Wine Trails: Wenatchee2Quincy

By Steve Roberts

Many people ask me, “Hey WineTrail Guy, what’s your favorite Washington WineTrail? I usually get a quizzical look when I answer, “the Wenatchee to Quincy WineTrail.” But, it’s true. I love this WineTrail for its total package of great views, and places to stay, to eat, and to taste fabulous wine.

Beginning with Wenatchee-based Chateau Faire Le Pont Winery, Doug and Debé Brazil’s restoration of a 1920s fruit-packing building preserved the original hardwood flooring and gently arching windows. The 6,000-square-foot winery easily holds 150 guests for weddings, corporate events, class reunions, and wine-tasting geeks like me. Come hungry: a full-service kitchen supports its Vineyard Café, which serves up light and full fare.

Next stop, cross the river to Malaga and continue up the slope to Saint Laurent Winery. The views from Saint Laurent Winery are truly stunning. At Saint Laurent Winery, Laura Laurent-Mrachek is its horticulturist and her husband, Mike Mrachek, is the vintner. Get ready to take pictures. Laura’s garden is drop-dead gorgeous. But Saint Laurent’s tasting room itself is one of the highlights of the visit. Housed in a Victorianstyle house, the room is “cozy comfortable.”

Now it’s time to cross back over the Columbia and drive to East Wenatchee’s Martin-Scott Winery. Here the words “stunning” and “view” pair nicely. Come for the wine, but stay for the view. Mike and Judi Scott host guests in their downstairs tasting room and are often behind the bar introducing visitors to Martin-Scott wines.

Next, you’ll head south toward Quincy on SR-28 where the ghost town of Trinidad resides. This is the home of White Heron Cellars – the creation of Swiss-trained vintner Cameron Fries. Well over six feet tall, Cameron possesses a big, toothy smile and a deep voice to match his height. In the winemaking community, he’s a bit of an iconoclast, using techniques he learned in Switzerland including neutral oak. Cameron refers to his deep-bodied rousanne as a “syrah in drag.” Love it.

Few Washington wineries can boast that they are a “destination winery.” But Cave B Inn at SageCliffe and Cave B Estate Winery can brag. Once there, you will marvel at the dramatic views of the Columbia River Gorge. The Inn’s grand lobby, with its iron-turned chandeliers hanging from the soaring ceiling, huge wrap-around fireplaces and eager staff at your service, will quickly squash any concerns you had about your getaway. Inside, the critically acclaimed Tendrils Restaurant offers elegant Northwest cuisine.

The Cave B Winery tasting room features the wonderfully rich, fullbodied wines of Cave B as well as its second label, SageCliffe. The Cave B tasting room houses a seventeen-foot-long tasting bar, handcrafted from used French oak wine barrel staves crafted by highly skilled local artists. It’s a comfortable space in which to relax and sample Alfredo “Freddy” Arredondo portfolio of reds and whites.

You know that book, “1,000 Places to See Before You Die?” Well, if there were a book entitled “1,000 WineTrails to Experience Before You Die” the Wenatchee to Quincy WineTrail would be near the top.

Happy WineTrails!