Visits to Mazama, Chelan and South

On September 12, Lynn and I drove to Mazama in the Methow Valley for our annual trek with friends we have been meeting up with over the years to take day hikes and do other activities. While there, I visited the Lost River Winery in Winthrop and tasted the current releases with winemaker John Morgan. These will be reviewed in the October issue of the Review.

On Wednesday, the 15th, we took an excursion to Chelan to visit some wineries: Vin du Lac, Hard Row to Hoe, Nefarious Cellars and Tsillan Cellars. I will report on these in the November issue. The next day, we stopped at Fielding Hills in East Wenatchee and Cave B near Quincy before heading south for Walla Walla. For pictures of the vineyards and winemakers, go to the Review of Washington Wines Facebook page (click on the link in the current issue).

At most of the places we visited, there was concern about the late maturing of the grapes on the vines. We stopped at Nefarious Cellars' Stone's Throw vineyard near Pateros on the way. The grapes looked healthy, but seemed to be another two weeks away from maturing. This is what most winemakers indicated. A fuller report on the prospects for the upcoming harvest will be in next week's blog.

For pictures of these visits, go to the Review of Washington Wines on Facebook.