We first met Briana Clark, co-owner of Amos Rome, at Taste Washington a couple of years ago, and became instant fans of their Grüner Veltliner. We knew at that time that we’d stop by their Manson winery, when we next visited the Lake Chelan AVA. Well, that time finally came last month. Briana and her co-owner and talented winemaker husband, Travis Clark, hosted us and our good friends, Patty and Jim Jenkins, and we were impressed with his entire lineup. Travis kindly poured eight wines for us to taste. Read on for details. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Lake Chelan AVA
Mellisoni
Sometimes, when we find a new-to-us winery that has it all, we talk about it for days. That’s what happened when we visited Mellisoni Vineyards in Chelan in central Washington state. Mellisoni is a winery with almost two dozen wines, wonderful people, and a very large lawn with gorgeous views of Lake Chelan. Our stop there was an unplanned and unexpected highlight of our recent road trip. Rob and Donna Mellison, who are co-owners and co-winemakers, shared their stories with us. My notes describe them as, “Entertaining, warm, friendly, enthusiastic, and passionate.” Both of them are such incredible storytellers that we stayed there for three hours, drinking their excellent wine, eating and laughing.
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Hard Row
A visit to Lake Chelan AVA in north-central Washington isn’t complete without a stop at Hard Row to Hoe Vineyards. Our recent trip was no exception. We spent a couple of wonderful hours with owner/founding winemaker Judy Phelps and tasted their current, standout releases. This time, we didn’t see Judy’s husband, co-owner and vineyard manager, Don Phelps, or her managing partner/head winemaker son, Julian Shaver, who were both understandably immersed in Harvest. However, we met hard-working, genial assistant winemaker Clint Hepper, and friendly and knowledgeable hostess, Jasmine Shattuck.