The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

Kirkland 2019/2020 Saint-Julien Bordeaux Left Bank Bordeaux under $20 is a tough bird to hunt. The Left Bank is home to the handful of great wineries you’ve probably heard of – Mouton, Lafite,...

This unique blend is sourced from vineyards near the Dalles, far enough east to be outside the Columbia Gorge AVA, but in the slim slice of the vast Columbia Valley AVA that crosses the river into...

Winemaker Chris Dowsett has a personal passion for Gewürztraminer – not a grape that gets a whole lot of love from most drinkers. But here's the thing - a dry Gewürztraminer is a perfect...

Soos Creek's Dave Larsen sources Cabernet from some of Washington's A+ vineyards, and his sturdy, dense wines are built to age. But with this King Cab, he's given a special gift to less patient wine...

King Estate was founded specifically to grow and produce Pinot Gris. Now entirely biodynamic, the winery has grown to become one of Oregon's most diverse and influential. Pinot Gris remains a strong...

I've been a Zin lover for decades, especially fond of those made from old vines. For Zinfandel, old vines, though unregulated, can mean the plants went into the ground anywhere from several decades...

This is a perennial ‘Best Buy’ from the big magazines, and for good reason. Priced around $15, it’s got big flavors that are hard to find in inexpensive Cabernets. Cedar shakes, toast and...

This Paso Robles winery makes an expansive lineup of ripe, fruity, value wines. The Wine Enthusiast annual Best Buy list has just been published, and this wine is Number One. It's still available but...

Planet Oregon is the value brand from Soter Vineyards. This summertime sparkler is 100% Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, made by the carbonated method rather than the much more expensive methode...

Argyle was established 35 years ago with a mission to make Oregon sparkling wines. Mission accomplished – Oregon now has dozens of wineries making Champagne-style bubbly. Argyle next expanded into...

Pike Road 2022 Pinot Gris There's Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris. The same grape from two quite different places. If Pinot Grigio conjures up notions of overpriced, underfruited, ubiquitous Italian...

Chris Dowsett’s winemaking resumé would occupy this entire page. Suffice it to say that the family brand is his most personal, and this often-overlooked grape his particular passion. This is a...

I’m not generally a believer that gold medals mean a wine is any good. They’re given out like participation awards at dozens of for-profit wine competitions all over the country. But this...

Though it was a major part of the original plantings back in the 1970s when this pioneering Oregon vineyard was first established, Riesling is now a minor player in the Hyland mix. This is the...

Among this Oregon winery's many pioneering achievements was the introduction of this classic Spanish white wine to the Pacific Northwest. If you've ever been to Spain (and you kinda like the music),...

Since the bag-in-box method of wine packaging first arrived in this country about 15 years ago, the range and quality of offerings have steadily improved while prices have remained stable. One of the...

Underwood 2021 Rosé With hot weather here, a nice, chilled bottle of rosé is the perfect choice for your porch party, backyard BBQ, or poolside picnic. Underwood is a value brand offering reliably...

Lisette Hrapmann is the Assistant Winemaker at Day Wines as well as the owner/winemaker of Fizzy Lizzy wines. Her ancestral method bubbly, called Swampwater, is a fine example of the rising interest...

Walla Walla winemaker Kelsey Itämeri makes an interesting pair of Sémillons, this one fermented and aged in stainless, the other in neutral wood. Both wines are 100% varietal from the same block at...

There are bargain wines and value wines, sometimes but not always the same. A bargain is a cheap bottle, generally under $10, often less. Value wines, on the other hand, can cost more, but it's what...

My brother is on a rafting trip in SE Oregon and was bemoaning the fact that no glass is allowed, so no wine could be brought. Not true, I told him. What you want is wine in a can. Of which there are...

Lone Birch is the low-cost brand from Airfield Estates (Airfield’s Dauntless red wine was featured last week). Lone Birch is another of their brands worth seeking out, especially for...

Wine grapes were first planted at what is now Airfield Estates back in 1967! Today the family farm includes 830 acres of wine grapes. Airfield Estates Winery was established in 2005 and produces some...

The Velvet Devil 2019/2020 Merlot The Velvet Devil is one of several low-cost and high-quality brands that Charles Smith rolled out as he began building his wine empire. The distinctive names and...

Portlandia Vintners has just released a pair of non-vintage bubblies. I particularly like this Syrah-based rosé. It’s not expensive for a traditional (Champagne) method sparkler – that is not a...