines is evident in everything I tasted. <\/p>\n If you press me to choose an all-around favorite I\u2019d have to lean towards the No. 9 2013 Riesling<\/strong> (about $18). This wine rocked my world with explosive, mouth-watering cantaloupe and green melon flavors up front and a sassy splash of orange zest. The .9-percent residual sugar content is nicely steadied by bracing, steely acidity. This riesling-lover\u2019s dream is perfect for sipping or pairing with spicy Asian cuisine.<\/p>\n Three distinctly different chardonnays are also currently available, which gives them broad-ranging wineophile appeal.<\/p>\n An unoaked No. 9 2012 Chardonnay <\/strong>(about $20) opens with gorgeous stone fruit aromas, gentle citrus flavors and a kiss of ruby red grapefruit; the Zephyr Ridge 2012 Chardonnay<\/strong> (about $22) offers sublime baked apple flavors with a round, slightly creamy finish and a perfectly measured touch of toasted oak; and the Swiftwater 2011 Chardonnay <\/strong>(about $28) drinks like a fine French Chablis, with a fragrant hint of ash on the nose, bright apple and green pear on the mid-palate and a slightly buttery trailing note.<\/p>\n In addition to two pinot noirs there are a bevy of reds to choose from. I enjoyed the No. 9 2010 Red<\/strong> (about $28), a blend of syrah, cabernet sauvignon and malbec with spicy black plum flavors and great acidity. It begs for a pairing with medium-rare steak or roast duck.<\/p>\n The Zephyr Ridge 2011 Merlot <\/strong>(about $35) is another winner and its dusty, earthy cherry flavor profile reminded me of something from Zillah\u2019s Two Mountain Winery.<\/p>\n There are also two Swiftwater Proprietary Reds <\/strong>(a 2009 and 2010 vintage, at $50 each and both superb); and the crown jewel, the Swiftwater 2010 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon<\/strong> (about $85). The red cherry fruit, acidity, tannins and oak are impeccably balanced, easily meeting the high expectations for a wine at this price point. Can\u2019t visit Swiftwater Cellars firsthand? You\u2019ll find their wines locally at Seifert and Jones Wine Merchants in Bellingham.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Swiftwater Cellars, located off Interstate 90 near the towns of Roslyn and Cle Elum may well be the state\u2019s quintessential destination winery. With first-class accommodations, recreational activities, restaurants, and, oh yes, an excellent winery, this is a location worth searching out for a relaxing getaway. The winery features three labels: the entry level No. 9 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-washington-wines","category-from-the-bellingham-herald"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1704"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2017,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1704\/revisions\/2017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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