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Hard Row to Hoe Vineyards co-owner and founding w**emaker Judy Phelps describes 2022 Barbera as “a weeknight-friendly Barbera with weekend-level charm.”

Made from organically certified grapes from Washington’s Wahluke Slope, this Barbera features a balance of juicy fruit, lively acidity, and a mineral edge. As Judy puts it, “It’s the kind of bottle that turns a Tuesday into a feast without any fuss.”

We tasted it at the w**ery last July, and at the time, I predicted we would likely pair it with hubby’s delicious spaghetti. So that’s exactly what we did when good friends brought over a bottle earlier this month. (We still have a bottle in our cellar, which we plan to serve with my beef stew or maybe with pizza.)

Every time we travel to Manson, in WA’s Lake Chelan AVA, we always visit Hard Row to Hoe. And we always come home with smiles and lots of w**e.

Chaberton Estate W**ery 2025 Estate Grown Dry Bacchus is a delicate white w**e, featuring flavors of peaches, pears, and citrus, crisp, refreshing, and clean, threaded with minerality.

The grapes are sourced from the oldest vines in the Estate vineyard in Langley, B.C.

Serve Dry Bacchus with goat cheese, crab, prawns, sushi, or sashimi. Or pair it with a simple charcuterie board and good friends, like we did.

It’s hard to beat the price point of $22 CAD. This tasty white is definitely worth a quick 30-minute drive across the border for us to pick up a few bottles.

At Chaberton Estate W**ery, you’ll find a wide variety of appealing white w**es, a popular bistro, and a beautiful setting. We encourage you to add it to your itinerary if you’re visiting the Vancouver area.

Two Vintners W**ery 2019 Lola is a sigh-worthy blend of Rocks Syrah (68%) and Cabernet Sauvignon (32%) from Yellow Jacket Vineyard.

Excellent w**emaker Morgan Lee named the w**e – the first 2007 vintage at Two Vintners – after his black lab, Lola, who greeted visitors in the tasting room. Sadly, Lola passed away, but this popular w**e continues to commemorate her.

Two Vintners Lola started out as an every-day w**e, but has evolved into much more, especially with seven years of age.

2019 Lola features a balance of dark red fruit and meatiness, which combine into a beautiful, savory w**e. We love it.

Lola is a crowd-pleaser. We frequently share a bottle or two with friends, which we did recently, pairing it with hubby’s delicious spaghetti. Yum!

One of the first Zinfandels we tasted, many years ago, was produced by Seghesio Family Vineyards. So it was like greeting an old friend, when we brought Seghisio 2024 Sonoma Zinfandel to our monthly w**e club dinner.

Seghisio features savory and earthy notes, along with fresh berry flavors — but without the jamminess of many California Zins. The 2024 is smooth and supple, and paired perfectly with tasty ribs, corn bread, and other sides at w**e club.

The w**ery describes it as their ideal expression of Sonoma County Zinfandel in any given vintage. It is crafted from more than 150 individual lots harvested from vineyards in Russian River, Dry Creek, and Alexander valleys across Sonoma County, fermented separately and then blended.

While it retails at $26, we found it for $12 at our local Costco. Such a great value.

We purchased this bottle of MTR Productions 2017 “Memory Found” Syrah from our favorite online retailer, Full Pull, in 2023. We managed to wait for three years to open it – a special production w**e opened for a very special occasion – my husband’s milestone birthday earlier this week.

It’s a showstopper! Produced by esteemed w**emaker Matt Reynvaan – Washington Rocks Syrah royalty – this is a seductive head-turner that balances savory goodness with red and black fruits and minerality.

With nine years of age, all the edges were rounded and it was smooth, smooth, smooth. Everyone loved it.

Matt sourced the grapes for 2018 “Memory Found” from Reynvaan’s estate “In the Rocks Vineyard.”

Unfortunately, Matt only produced this stunning w**e from 2014-2019. Thankfully we have a few more bottles of the 2018 and 2019 in our cellar.

And there’s more good news. In addition to Reynvaan Family Vineyards, Matt now focuses on his new venture, R|A Family W**es, which launched in Seattle on June 1. Keep your eyes out for R|A Family W**es inaugural bottle, JDA Project 2023 Syrah.

At the launch party, Matt told us that JDA Project 2023 Syrah intentionally does not have the aromas and flavors of heavy funk like so many Rocks Syrahs. Rather, this luxurious w**e features intensity, depth, power, purity, and layering of a special savoriness, and an unmistakable minerality.

“From the beginning, this was about building something intentional … every decision, from farming to élevage, is in service of expressing that site with clarity and precision.”

Rock on. Yes, I said it.

We took OZV 2022 Old Vine Estate Zinfandel to our October w**e club gathering, and it was a big hit with those who love big, ripe, jammy reds from Lodi.

We prefer our Zins to be earthy rather than fruity. But at a $10-$12 price point, no wonder why this Zin is a “Best Buy” with 94 points from W**e Enthusiast.

Our w**e club hosts paired it with delicious ribs, a country/cowboy theme, and a whole lot of fun.

What a wonderful way to start the celebration for my husband’s milestone birthday – popping the cork on TIRRIDDIS Sparkling W**es House Gris.

This is a 50-50 blend of Washington-grown Pinot Gris from the 2022 and 2023 vintages, with two years en tirage.

Specifically, this is traditional-method sparkling Gris with fine bubbles, a gorgeous nose, and textured flavors of apples, pears, and peaches threaded with minerality.

We first tasted TIRRIDDIS House Blanc at Taste Washington in 2025, and again earlier this year, where co-founder Matthew Doutney poured Blanc de Blanc and Brut Red.

The w**ery’s name represents the three phases in traditional-method sparkling w**e —TIRage, RIDdle, DISgorge.

One of these days, we must go visit the tasting room in Prosser.

A couple of months ago, we opened Sagebreaker 2022 G-41 BDX and loved it so much that we decided to open the recent 2023 vintage for hubby’s milestone birthday.

Sagebreaker 2023 G-41 BDX blends Cabernet Sauvignon and Cab Franc into a stunning and seductive Bordeaux-style blend, crafted from some of the top Cabernet blocks at Andrews Family Vineyard in Horse Heaven Hills (which are also in the world-class, sophisticated Trothe w**es produced by the same team).

We paired this elegant red w**e with steaks at “The Steakhouse at Silver Reef,” our favorite local restaurant to celebrate special occasions. Not surprisingly, Sagebreaker and Trothe w**es are our frequent table guests during these notable meals.

Sagebreaker w**es are named after George Smith, who broke sagebrush from the ground in the Horse Heaven Hills a century ago. Today, his descendants – the Andrews family – carry that legacy forward at Andrews Family Vineyards, with groundbreaking, highly acclaimed Sagebreaker and Trothe w**es.

Exceptional w**emaker Ray McKee told us that he creates Sagebreaker w**es “to bring elegance without pretense to the glass and feel approachable.”

Delicious!