And I'm back.

Uneventful. It definitely wasn't Napa in a couple of key ways:
1. In Napa, it was hit or miss with the wineries...it was definitely more about the moment and being in it.

2. In the Yakima Valley, it was hard to miss often especially when the price was so right...definitely not about the moment, but should have gone into it with a very different mindset. Less regrets that way.

So I did find a nice smattering of good eats and drinks.

By far, the best eats was the gourmet bean soup out at Eaton Hill Winery. The Semillon makes ALL the difference so I bought a case. Okay. I bought a bottle. Should be enough to make it like 4 times. Man. That stuff was so good. Of course it was the standout because it was a white in the sea of reds and chocolates. To be different, is to be good.

So then drinks.

My fave of the weekend was Sheridan's '05 Cabernet Franc. My dear sweet GOD that was a red for a red lover. If you don't like heavy, thick reds that WOW you, then stay away from this one. Loved. It.

Also at Sheridan, they had an '06 Kamiakin Merlot. I can't stand Merlots. I have it on good authority that this ones holds great promise. Uh huh.

At Agate Field, the '02 La Moisson Red Blend was one of the best red blends I've had in a while. Strong, heady, just a tiny twinge to it...man it was good. I think it was the first they ever bottled and they have not been able to bottle that lightening again I'd imagine. At least not in this year's release. We bought a bottle of that.

At Eaton Hill--aside from the Semillon I bought for the soup, we also liked the Sun Glow Riesling. I'm not a fan of Chard or Riesling. To cook with yes, to drink, no. But the Sun Glow had an interesting twinge to it that I really liked. Whatever the heck the apple mid level "non-desert" wine was, that was crap. Well, not crap, but it was apple juice. Not subtle at all.

At Sageland, they had a nice strong, heady, smooth (three things I rarely find together) '05 Malbec. That was nice. They also had an Andrews Cab Sauv that either had severe case issues or vintage issues. On the list, they had an '04 and an '05. Either we tasted both and one was just not on point or across the case of whichever we tasted, there was a bad bottle. At the club table, it tasted fantastic. At the bar tasting, it was a bit too earthy...as in had me looking at the glass to make sure there was not indeed some sediment at the bottom.

Last but not least, at Hogue, most were the usual mass produced not so good stuff. But the Reserve Merlot (go figure!) was really nice. Very heady but smooth with a wow factor. '04 Reserve Merlot. Loved it. Not as much as the Sheridan Cab Franc, but a really close second.

There you have it. Now it is on me to figure out why it is that I cannot wrap my head around it costing just as much, if not more, for us to bring in our own wine...