Guest blogger Heather Hitson is the wine consultant in our Lady Lake store.

When you hear the words "Wine Country," the first thing that most people think of is California:  Napa Valley or Sonoma, in particular. There's more than just California wine country - take Washington, for example. I visited Washington state wine country with a few of my fellow wine consultants on July 27th-30th.

Along with the rolling farm lands are beautiful vineyards, producing some excellent wines that can rival anything coming out of California. It's a red-wine lover's dream, with big, bold, layered reds (Merlot, mostly) that can stand up to any California Cabernet. Don't believe me? Don't think you like Merlot? Then you must try wines from some of these wineries we visited.

  DAY ONE

  
  Shortly after our plane landed, we were whisked away to Chateau St. Michelle Canoe Ridge in Benton City (just opened to the public). Canoe Ridge is located in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA. it was given its name in 1857 by James Kinney, who saw the lush green native grasses of the hills, and declared it a "Horse's Heaven."  The area is hot, with an average of 3000 heat units annually, with only 6-9 inches of precipitation each year. This gives the viticulturist the ability to control vine growth through drip, micro-sprinkler, and/or overhead irrigation. I noticed that it was very similar to Mendoza, Argentina, which I visited last year. Some wineries are now experimenting with Malbec, Mendoza's star red varietal. We were given a tour and tasting by Winemaker Jeremy Santo. We tasted the 2008 vintage of their Canoe Ridge Merlot, Cold Creek Merlot, and Ethos, then the same in Cabernet, with each one getting more intense than its predecessor.  Jeremy then gave us a special treat: a taste of Druthers 2009.

 Next, we were at Columbia Crest Winery, in Patterson. A beautiful and huge winery, their barrel room contains 70,000 barrels, each barrel containing 25 cases of wine, mostly red. Some other names you may recognize are Red Diamond and 14 Hands, all bottled at the winery. We received a special taste of 2010 Walter Clore, their special private reserve red blend, right out of the barrel.  It will not be released for two more years.

 
 We ended the day with dinner on the winery's front patio, starting with a stunning shrimp salad, with fresh seasonal greens and berries; a fork-tender steak, along with more greens and some wonderful roasted carrots; and finishing with a tiramisu. With this we had a selection of wines, including Columbia Crest Grand Estates Chardonnay and Riesling, 14 Hands Hot To Trot white, Columbia Crest Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, and Walter Clore; and, with dessert, we tried a Columbia Crest Ice Wine - not a bad way to end the night.

 Look for days two and three to be posted tomorrow, August 17 and Thursday, August 18.