COLUMBIA CREST WINERY

A   H o r s e   H e a v e n   H i l l s   w i n e r y  
o f   S t e.   M i c h e l l e   W i n e   E s t a t e s


Hwy 221, Columbia Crest Drive
Paterson, WA  99345
509-875-2061
888-309-9463 (Wine Orders)

Visitors' Map

Email:  info@columbia-crest.com          Home Page:  www.columbia-crest.com

Winemaker: 
Ray Einberger
 
Vineyard Acreage: 
2,500 vineyard acres surround winery

Products:
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah,
Merlot-Cabernet, Chardonnay, Johannisberg Riesling, Gewürztraminer, Semillon,
Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon-Chardonnay

Tasting Room Hours: 
Open for self-guided tours and
complimentary tastings:

Daily - 10:00am to 4:30pm

CLOSED:  Thanksgiving,
Christmas, New Year's Day and Easter.
Early closing Christmas Eve
and New Year's Eve
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 World renowned.  Washington grown.

 

Columbia Crest winery and grounds - Horse Heaven Hills appellation of Washington
 
     Columbia Crest Winery is one of the wine industry's most amazing success stories.   Founded in 1983, Columbia Crest made headlines, as consumer interest propelled its premium wines onto bestseller lists throughout America. 

       Columbia Crest's achievement is due in large measure to the popularity of its Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.  Expertly directed by winemaker Ray Einberger, wine quality has kept pace with the winery's growth.  The authors of Northwest Wines have written, "Columbia Crest goes from strength to strength, and seems to get better as it gets bigger."

       Located in the heart of the Columbia Valley, the winery is surrounded by 2,500 acres of prime vineyards.  Because the winemakers are literally a step away from the vines, Ray and his team are actively involved in caring for and making decisions about the vineyards.  Their goal is to:

  •  make wines that are true to varietal type;
  •  reflect the intensity of Columbia Valley fruit;
  •  make sure wines are perfect complements to foods.
        Recent acclaim from leading wine publications confirm that Columbia Crest continues to soar.   The winery was voted "Best Winery for Value" in a Wine Spectator Reader's Choice Awards poll the first non-California producer to win one of the survey's American wine categories.  Columbia Crest has earned "Winery of the Year" designation from Wine & Spirits and has received numerous medals and high-ranking scores for all its wine tiers, Two Vines, Grand Estate and Reserve wines.

        This picture-perfect estate winery, its sprawling lawn, and duck-filled pond create an inviting setting for an alfresco picnic or quality relaxation.

Be sure to plan plenty of time for a visit to this one-of-a-kind Washington winery.

 
 Featured Columbia Crest Wines

Creating Wines That Surpass Expectations

       At Columbia Crest, we pride ourselves on delivering handcrafted, superior-quality small-lot wines, as well as affordable everyday wines. Our winemakers make it their mission to deliver wines that beat expectations year after year. 

Wine Tiers

Two Vines Wines         Grand Estate Wines          Reserve Wines
 

Columbia Crest Two Vines label  
Two Vines Wines

The wonderful winemaking conditions in Washington’s Columbia Valley provide the fresh, full flavors of our Two Vines wines.  Our entire Two Vines portfolio has established Columbia Crest as one of America’s most popular and fast-growing wineries.  Critics have repeatedly praised these wines for their value and high quality.

2003 Two Vines Shiraz
Columbia Valley  

“The Two Vines Shiraz features New World-style ripe, jammy fruitiness blended from varieties traditional in the Rhone Valley. Black cherry and white pepper aromatics also are pronounced on the palate along with hints of strawberry. The finish is supple and lingering.”
- Ray Einberger, Winemaker

The final blend includes Viognier and Grenache to enhance the mouthfeel and fruit aromatics.

2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Two Vines
Columbia Valley

"This fruit-forward, minimally oaked Two Vines Cabernet Sauvignon offers light blueberry and cherry aromas and flavors throughout. The balance of fruit and soft oak provides a lingering finish with hints of cocoa." - Ray Einberger, Winemaker

This lightly oaked wine aged 12-14 months.

Locating and Buying Columbia Crest Wines



Grand Estate Wines
 

Columbia Crest’s Grand Estates wines are crafted from a collection of remarkable Columbia Valley vineyard sites, which are selected specifically for their ability to produce wines with intense fruit character and complexity not found in most “everyday” wines.  Columbia Crest Grand Estates are distinguished by their ripe varietal intensity.  Lush and vibrant, the wines offer a pleasing balance of sugar, pH and tannin—a synergy that is grown in the vineyards and preserved in the cellar.

