When most people think of "Washington," with its temperate, moist climate and bountiful water and trees, they're actually thinking of Western Washington. But the strip of land between the ocean and the Cascade Mountains that typifies the "Pacific Northwest" is only part of the story.
If you cross the Cascades, as we did on Saturday, you get to a completely different environment. Eastern Washington, which makes up a majority of the state's land and a minority of the state's population, is very different from Seattle. This is a vast, dry land of rolling brown hills, canyons, and tumbleweed; arid except for pockets of irrigation.
Heading east out of Seattle on I-90 you go through the mountains and, descending, enter a desert landscape which could easily be mistaken for Arizona or New Mexico. You reach the Columbia River, which has used its Cascade and British Columbia meltwater to carve a huge gorge. After crossing the Columbia, you reach what might be your destination: wine country.
Cave B Estate Winery is a fairly well-publicized place: it has a spectacular setting, a reputation for fantastic food, and its 2.25 hour drive from Seattle makes it one of the closest wineries in the up-and-coming Columbia Valley winemaking region. We chose Saturday to visit because they were having a Harvest Festival. We could watch as the freshly picked grapes were de-stemmed and put into the fermentation tank. There was freshly squeezed apple cider (from apples grown on the estate), hay rides for the kids, and a grape-stomping competition. And of course there was plenty of wine and great food.
While Columbia Valley wine doesn't yet have the worldwide renown of regions like Napa or Sonoma, visiting Cave B was in many ways better than our experience in California. Great scenery aside, Cave B was far more peaceful: none of the bumper-to-bumper traffic or tourist busses. There is a small inn on the property that we're thinking would make a great weekend getaway, especially since Eastern Washington is far sunnier (although much colder) than Seattle during the winter.
We took a lot of great pictures, see them here.
2 comments:
Great pictures! I especially like the one with the horses way up on the ridge. I am a little disappointed not to see Erik in a cowboy hat though.
You know, I left my cowboy hat, boots, chaps, and giant belt buckle at home. I didn't think they would be appropriate at the winery; I'll be sure to bring them next time, Matt.
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