Treat your palate to a variety of distinct Northwest flavors as you taste your way through some of the unique wines in the following pages. There's so much more to wine than just a red or a white. Next time you have the chance, maybe try choosing a berry blend!
Huckleberry Wine – A native fruit found in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest, huckleberries provide a unique and sweet taste to your glass of wine. Pend d’Oreille Winery in Sandpoint, Idaho, takes the natural juices from the huckleberries and blends them with Riesling grapes providing a refreshing wine that has been a popular seller throughout the years. While it has not been produced over the past two vintages due to weather and low-yielding crops, representatives from Pend d’Oreille Winery said they have every intention of resuming production when the weather and crops improve. Until then, be sure to purchase it while you can! Townshend Cellar in Spokane, Washington, also offers a huckleberry brut sparkling wine for those who prefer a little bubbly. If you have not tried huckleberry wine, you will want to be sure and put it on your list.
Pour It Charlie Wine - Awarded the gold medal at the 2015 Tri-Cities Wine Awards, this unique wine by Coyote Canyon Winery in Prosser, Washington, boasts an aroma of chocolate, blackberry and oak. A port wine, it is rich and offers flavors of sweet dark cherries, wood and a baked-pie component. A blend of 50 percent Mourvedre, 38 percent Syrah and 12 percent Graciano, the dessert wine is 17-percent alcohol and is the perfect way to cap off a delicious meal.
Raspberry Wine - Olalla Vineyard in Olalla, Washington, grows raspberries, blackberries and marionberries on their estate, allowing them the perfect opportunity to make exquisite fruit wines. They are very popular and tend to sell quickly. Currently, the 2016 raspberry wine, which is a fragrant, subtle, semi-sweet wine with a bit of tartness, is available for a cost of $25 per bottle. Try it as a dessert wine or simply a refreshing beverage on a warm day.
Pear Wine - Looking to get your daily dose of fruit? Pear wine is perfect as a dessert wine or paired with cheese and lighter dishes. The juice from the pears gives the wine a light and flavorful taste and is sure to delight your taste buds. For those who want to try making it at home, there are many recipes online to get you started. A few tips include allowing the pears to get as ripe as possible without rotting. If they are not fully ripened, the taste tends to be more like that of an apple. Also, keep the alcohol level of your wine around 10 to 12 percent. If the alcohol level rises too high, it will not allow you to taste the full flavor of the pear. Lastly, be sure to use actual wine yeast in your production.