We had visits to four wineries on this day but stumbled into an antique shop in downtown Prosser that turned out to be our fifth winery tasting room visit of the day. We began the day at Hogue Cellars, one of the Yakima Valley’s largest producers. Hogue was sold several years ago and eventually was acquired by Constellation. The production facility is a five-minute drive from the tasting room. Hogue is an example of the reason that people interested in wine should travel to tasting rooms. Two of their four tiers of wine are only sold and tasted in the tasting room.

Our next stop was Hinzerling. This was one of the first wineries in the valley. They began by making Riesling but changed their plans as other wineries opened and also made Riesling wines. Hinzerling began to concentrate on a dessert wine portfolio and now has several port-styled wines and sherry-styled wines. Expect a rustic tasting room experience.

Back to Vintner’s village, we visited Thurston Wolfe Winery. The facility has a spacious tasting room, patio and production facility. You will be warmly greeted by a friendly dog that is genuinely happy that you are visiting. Wine travelers will have an opportunity to taste some of the less common varieties offered in Washington.

Back across town, we visited Chinook. Ask about the name and think about your opinion of the wine bottle label. The tasting room is not fancy and has a feel like being in one’s house. Taste wines that reflect the Yakima Valley.

On the way to dinner we went into an antique store and discovered a winery tasting room, Dumb Blonde Wine. We meet Connie who poured wines from the tasting counter amongst many antiques. Connie was responsible for the artwork on the labels and her daughter Carly is the winemaker. It won’t take long to discover the friendliness and that wines with blonds on the label are white, brunettes are reds and a redhead is a rosé. The wine and antique combination is interesting. Take time to visit the downtown area and discover Dumb Blonde Wine.

Cheers,
Terry