Tri-City Area and Real Estate Blog

The Mid-Columbia vineyards have again taken honors for our outstanding wines during the recent Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits Competition. See below for results:

• Kiona Vineyards Winery on Red Mountain won best in show for its – ’2008 chenin blanc ice wine’. Kiona won the top award for limited-productions wines and also won gold for its ‘reserve sangiovese’.
• Domaine Ste. Michelle in Paterson won gold medals for ‘blanc de blanc’, and its ‘blanc de noir’ sparkling wines.
• Barnard Griffin in Richland won gold for ‘rose of sangiovese’.
• Tagaris of Richland won gold for its ‘Alice Vineyard mourvedre’.
• Tasawik Vineyards of Prosser won gold for its ‘Hailstorm Red’.
• Hogue Cellars of Prosser won gold for its ‘Genesis Riesling’.
• Gamache Vintners of Prosser won gold for its “viognier’.
• Columbia Crest in Paterson won gold for its “Grand Estates cabernet sauvignon’.

Go to www.winepressnw.com/winners for the list of medal winner in all categories.

A 404 acre vineyard development on Red Mountain outside Benton City will aid Washington state school students by providing millions of dollars in tax exempt revenue to schools.  There was a celebratory planting of the vineyard Friday, with the Commissioner of Public Lands and the partnership members in attendance. The estimated value of the vineyard will be 10 times that which a forest produces because the havests occur annually.  Red Mountian is famous for it’s red wines.

June 5th is the day, 11 am is the time, for the Bookwalter Winery in Richland “Subplot Trot” a 5-mile run/2-mile walk to raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. There will be special prices on wine, raffles and prizes. Participants can register online at www.3rrr.org or you can get more information by emailing racingforthecure@gmail.com

Benton City: A local winery is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a weekend of celebrations August 28-29.

Canon del Sol Winery, owned by winemaker Victor Cruz, will have a dinner Friday evening, which is sold out, and a party Saturday for 300 guests.

Tickets are $40 per person for the event, which will feature food catered by Aphonzo Villa Taco Wagon, music by Curtis Nettles and a pinata filled with corks offering discounts on wines.

Source: Tri-City Herald

By Mary Hopkin, Journal of Business

Since its first vintage was released, the only place wine enthusiast could taste the big red wines made by well known winemaker Victor Cruz for Anelare was at Canon De Sol, in Benton City. But now, Anelare owners Forrest and Kathryn Alexander and Jim and Cathy Campbell have opened a new tasting room in Kennewick, where Tri-Cities residents and visitors can taste the Anelare’s Nonna Viola, a red blend that took home a gold medal at the Tri-Cities wine festival in November.

The intimate and artfully decorated tasting room is conveniently located in the new Southridge Village development at the corner of Highway 395 and Hildebrand road, across the highway from Canyon Lakes Golf Course. Anelare has previously been a private, limited bottling winery that distributed only 600 cases of wine. In 2007, its production went up to 800 cases, said Kathryn Alexander. Now Anelare can be found in select local grocery stores and the new tasting room will also help introduce Anelare’s wines to more wine lovers.

The tasting studio at 3617 Plaza Way, Suite B in Kennewick opened Friday. The regular winter hours will be from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday and non to 4 p.m. Sunday. Seasonal hours will be adjusted and the tasting room will likely be open more often in the spring and summer month, said Alexander.

The studio also features a private tasting room, which can be scheduled for private sit-down tastings or business functions at any time. the sit-down tastings are $15 per person and include antipasti and are free for winery club members.

For more information or to make reservations for a private sit-down tasting, call the winery at 509-588-6171. For more information about Anelare, visit the website at 222.anelare.com