The Heart of Washington Wine Country
Thirty years ago there were fewer than 100
wineries in Washington. Today there are more than 900. Washington is the second largest wine
producing region in America after California.
The Heart of Washington Wine Country is found 150 miles east of Seattle
in Tri-Cities, named after the towns
of Kennewick, Pasco and Richland.
There are 200 wineries within a one hour drive of
Tri-Cities. This is a prime agricultural
region near the Columbia River, with potatoes, blueberries, apples, hops, and
wine grapes among the 45 different local crops.
Red Mountain, Horse Heaven Hills, Columbia Valley, and Yakima Valley are the
viticulture areas around Tri Cities which have garnered international
acclaim. The region gets 300 days of
sunshine a year, perfect for wine grapes and highly popular with people from
Metro Seattle who come for a weekend escape.
Wine Traveler Favorites
Maryhill Winery
"It’s hard to wrap your mind around the beautiful
view,” says owner Craig Neuhold. Craig
and his wife Vicki will celebrate the 15th anniversary of Maryhill Winery in
the summer of 2016.
Family-owned and
operated, Maryhill is a favorite of the Pacific Northwest. Enjoy spectacular views, tasting room, gift
shop, world-class concerts in a 4,000 seat amphitheater, and live music on the
vine-covered terrace all summer. Taste over 50 wines that have earned more than
3,000 awards, including 2015 Pacific
Northwest Winery of the Year from Wine
Press Northwest. Maryhill wines are a true testament to the quality and
diversity of the state.
Milbrandt Vineyard
Milbrandt Vineyards was founded in 1997 by Washington wine
pioneers Butch and Jerry Milbrandt. Owning and operating their own vineyards as
well as the winery, they helped establish two of the top AVAs in the state:
Ancient Lakes and Wahluke Slope. Their Evergreen Vineyard has consistently
produced 90-point wines with the guided talents of Cornell graduate and
winemaker Joshua Maloney. The award-winning tasting room in Prosser is open
seven days a week and offers seated tastings and patio parties.
Brothers Butch and Jerry Milbrandt are pioneers of the
Columbia Valley wine regions. Butch started cooking in the military 50 years
ago and today is known as an ace at pairing food and wine. You can even watch Milbrandt Vineyards’
originally branded recipe show called Pair This on the winery’s website.
Their tasting room is in Prosser’s Vintners Village, home
to 10 unique wineries.
J. Bookwalter Winery
Owner-Winemaker John Bookwalter has taken his family name
to make a perfect pairing between wine and literature.
The winery’s flagship tasting room in Richland, named one
of the best tasting rooms in the United States by Sunset magazine, now includes a full-service restaurant, Fiction. In the category of “winery
restaurants,” Fiction is often mentioned
as one of the finest in the country. J. Bookwalter also operates an attractive,
modern tasting studio in Woodinville in suburban Seattle.
With literary brand names on the label such as Antagonist Syrah and Subplot 31, Bookwalter wines keep connoisseurs
deeply involved from beginning to end like a good book. For those who like Cabernet Sauvignon, the
flagship Protagonist is not be missed
with 91% premium cabernet and 9% Syrah in a supporting role.
J. Bookwalter has grown from one of Washington’s oldest
wineries into one of the Pacific Northwest’s most recognized boutique wine
brands, relying on exceptional vineyard sources and meticulous winemaking to
produce some of the world’s finest wines.
Tourists Welcome
The region is well known for local wineries,
expanding craft beer offerings, wide open spaces, and the new arrival of legal cannabis. It also should be recognized for its
friendliness. This is not a place where
you find pretentious people. It’s a
place here the local residents welcome visitors. They are just glad that someone took the time
and trouble to come visit them out in the country, I think.
“Our region has become popular with tourists who
come not only to enjoy the wines, but meet with the owners, experience a walk
through the vineyards and learn about the industry,” says Visit Tri-Cities
President Kris Watkins.
There are many opportunities to explore the
outdoors between winery visits. Go horseback
riding with Red Mountain Trails,
stroll to ten wineries clustered together at Vintner’s Village in
Prosser, or enjoy desert beauty with Columbia Kayak Adventures. Walk the
23-mile continuous riverfront path along the Columbia River, known as Sacagawea
Heritage Trail.
Two major additions have come to the area in the
last couple years. The Clore Center welcomes
you with an operating tasting room with $5 wine tastings featuring a different
region each month. The wine education is
casual. “It’s learning a little with a
glass of wine in your hand,” says Executive Director Abbey Cameron.
Ste. Michelle Wine Estates WSU Wine Science Center opened in 2015 in Tri-Cities, expanding Washington State University’s highly esteemed program in
viticulture and enology. WSU is known as
one of the “Big Four” in U.S. schools for learning how to grow vineyards and
produce wine at the highest level.
Fly into wine country to Tri Cities Airport in Pasco, an expanding regional airport just a
short, one-hour flight from Seattle. The airport has many connections from
airports in the western United States.
Some of the airlines allow you to check through cases of wines for
free.
A visit to Tri-Cities and the surrounding
wineries enlivens the senses, captures your heart and makes you long for the
day when you can plan another visit.
CAPTIONS (from top): Red Mountain, one of America's most widely respected wine growing regions; Summer concerts at Maryhill Winery; Milbrandt Vineyards tasting room at Vintner's Village in Prosser; The tasting room and Fiction Restaurant at J. Bookwalter Wines; Grape stomp in Tri-Cities wine country; St. Michelle Wine Estates WSU Wine Science Center; Hot Air Balloon Festival provides views of wine country
Republished and expanded from Delta Sky, May 2016, The Wine Traveler