Washington Wine Country Getaways: Yakima Valley

A tour through Washington’s most scenic destination wineries

By Paul Zitarelli October 14, 2014

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DAY 3: WINE COUNTRY IN THE COUNTRY

As you head farther south into the Yakima Valley, it’s best to eschew I-90 and I-82 in favor of the scenic route on State Route 243 (just 15 minutes longer), descending gently down the vineyards of the Wahluke Slope. SR 243 turns into State Route 24 West at the Columbia River and heads to the first stop today at Treveri Cellars (Wapato, 71 Gangl Road; 509.877.0925; trevericellars.com), a must-visit winery because all it produces is sparkling wine. Treveri has garnered great acclaim in recent years, including seeing its wines served at U.S. State Department holiday receptions. If you make arrangements ahead of time, you can ask for a tour of the specialized equipment needed to make fine bubbly. Father-and-son team Juergen and Christian Grieb have made sparkling versions of everything from Chardonnay to Riesling, Pinot Gris to Syrah (yes, Syrah!), and the handsome tasting rooms offer pours of all of them.

A few more driveways along Gangl Road and you reach the new home of Owen Roe Winery (Wapato, 309 Gangl Road; 509.877.0454; owenroe.com).

Owen Roe’s Wapato vineyards and tasting room

This well-loved producer of both Oregon and Washington wines has finally established a Washington beachhead, currently offering tastings in the winery adjacent to their Union Gap Estate Vineyard before opening a separate tasting room in 2015. The winery is a charmingly rustic, barn-like setting for tasting, and tours of the estate vineyards are also available to those who make arrangements ahead of time.

By now, hunger is setting in, but you still have another winery stop, so aim for a quick lunch at Miner’s Drive-In (Yakima, 2415 S First St.; 509.457.8194; Facebook, “Miner’s Drive-In Restaurant”), a Yakima institution. Newbies always go for the massive burgers, but the best sandwich (which is not on the menu, but staff will make it) is the chicken bacon ranch. Add onion rings and a banana-peanut-butter milkshake, and you’ve achieved your caloric intake for the week.


Two Mountain Winery’s Zillah tasting room with a four-legged friend

From there, drive southeast toward Zillah and into the heart of the Yakima Valley, where you’ll find brothers Patrick and Matthew Rawn running Two Mountain Winery (Zillah, 2151 Cheyne Road; 509.829.3900; twomountainwinery.com). This rustic winery is worth a trek for the view alone, which lives up to its name (Rainier and Adams, if you’re wondering). More than any other wine region in Washington, this part of the state feels deeply agricultural. “Wine country in the country” is how the Rawns describe it, and it’s true: You’re about as far away from warehouse-district and industrial-park wineries as you can get. Patrick and Matthew’s grandfather first purchased the family land in 1954 and broke it out of the sagebrush for a Golden Delicious apple orchard.

Decades later, the Rawns converted many of those orchards to grapevines, continuing a long family heritage of farming in this appealing corner of the Yakima Valley.

Best Bottles to Bring Home
Treveri Cellars Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut // Owen Roe Union Gap Vineyard Blend // Two Mountain Lemberger

Where to Stay:
Finish your day even farther east in Prosser, where dinner at Wine O’Clock (Prosser, Vintner’s Village, 548 Cabernet Court; 509.786.2197; bunnellfamilycellar.com) allows you to sample the lovely wines of The Bunnell Family Cellar. Susan
Bunnell manages the kitchen, which produces sublime, perfectly charred pizzas. Or perhaps you’d prefer the spicy Southwest fare of Mojave, the restaurant attached to Desert Wind Winery (Prosser, 2258 Wine Country Road; 509.786.7277; desertwindwinery.com). Desert Wind also has an inn, whose Santa Fe–style rooms overlooking the Yakima River offer welcoming accommodations. If the four rooms are full, the Best Western Plus Grapevine Inn (Sunnyside, 1849 Quail Lane; 509.839.6070; bestwestern.com) is a fine alternative, especially if you snag a vineyard-facing room.

WANT MORE WINE COUNTRY GETAWAY IDEAS? READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.

 

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