Wine Club Tours Washington State

For our most recent tour across the wine-making United States, wine club made a "stop" in Washington state via our lovely hostess Jen. 

Washington is actually the second highest producer of wine in the U.S., behind California. Most of the wine production happens eastern half of the state, where it's much less rainy, has mostly consistent temperatures and long sunlight hours. Rieslings have been Washington's calling card in the wine world since the 70s, but the state has gradually become recognized for its Merlots and Syrahs. 

•  Radius Cabernet Sauvignon, with hints of black cherry and chocolate. I'm sure it was good, but it's the whites that are standing out in my memory.
• Red Theory Red Blend, with notes of plum and blackberry. I'm sure this flies in the face of purists' tastes, but I really love red blends!
• Wildhaven Pinot Gris, a citrusy pinot with a hint of ginger.
• Bridgman Riesling, a fresh and bright citrus riesling, not too sweet, but not too sour. This was highly recommended by my Total Wine employee helper, and I was not disappointed!
• Washington Hills Late Harvest Riesling was my favorite, and we've actually had it before! It has notes of oranges, peaches, honey and clover and if you like Riesling, totally hits the spot. I don't remember it being overly sweet, either.

 Inspired by the hippie-crunchy granola vibe of Seattle, Jen made her own trail mix! She also served the most scrumptious Washington state cheese.

 But even more scrumptious was the hot sweet onion dip ... it seriously made her house smell amazing. Washington is known for its vidalia onions, hence the dip!

 She outdid herself with her veggie lasagna florentine, which was seriously delicious. Melissa took a bite and was like, "Jen. This lasagna!"

 My favorite was actually her carmelita housemade focaccia with potatoes and fresh rosemary, a nod to Washington's Yukon Gold potatoes. This bread was seriously moist, but dense and tasty.

 I also loved the corn, sweet onion and tomato salad, with cilantro and rice vinegar. It tasted super fresh.

And finally, you can't have Washington night without a little Starbucks. We had slices of an apple-berry crisp with scoops of Java Chip ice cream and it was the perfect ending.

Next stop on our cross-country tour: New York state!