The entrance to the vineyards.
A recent discovery for us was Yellowhawk Resort & Sparkling Winery located in Walla Walla in southeastern Washington State. We had a terrific visit on their beautiful property and loved hearing their fascinating story.
Yellowhawk was brought into existence by the creativity and drive of chef and hospitality business owner Dan Thiessen. Dan got his initial training at the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park (NYC), graduating in 1992. After stints in Switzerland and Aspen Colorado, he returned to his roots in the Pacific Northwest and took a job as executive chef at the restaurant in the Space Needle, Seattle’s highest volume restaurant. That’s when fate intervened in the form of a telephone call from a successful entrepreneur who had sold his cell phone business and was creating some new restaurants.
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Caprio’s Hospitality Center.
Washington State is home to some of our favourite wines anywhere in the world. It remains shockingly under the radar given the level of quality it produces year after year. For close to a decade, Washington wines have averaged the highest percentage of 90+ point rated wines versus every major wine producing region in the world. While we have several tried and true favourites that we regularly visit, our most recent trip south uncovered a genuine hidden treasure. Caprio Cellars is a winery not only crafting excellent wines, but they’re also using their exceptional hospitality to elevate the wine and food experience, all while helping to transform lives.
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Erica Orr.
We first met Erica Orr in 2018 while doing a story on Washington’s Baer Winery located in Woodinville’s warehouse district. She was (and still is) their consulting winemaker and has also consulted for Mark Ryan Winery, Sparkman Cellars, and Guardian Cellars. At the time, she was producing one wine under her own label which was a Chenin Blanc. We tasted the 2017 together with several Baer Wines and the entire lineup was terrific. Her Chenin was a particular standout being such a rare variety found in Washington, and the quality with every one of the wines we tasted was indisputable. We knew immediately that she was a winemaker to watch.
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Thomas Woodley & Chris Peterson.
A recent trip to Woodinville, Washington gave us the opportunity to catch up with Chris Peterson, winemaker and co-founder at Avennia Wine. Joining Chris was Thomas Woodley, Avennia’s National Sales Director. It was a great opportunity to hear first-hand what is going on within the Washington wine scene from two people who have been an important part of that scene for the past two decades. It was also a chance to taste the current vintages of Avennia’s terrific line up of wines.
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