On Sunday, September 8th, Lynn and I drove up to Chelan on our way to our annual get together with friends in Mazama. There, we visited a few wineries in the Lake Chelan American Viticultural Area.

Our first stop was an Nefarious Cellars on the South Shore, where we saw co-owners and co-winemakers, Dean and Heather Neff. Harvest was just getting started, but the two found time to get us up to date. We asked about how the Stone's Throw and Rocky Mother vineyards near Pateros fared during the wildfires in the area. Luckily, the Neffs only lost about 50 vines, most of which can grow new shoots (we found out later in driving by the vineyard that nearby houses were not so lucky - they burned down to their foundations). We tasted through a dozen wines, all exceptional, so we will have to split the reviews between the October and November issues of the Review of Washington Wines. We also got a preview taste of the 2012 Rocky Mother Syrah, a dense, rich complex wine that is a potential 20/20 points wine, to be released in Spring 2015.

While at Nefarious, we learned that the Fielding Hills Winery had just opened its tasting room in its new winemaking facility. So we stopped by and saw Mike and Karen Wade there and tasted through theit 2010's which will be reviewed in the October and November issues. We're pleased to reconnect with the Wades and their wines, since the time (February, 2011) we reviewed their 2008's.

Next, we stopped at Tunnel Hill which is located in a charming stone house, built in 1937 out of rocks blasted out of a nearby hill for the nearby Knapps Hill Tunnel. There, we asted a nice 2012 Lake Chelan Pinot Noir and a rich 2012 Syrah with assistant winemaker, Michelle Fanton.

After checking in at the Midtowner Motel (a clean, comfortable, and easy to get in and out of place), we zipped up to Cairdeas ("car-dess") up six miles on Highway 150 towards Manson. There, with tasting room manager, Melissa, we tasted some nice 2013 Rhone-style whites and an elegant 2012 "Consonance" BDX-style red, which will be in the October issue of the Review of Washington Wines.

The next morning, we drove back up to Manson to Hard Row to Hoe, where we saw winemaker and co-owner Judy Phelps. There, we tasted several Lake Chelan AVA wines, including the 2013 Viognier, 2013 Chardonnay and 2012 Estate Cabernet Franc to be reviewed in October. We also got previews of the 2012 "Good in Bed" Sparkling Wines and the highly impressive 2012 Reserve Syrah and 2012 Estate Malbec, to be released in 2015. The winery also has a couple of interesting and impressive apple ciders. The "Other Cider," viewed through the bottle to the inside back, was a crisp, off-dry version, produced from Braeburn apples. There is also an "Ice Breaker" cider, make like an ice wine, with delicious, spicy, caramelized flavors. Then we headed north towards the Methow Valley.

Next Week: A Visit to Woodinville