Wine Tasting in Wenatchee

Needing a break from skiing we spent the day in Wenatchee checking out state parks and wine tasting.  Geographically Wenatchee and the surrounding Columbia River Valley is very differnt from western Washington and anything Molly and I are familar with in Alaska.  In the afternoon we drove a windy dirt road to the top of a plateau east of Wenatchee.  The elevation gain was about a 1500 feet. I was mesmerized by the scale of the valleys draining into the Columbia River.

Overlooking Rock Island Creek, Southeast of Wenatchee

The Columbia River Valley is know for its fruits including the grapes used to make wine.  Molly and I are not exactly big wine connoisseurs but we did visit a winery that was offering tasting from the barrel.  We tried two wines and enjoyed a nice conversation with the owner of this smaller winery.  We learned a lot about the fruit picking business of Wenatchee and how it has changed over the last few decades. 

Tasting wine from the barrel