ABOUT TWO HOURS east of Washington’s Cascade mountains, the hills roll into fertile land, covered in sunshine. All that sun is good for Washington’s hugely profitable, immensely popular ag crop: grapes. From the Yakima Valley to Walla Walla, getting a taste of the resulting wine is as easy as raising a glass.
Take the long way to or from the west along highway 12, which skirts the south side of Mount Rainier, and you’ll pass through the volcanic plateau that’s home to the state’s newest AVA, Naches Heights. Just 10 minutes from downtown Yakima, The Tasting Room offers samples from four of the new AVA’s vineyards: Harlequin Wine Cellars, Mountain Dome Winery, Naches Heights Vineyards, and Wilridge Winery. Meanwhile, four more of the valley’s wineries have tasting rooms clustered downtown: AntoLin Cellars, Kana Winery, Gilbert Cellars, and Treveri Sparkling Cellars.
Continue east on 82 to Prosser where, in addition to a scattering of other wineries, there’s the new Vintner’s Village (100 Merlot Dr), with tasting rooms for 10 wineries. For a sample of Old World style with New World fruit, make an appointment at Maison Bleue. Around the corner are Gamache and Milbrandt and the Wine O’Clock wine bar, pouring wines from the Bunnell Family Cellar and RiverAerie. On your way out of town don’t miss Mercer Estates.
You can pull off 82 east of Prosser to tour the wineries of Red Mountain. Fidelitas is here with its grand tasting room overlooking a slope of vines, as are High- Tower and Col Solare (by appointment only)—a partnership between Washington’s Chateau Ste. Michelle and Italy’s Marchesi Antinori. Yakima Valley’s annual wine and chocolates event draws winemakers, grape growers, and chocolatiers to Red Mountain for decadent tastings every February.
Your wine country tour (washingtonwine.org/explore) culminates further east still, off Highway 12, in Walla Walla. Whether you start by visiting the wineries east of town, such as K Vintners, Walla Walla Vintners, and àMaurice; around the airport east of town, where you’ll find the likes of Buty, SYZYGY, and Dunham; or in the area around JB George road—home to Pepper Bridge, Waters, Va Piano, and Fjellene Cellars, to name a few—don’t miss the chance to explore Walla Walla’s quaint downtown. It’s home to a handful of restaurants and a spate of tasting rooms. Stretch your legs and stop by Rotie Cellars, Otis Kenyon Wine, or Walla Walla Wine Works, which showcases a collection of wineries. —JULIE H. CASE
Read More About Wine Country
In the Yakima Valley, there's ample opportunity to sip, sample, and celebrate the bounty of the region's fertile farmland.
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Find Out More
Please visit our Tourism Partners
Prosser Chamber of Commerce
800-408-1517
Tri-Cities Visitor & Convention Bureau
800-254-5824
Toppenish Chamber of Commerce
(800) 863-6375
Tourism Walla Walla
877-WW-VISIT
Yakima Valley Visitors & Convention Bureau
800-221-0751