Two weekends ago, July 25th and 26th, Lynn and I took an overnight trip to the Columbia Gorge. Situated around Hood River on the Oregon side and Lyle on the Washington side, it is one of two American Viticutural Areas (AVAs) that straddle the Washington-Oregon borders (the other, of course, being the Walla Walla Valley). Here, the microclimate is transitional, between the warmer Eastern Washington and the cooler Willamette Valley.

Our first stop on this excursion was the Memaloose tasting room in Lyle, where we tasted the Memaloose and Idiot's Grace wines. We then went up the hill to Domaine Pouillon where we tasted with owner-winemaker Alexis Pouillon. Then back down to Cor Cellarns and then Syncline. Reviews will be in the September issue of the Review of Washington Wines.

In the afternoon, we drove east to Underwood Mountain to AniChe Cellars, run by mother-daughter team of Rachael Horn and Anais Mera. The wines' names have literary themes such as Macbeth's "Three Witches" (to be reviewed along with others in September). Then we drove over the Columbia River on the Bridge of Gods, to Analemma in Mosier, six miles east of Hood River, owned by Steven Thompson and Kris Fade. They make two fine Gewurztraminers and a Pinot Noir (to be reveiewed in September).

The next morning, as we headed back to Walla Walla, we stopped at the Jacob Williams Winery near Wishram. The winemaker is John Haw, who has been in the industry for 42 years. The 2010 Syrah and 2010 Reserve Zinfandel will be reviewed in September.