Is It Love, or Just Crush?

Falling for Wine, Balloons and Sun

By the Numbers Miles from Bellevue to Yakima: 135 Miles from Yakima to Prosser: 52 Miles from Prosser to Richland: 30 Average high temperature in Yakima in September: 78 Average high temperature in Tri-Cities in September: 80 Pounds of grapes needed to produce one bottle of wine: 2.8 Bottles of wine produced by one vine: 5 Number of vines on 1 acre of land: between 726 and 1,300 Acres producing wine grapes in Columbia Valley AVA: 6,693 Acres producing wine grapes in Yakima Valley AVA: 11,000 Acres producing wine grapes in Rattlesnake Hills AVA: 1,215 Acres producing wine grapes in Red Mountain AVA: 700 Acres producing wine grapes in Snipes Mountain AVA: 535 SOURCES: Yakima Valley Visitors & Convention Bureau, Tri-Cities Visitor & Convention Bureau, wineyakimavalley.org

In September, Eastsiders start saying goodbye to bright, hot summer and hello to cold, cloudy autumn. For one last taste of summer, go east! Because in September, folks in Yakima, Prosser and the Tri-Cities are basking in golden sunshine as warm as 80 degrees. Late September is especially lively because the area’s nationally known wineries celebrate the harvest with grape stomps, winery tours, food, live music and special wine tastes for the public. In Prosser, a brilliant kaleidoscope of hot air balloons launch during the annual Great Prosser Balloon Rally.

So why are we telling you this now? Because reservations fill up fast by those in the know — and now you’re one of them.

Yakima: Shopping, nightlife and wine tasting
The leisurely two-hour drive to Yakima can be relaxing. A good first stop is the visitor information center. Free maps, guide books and helpful staff are brimming with the latest information. Some wineries are in obscure places, so wine maps are useful.

Essencia Artisan Bakery in downtown Yakima offers remedies for the long drive, like cinnamon beehives, espresso, muffins, soups, sandwiches and scones.

Downtown Yakima stores are within walking distance, like The Little Soapmaker and Shopkeeper Downtown. Despite its humble exterior, Garden Dance markets a collection of clothes, handmade cards, hats, notepads, scarves and more. Shop owners at Stems (featuring local wines and wine gifts) and Cascade Wine Company (featuring small-production wines) can suggest wines and tasting rooms to help travelers fine-tune itineraries.

Unwind at Ummelina Spa of Yakima. Besides traditional spa treatment rooms, Ummelina’s theme rooms simulate soothing climates: Hot Spring Room centers on a mineral spring soaking bath, Rainforest Room billows steam clouds and Desert Room radiates dry heat.

Downtown Yakima’s wine tasting rooms have two different sides. By day, tasting rooms are easygoing like Kana Winery and Donitelia Winery. By night, live music turns up the tempo. With its street-corner location, Gilbert Cellars is a place to see and be seen. Inside Tim’s Downtown Tasting Room, a winery cooperative, walk straight back to find the semi-secluded, cozy lounge for its comfy chairs, fireplace and live music. To uncover refreshing views, greenery and choice picnic spots, drive uphill to Tasting Room Yakima, an 85-acre hilltop farmhouse. Fresh air and three wineries on tap — Harlequin Wine Cellars, Naches Heights Vineyards and Wilridge Winery — encourage people to linger. Nearby, Washington Fruit Place & Gift Shop at Barrett Orchards supplies snack and picnic supplies aplenty. Barrett Orchards’ famous peach smoothie is restorative, sweet sunshine in a cup. For satisfying Italian cuisine, step into the dream-like Mediterranean atmosphere at Zesta Cucina.

Prosser: Hot air balloons, harvest festival, wine tasting
Prosser is a small town with a big reputation for hot air balloons and distinct, memorable wine tasting experiences. In late September, there’s the mesmerizing Great Prosser Balloon Rally at Prosser Washington Airport. Enthusiasts arrive shortly before dawn (about 6:15 a.m.) and dress in warm layers. Bonus: Crowds flock to Art Fiker Stadium at 5:30 p.m. Saturday evening for Night Glow, when balloons are anchored and illuminated.

Because of its gentle winds and numerous landing sites, Prosser attracts about 30 returning hot air balloon pilots, like Larry Simburger of Everett. People’s eyes light up as crews and volunteers use man-sized fans and flaming burners to turn flat, flabby, earthbound fabric envelopes into soft, taut, weightless balloons. Up close, before launch, the balloons fill the sky like three-story-tall stained glass windows, yet they float like ballerinas.

It takes about $10,000 to $40,000 to buy a hot air balloon and several people to crew it, but the effort is worth it, Simburger said. “I love the camaraderie. You can’t think of anything else when you’re flying,” he said.

Once the balloons are safely away, folks hop over to the Prosser Farmers’ Market, the Prosser Harvest Festival and that Caren Mercer-Andreason Street Painting Festival for hometown fun: handcrafted art, craft sellers, kids’ activities, live music and fresh fruits and vegetables. Some satisfy their sweet tooths by scoring chocolate-covered cherries, chocolate nuts and dried fruit at Chukar Cherries’ headquarters in Prosser.