2003 Grand Estate Chardonnay
Columbia Valley

Premium vineyards throughout the Columbia Valley are sources for Columbia Crest’s Grand Estates program.  Whole berry Chardonnay was pressed, and the juice was held at 50 degrees in stainless steel tanks for two days. The settled juice was placed into a combination of new and one-year-old American (60%) and French (40%) oak.  In barrel nine months.

“This is a complex wine with lingering aromas and flavors of cantaloupe, green apple and caramelized sugar. Hints of nutmeg and clove play out on the lush, refined finish.” - Ray Einberger, Winemaker

2003 Grand Estate Merlot
Columbia Valley
98% Merlot, 1% Cabernet Sauvignon, 1% Cabernet Franc
90 pts & Best Value - Wine Spectator

Grand Estates Merlot is harvested from vineyards located predominantly on the Horse Heaven Hills (texture and body) and the Wahluke Slope (aromatics and complexity.)  The grapes were crushed with 20% whole berries remaining.  Wine aged 14-16 months. The oak regime featured 25% new and 75% older French and American barrels. Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon contributed softness and further fruit dimension to the final blend.  Alcohol: 13.5%

“This complex artisan wine is produced using various barrel types and varietals to offer classic Merlot spice, blackberry, and cocoa aromatics which persist on the palate. The balance of wood and black fruits creates a velvety, seductive finish.”- Ray Einberger, Winemaker

Locating and Buying Columbia Crest Wines



Reserve Wines
 

To give our Columbia Crest Reserve wines the hands-on, special care you would expect from a boutique winery, we’ve established separate areas where we use artisan techniques for fermentation and barrel aging. This select group of super-premium Washington wines can be consumed now, but we suggest that you hold onto your favorites and allow them to develop in the bottle. They will reward your patience with rich flavors, velvety textures, and long finishes—and prove just how extraordinary Columbia Valley wines can be.

2004 Reserve Syrah
Horse Heaven Hills
2003 Vintage 91 pts — Wine Spectator

Two vineyards sites of the Horse Heaven Hills appellation – one for Syrah and one for Viognier – are the sole contributors to our Reserve Syrah program. The 2004 harvest was characterized by smaller berry and cluster size, with intense flavors, good sugar development and high natural acidity.  The Syrah fruit was co-fermented with whole berry Viognier (0.25%) in open-top fermenters, with twice-daily pumpovers, or in stainless steel fermenters with punch downs four times daily.  Lots were blended and placed in half new French and half new American oak barrels for malolactic fermentation.  The wine was racked by gravity flow at three month intervals during its 20 months in barrels.  Alcohol: 14.2%

“This Reserve Syrah, crafted in a Cote Rotie style, boasts generous Syrah aromatics of white pepper, cocoa and blueberry, with hints of Viognier’s subtly sweet orange peel, pear and rose petal. Spice and earthy overtones, hallmarks of the Horse Heaven Hills terroir, are followed by mouth-filling flavors of dark chocolate, cocoa, and roasted coffee bean and a seductive blueberry-raspberry finish.” - Ray Einberger, Winemaker

2003 Walter Clore Private Reserve Red Table Wine
Columbia Valley (50% Wahluke Slope, 50% Horse Heaven Hills)
2002 Vintage - 93 pts, Highly Recommended and Top 100 — Wine Spectator

Walter Clore is known as the “Father of the Washington’s Wine Industry.”  In honor of his viticultural research and contribution to our success, we’ve named this special wine after him.  Our Reserve Red is produced from vineyards among the oldest in the state; vineyards located on the Wahluke Slope offer aromatics, texture and complexity; Cold Creek sites contribute flavor and fruitiness; and Horse Heaven Hills fruit introduces balance and body.  Small lot, artisan-style winemaking has produced a refined, yet powerful, wine that will reach maturity well into the next decade. 

“A classic Bordeaux-style winemaking protocol enhances the aromatics of earth, coconut, blackberry and slight mint in this red blend.  Fruit and oak are perfectly balanced to yield a very complex chocolate-cherry-blackberry profile with a lingering finish.  This is a very seductive, hedonistic experience in the glass.” - Ray Einberger, Winemaker


Locating and Buying Columbia Crest Wines


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Copyright © 1997 - 2006  Susan R. O'Hara. All rights reserved.
Last revised: 10/23/2006