Tag Archives: Columbia Crest

Our Favorite 50 Washington Wineries

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NYE WineHappy New Year! As we begin 2019, it’s time for our annual Favorite Washington Wineries List for the previous year. The way to get on our list is fairly simple: wineries must offer great juice and good people who provide an excellent wine experience.

Perhaps we had fun or learned something in a tasting room, a wine shop tasting, or at a wine event. Perhaps someone from the winery gave us a call, or sent us a personal note or samples. Or perhaps we were invited to an incredible winery party.

These people who made our experience special include the winemakers; the winery owners; the hard-working staff in a tasting room who went out of their way to make us feel welcome; and the amazing workers in the vineyards where it all begins.

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Our Top 50 Washington Wineries

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NYE WineHappy New Year! As we begin 2018, it’s time for our annual Top Washington Wineries List. We have returned to our original list of 50, after it climbed up to 65 wineries last year. Why? As time goes on, our palates change, and our wine experiences become more focused. In addition, in 2017 we visited Walla Walla again for the first time in a few years, which shone the light on some new favorites.
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Columbia Crest Crowdsourced™ Cabernet Sauvignon

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Three years ago Columbia Crest became the first winery in the world to crowdsource a wine through an interactive experience with wine enthusiasts.

Led by Juan Muñoz-Oca, Columbia Crest’s head winemaker, voters made decisions on every step of creating the wine — bud break, harvest, fermentation, the blend and the label.

For the grapes, Muñoz-Oca chose a five-acre estate block in one of his best vineyards, which is used for his highly acclaimed reserve program. 2014 Crowdsourced™ Cabernet Sauvignon was released in June 2016, and was followed by 2015 Crowdsourced™ Cabernet Sauvignon one year later. One thousand cases of each wine were produced; both retail at $30.

While the two vintages have similarities, there are also some distinct differences, as we noticed when we recently held a side-by-side tasting. You can do the same by buying both vintages on their website. And you’ll also receive a discount.
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Columbia Crest Reserve Wines

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We are big fans of Columbia Crest wines — from the special reserve wines to the value H3 label, which we’ve written about often. So it was not surprising when the recent reserve vintages — 2013 Walter Clore Private Reserve Red Wine and 2013 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon — were such a pleasure to drink.
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