03/31/2022
Free Columbia Valley Wine Tastings
pflücke Public House
Thursday March 31, 4-7pm
Columbia Valley Wines
Washington State’s most premium wine region, the Columbia Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area), offers a diverse range of soils and more sunshine hours during the growing season than most key wine regions in the world. This valley is protected from wet weather systems by two mountain ranges, the Olympics and the Cascades. Creating the perfect climate for wine in the warm and dry Eastern part of the state, Eastern Washington’s warm days and cool nights allow the Columbia Valley to produce fruit-forward wines with naturally balanced acidity.
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Alexandria Nicole Cellars
Founder & winemaker Jarrod Boyle was born in Prosser and began to learn his trade alongside Dr. Wade Wolfe at The Hogue Cellars. With time, Jarrod became the chief grape inspector and varietals consultant. While on a routine inspection of a vineyard on Horse Heaven Hills, Jarrod noticed a nearby piece of barren land, sloping gently to the south, overlooking the Columbia River. Soon after, a casual conversation with an old friend, Robe Mercer, led Jarrod to telling the story of his land discovery and his vision of planting a vineyard. Rob came to figure out that the land of Jarrod’s dream was owned by his father, Bud Mercer. Before long, the Mercer family joined with the Boyle family and the dream of a vineyard on the hillside, Destiny Ridge Vineyard, was born. The first vines were planted in the fall of 1998.
Originally, the plan for the vineyard was to use its fruit to produce small case lots for other wineries. When the vines came into full production, however, the fruit produced was of such amazing quality, Jarrod’s thoughts turned to a winery that would produce his own wines from grapes grown on Destiny Ridge Vineyard. With control over viticultural choices in his vineyard, Jarrod could monitor fruit quality from bud to bottle! In September 2004, Jarrod and his wife Ali designed and built the Alexandria Nicole Cellars winery to suit the production of their small-lot handcrafted wines.
Alexandria Nicole a Squared Pinot Gris
The delicate aromatics give way to notes of nectarine, white peach, pear and lemon zest. There’s a crispness to this refreshing summer sipper.
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Ryan Patrick Wines
Winemaker Terry Flanagan named his family winery after his two sons, Ryan and Patrick. Today this formidable winery with tasting rooms in Leavenworth and Woodinville, sources grapes from six hand-selected growers with sustainable practices in various regions in Washington. Many wineries use static recipes for their wines; instead, the winemaking team, headed by Kendall Mix, does daily fermentations with different yeast or temperatures to achieve a specific effect. Batch-tinkering approaches have resulted in extraordinary varietals and unique blends.
Ryan Patrick, ‘Rock Island’ Chardonnay
Clean, crisp apple and pear focused. Aspects of fresh bread, vanilla custard and stone fruit compliment these primary characters of this more traditional chardonnay.
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Alki Wines
Co-founders Jonathan White and Brandon Rice named their Columbia Valley vineyard after Washington State's motto "Alki" (Al-Kai), meaning "hope for the future". By selecting the top 1% of fruit from over 3,000 acres of estate vineyards across the Wahluke Slope and Ancient Lakes AVAs, they grow, produce, and hand-craft extraordinary wines.
Alki 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon
Aromas and flavors of cocoa, coconut, baking spice and black cherry, pleasantly balanced with the fruit and barrel both playing a big part in the show.