Touring Prosser’s growing collection of topnotch wine tasting rooms rounds out the wine lovers’ to-do list. Many are in two easy-to-walk-to places: Prosser Airport Wine District (including Airfield Estates Winery, Olsen Estates and Thurston Wolfe) and Prosser Food & Wine Park (including Alexandria Nicole Cellars, Cowan Vineyards, Heaven’s Cave and Kestrel Vintners). Each tasting room is unique, from the contemporary Thurston Wolfe to the traditional Olsen Estates.

History buffs can learn about Airfield Estates Winery's connections to early irrigation projects, Franklin D. Roosevelt and a World War II air base and see historic photos. In the room behind Cowan Vineyard’s humble wine bar, Cowan family members apply wine labels by hand as intrigued patrons watch. Admirers of the eye-catching Lady in Red and Platinum wines flock to Kestrel Vintners.

If the Southwest is calling, go directly to Desert Wind Winery for its monumental Southwest-themed Hospitality Center, including tasting room, a restaurant, a banquet hall, guest rooms and an outdoor patio overlooking the Yakima River, which winds between the two wine parks. Dinner in Desert Wind’s spacious, calming restaurant is a suitable end to any day.

Tri-Cities: Famous food and, you guessed it, wine tasting
In the Tri-Cities area, wineries are more spread out, requiring longer drives in exchange for scenic views. The Red Mountain AVA, a 4,000-acre government-designated wine-growing area near Benton City defined by its distinct geographic features, rewards adventurous drivers.

Red Mountain is home to about a dozen distinct wineries, with a combined 700 planted acres. Terra Blanca Winery’s mammoth Tuscan villa with its medieval twist and Kiona Vineyards Winery’s desert modern villa with its clean lines are stark contrasts in architecture and wine tastes. Also in Benton City, Oakwood Cellars is like an easygoing neighborhood party house that welcomes all, complete with lawn chairs, a covered patio, gourmet food and occasional live music.

Elsewhere in the area, people seek out wineries for different reasons, such as architecture, atmosphere, views, food and wine. Bookwalter Winery has crafted a honeycomb of gathering spaces that satisfy different moods and nurtures the “slow wine” movement. The different spaces, including a trendy lounge, a thoughtful gallery, an energetic front patio and a serene garden, as well as frequent live music, encourage people to sit, sip and slow down. Naturalists pause at the certified organic Vineyard Badger Mountain and Powers Winery in Kennewick to taste Badger Mountain’s organic wines and learn about the winery’s all-natural winemaking techniques.

Visitors can see how solar power, biodiesel and all-natural ingredients are employed in Badger Mountain’s wine production. At Gordon Brothers Family Vineyards in Pasco, watchful enthusiasts hope the winemaker’s recent triple blend experiment worked and will be for sale. If not, the usual wine lineup and view of the Snake River, only a few hundred yards away, are reward aplenty.

To take a break, favorite food landmarks in Richland are a fun way to reenergize. Atomic Ale Brewpub & Eatery is home to an amazingly savory potato soup. The state’s only Spudnut Shop, open since 1948, serves up its famous potato flour doughnuts, called “Spudnuts.” For something more formal, slide inside the Tri-Cities’ only antique railroad dining car: Monterosso’s Italian Restaurant can charm romantics and Italian food lovers alike.

Lodging: Book early for choice rooms
 With so much to choose from, travelers usually stay for days. Calling and booking ahead are a must. The area’s choice sleeping spots in hotels, inns and bed and breakfasts are reserved weeks, if not months, before harvest. At the Cozy Rose Inn near Yakima, innkeepers Mark and Jennie Jackson create and maintain fantasy-like, romantic getaway rooms based on their own bed and breakfast adventures. Because of the home-cooked meals, flat-screen TVs, in-room Jacuzzis, shaded backyard, soothing European interiors and private room entrances, guests often retreat for days. Courtyard by Marriott in Richland rests on the Columbia River next to the paved Richland Riverfront Trail, ideal for walking or bicycling. In Prosser, Desert Wind Winery offers a Southwest-style escape with rooms, a banquet hall and a tasting room. Atop historical Thompson Hill in the Tri-Cities, 360 Cellars Estate Bed & Breakfast delivers on its name with panoramic vistas and privacy. It’s well-suited for parties, weddings and private events, as well as a getaway.

Time to go, take your wine home
Harvest is a great time to restock home cellars, especially before winter holidays. Limited edition, newly released and bargain wines abound. Most wineries will ship to private homes within Washington state. if there’s not enough room in the vehicle for all the goodies. Also, many Eastern Washington wine labels are available at Eastside wine shops. But there’s only one place to get September sunshine and wine country atmosphere like this — and it’s Eastern Washington.

Jenny Lynn Zappala of Kirkland and her family headed to Eastern Washington’s Crush and balloon festivities last season. They plan to return.

---

For the full story pick up the latest copy of 425 magazine. Subscriptions are available by phone at 425.646.1380 or you may order your subscription online.