Northwest U.S. Wines

Giving up the excitement of the Bay Area for a country life, Craig and Claudia Broadley moved to rural Oregon to make big, oak-flavored Pinot Noir wine. They have a cult following and offer futures for the 2000 vintage

Seven Hills Winery spent 11 years in Oregon before moving 10 miles across the Columbia River to take up Washington residence. The winery focuses on Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot, but keeps its Oregon Pinot Gris as a tribute to its roots.

Chehalem Winery in Newberg, OR., not only produces some of the finest Pinot Noir in the country, the winemaker is producing good winemakers through mentoring.

Artificial wine corks may be what consumers are pulling out of wine bottles. Corked wines, tainted with bacteria, are losing millions of dollars for American wineries and winemakers are looking to high technology to stop the contamination

Bethel Heights Vineyards is owned and operated by twin brothers Ted and Terry Casteel. They produce some of the best Oregon Pinot Noirs and let the vineyards do the talking.

Willamette Valley Vineyards is disgarding its lower-end, mostly white wines to concentrate on high-end Pinot Noirs and special Bordeaux and Rhone blends. The results are very good.

Scott was a great veterinarian and a wine collector. I inherited a dog for a year. It was a great combination.

Granville Winery in Dundee, Oregon is producing great Pinot Noirs without applying a heavy oak flavor. The results may be less flashy, but the consumer can actually taste the Pinot Noir grape.

Romeo Conca, founder of Lost Mountain Winery in Sequim, WA. knew how to throw an impromptu party that could make the Gods shiver with envy. Memories of the generous winemaker and chef still linger as his winery lives on through his son. See June 24 article for information on the winery. ...

When Liddy gave up drinking wine, I thought I would inherit some 600 bottles in her wine cellar. But she had other ideas. Each bottle carried a story, and I knew she would get around to telling me some of them.