Washington Wine Country - Day 1

The alarm went offf, and in the car we went! Can't think of a better way to celebrate another great year of marriage!

The scenery was just breathtaking! Before we crossed over the Cascade Mountains, there were full, lush green mountains everywhere. I couldn't help but to feel so small and insignificant against the giant landscape. We kept on truckin' up, through, and back down the mountains and as our ears finished popping from the decreasing elevation, we watched the entire landscape change before our eyes. The once green and lush mountains now were brown mou

ntains/giant rolling hills. The temperature went from a cool 68 degrees to an immediate 77 and rising. It was as if we were transformed to a different part of the country. It was still absolutely gorgeous scenery that made the long drive go by very quickly.

Before we knew it, we were seeing a sign welcoming us to Wine Country. We had arrived! We stopped at 4 wineries on the way to Walla Walla. It would have been more but the other ones I had mapped out were closed. Bonair Winery was our first stop. (pic on left) The grounds were absolutely beautiful! Rows and rows and rows of little grapes all perfectly labeled as to indicate the varietal of the grape and a pair of little fat vineyard ducks taking a nap by one of the ponds. Their wine was pretty good. I loved the Merlot and A loved the Cab but we declined the urge to buy anything. Next stop was Paradisos del Sol Winery. What a fun experience that was! The grounds were eclectically decorated with metal art, random signs, and a giant coy pond as we entered the tasting room. There was another couple already there ready to begin their tasting so we joined them. The tastings were accompanied with a food pairing which, if I don't say so myself, were paired to perfection! We were even given the recipes to all the side dishes. The last wine we tried was a Riesling that was paired with a toasted marshmallow. We all were given a little tea candle, a toothpick, and a mini marshmallow. We toasted the marshmallow over the little flame while the pourer explained the history and info about the wine. SO FUN! We walked out with a bottle of their Paradisos Red, a blend claiming to be the worlds best pizza wine. We shall see. :) We made a stop off at Portteus Winery. Nice wines, LOTS of tastings but nothing that knocked my socks off. Perhaps it was the wine pourer that turned us off... he was very strange. Our last winery of the day was Tucker Cellars Winery. Again great wines, but what really surprised me was some of their whites. Typically wines such as a Riesling and Gewurztraminer are really more like sugar water in my opinion but the sweeter wines at Tucker Cellars were wonderfully complex and surprisingly not overly sweet; just crisp and refreshing! We walked out with a Gewurztraminer and one called Indian Summer, a pinot noir rose. MMM!

An hour 1/2 drive southeast and we were at our suite. It is absolutely beautiful! I'll just show you pictures:

Walking through the door. On the end table they left us a bottle of wine!

bed, fireplace, Tv, DVD player...

Bathroom with a tray of goodies!

Shower/Tub Area

We freshened up and headed to our dinner at Whitehouse Crawford. It was a rustic elegant atmosphere with maybe 7 tables of people; not many people out eating upscale dinners on a Wednesday night. We started our dining experience with wine of course! ordering a bottle of wine from Cotes du Rhone in France. For dinner, A and I choose the same Pre Fixe menu. Our salad was a spring salad with wild greens from Oregon, edible flowers and some warm goat cheese on a toasted piece of rustic bread. Main course was grilled lamb loin with chickpeas and spinach. The lamb was cooked to perfection and just melted away in my mouth. Dessert was a twice baked chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and candied orange peel as a garnish. All in all a pretty nice meal. Nothing that knocked my socks off but then again, I'm a tough food critic. :)

After a long day we cam home, crashed, and are now ready to see what another day has in store for us! Stay Tuned!

Wine bottle count: 3