What we discovered on Winecation to Washington’s newest AVA Lake Chelan Wine Valley

We discovered some great wineries on our winecation to Lake Chelan Wine Valley.  We started with a great plan to visit a large number of wineries, I think 11 was the target…oh well…best laid plans…right?…. We ended up spending more time at the wineries we did visit, largely because of the great people running the tasting rooms; friendly, helpful and informative about the wine and their stories.  (Tip: The winter hours are a 4pm or 5pm close instead of 6 pm or later so plan accordingly)

We started off by meeting friends at Karma Vineyards.  This is a wonderful winery owned by Julie Pittsinger who is responsible for overseeing the vineyards, tasting room, and café. They have an awesome tasting room built into hill on the south side of Lake Chelan.  If I were going to open a winery this is exactly the model I would emulate.  Perfect ambiance, great wine, a wonderful story, and several WA State drink mysteries that you will need to discover for yourself.

We had a savory lunch at Karma Vineyards and enjoyed a flight of wine followed by a bottle of “Try” with lunch,(thanks Bill).  The flight had 3 red wines, the “Try” and “Zen” my favorite was the “Zen”…spicy, dark fruits with a long velvety finish.  Julie thanks for the great service and “Go Goats!”

With our need for food fulfilled and smiles on our faces we headed to Vin du Lac’s malbec release party.  We have attended some great wine release parties; Vin du lac gave it a good try, the results were a sign that the AVA is young.  We did discover our value wine of the weekend here, despite the fact we had to go to the Red Apple in Manson to buy it, for whatever reason they were tasting the 2006 Syrah $19 but not selling it at the release party… would have bought a case…oops.

Then it was off to Hard Row to Hoe, and I am not sure where to start.  Before for I walked in I had a winecation flashback of walking into Torbeck in Barossa Valley AU.  Great location overlooking the valley below with an orchard building ambiance still left over from way back when.  We were greeted by Don and Rudy when we walked in and they set up the 6 of us with glasses.  The first pour was the Edelzwicker, a wonderful blend of Gewurztraminer and Riesling that hit the spot.  This wine left me wishing for 85 degree weather and a bbq to pair with it.  Speaking of spots it was right after the Edelzwicker that the wall paper was pointed out to me, sure enough there were lots of spots being hit on the wallpaper, LOL…  this paper is rated R for immature 40+ audiences only.. loved it, especially the bathroom wall paper.   Next pour, a wine my palate really enjoyed the Miss de Miner, a wonderful cab that made me want to reach for the blue cheese and a steak knife, lots of chocolate, dark cherries and a hint of bacon fat.

Hard Row to Hoe is a great example of a boutique winery demonstrating their passion for wine quality over quantity.  Hard Roe has successfully re-branded their image bringing appeal, sexiness and an edge that sets a great wine tasting experience….great job!  Don thanks for bringing out the feather boas, the ladies loved them.

Our short winecation left us with a great impression of the Lake Chelan Wine Valley as a great emerging wine country that deserves more than one visit to experience all they have to offer.  This is region will likely double in size over the next two years.  This is a great winecation destination for couples, friends, and family so get out visit Lake Chelan Wine Valley.