Columbia Gorge Wineries

This fun, family-owned boutique winery specializes in French- and Italian-inspired red and white blends, plus a couple of 100 percent albariños and a riesling-gewürztraminer blend. The tasting room is set on a farm overlooking the Columbia River Gorge.

This quaint winery and estate vineyard are set among the pastures and farms about 15 miles north of Vancouver, Washington, in Ridgefield. The wines include a crisp chardonnay and pinot gris, as well as an earthy pinot noir, among others. The on-site catering company offers cheese boards, sandwiches and other wine-friendly bites to enjoy in the tasting room or on the patio of the meticulously manicured grounds.

Vancouver's urban winery produces sublime Bordeaux- and Rhône-style varietals and blends, plus a delicious tempranillo-grenache blend. The wines are produced in small lots with grapes sourced from top locations throughout the Columbia Valley. The friendly tasting room is a popular stop on the city's First Friday art walks and hosts events such as sip-and-stretch yoga and even sip-and-fold origami.

Established in 2003, Cathedral Ridge produces more than 20 different red and white varietals and blends, modeled after the great wines of Europe, under the direction of Michael Sebastiani, a fourth-generation winemaker from Sonoma, California. Most are sourced from top Columbia Gorge vineyards, though the winery does grow riesling, pinot gris and chardonnay on its estate vineyard.

Founder Luke Bradford worked harvests in Tuscany and Sicily in 2000 to 2002, before returning to Washington (he attended Evergreen State University). After working for local wineries, he established COR, derived from the Latin word for heart, in 2004. The winery produces white wines, including a pinot gris–gewürztraminer blend, from Columbia Gorge grapes, and it sources its reds from Horse Heaven Hills and elsewhere in the Columbia Valley.

This 2,500-case-a-year winery, established in 2005 by Alexis and Juliet Pouillon, focuses on Rhône–style varietals and blends, though a cab sauv, merlot and a white Alsacian blend are also available. Its eclectic lineup of wines includes those sourced from vineyards in the Columbia Valley, Horse Heaven Hills and elsewhere in the Gorge, plus an estate syrah.

Founder Franco Marchesi hails from Piemonte and grows barbera, pinot grigio, dolcetto and pinot nero on his estate vineyard, set on a former Hood River apple orchard, which he purchased in 2003. He also produces nebbiolo, sangiovese and even a few Bordeaux-inspired blends with grapes sourced mostly from Eastern Washington. The vineyard, winery and rustic tasting room, along the Hood River County Fruit Loop Trail, feel plucked straight from the Italian countryside.

Situated on a bluff overlooking the Columbia River's multi-hued banks, with Mount Hood off in the distance,, Maryhill makes and pours wines in a quintessential Northwest setting. The winery's tiered approach to production results in selections ranging from everyday drinkers to bottles you'll want to save for special occasions. Pictured above: Maryhill's Columbia Gorge vineyards, by Andrea Johnson.

Founder Bob Morus began by planting a block of pinot noir on his Columbia Gorge property in 1990, and added chardonnay vines a couple of years later. Today, the winery still focuses on these two varietals in its estate vineyard, but also sources white varietals, including gewürztraminer and pinot gris, from nearby Underwood Mountain. Overall, Phelps Creek produces about 5,000 cases a year, under the direction of Alexandrine Roy, a fourth-generation vigneron from Burgundy.

The tasting room at this 3,000-case-a-year winery in Battle Ground, Washington, doubles as a restaurant, serving delicious brick oven pizzas and other eats with its easy-drinking wines. The rustic tasting room, with ample outdoor seating, also hosts live music, summer barbecues and more.

Owner/winemaker Michael Savage creates red and white wines possessing grace, and his wife's name is Grace. The selection includes low-alcohol cabernet francs and light-bodied côts (aka malbecs), plus cool-climate white varietals sourced from Columbia Gorge vineyards. The Underwood winery and vineyard are open for tasting and tours (Fri.–Mon., and by appt); Savage Grace also welcomes visitors in its Woodinville tasting room (Sa.–Sun, and by appt.).

The winery sits on an 80-acre hillside site overlooking the Columbia River Gorge. In the tasting room, you'll find chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, gamy noir and pinot noir sourced from the 28-acre on-site vineyard, as well as rieslings and Bordeaux-style varietals sourced from elsewhere in Washington.

Syncline's winemaker and co-owner James Mantone adheres to Old World principles in crafting soulful wines, which include a slate of Rhône varietals along with others, such as grüner veltliner and picpoul, that are not widely produced in Washington. In the process, he demonstrates the benefits of tempering the power of Washington fruit in favor of complexity.

The white house, a 1908 Dutch Colonial beaut, is one of the most notable landmarks along the Hood River County Fruit Loop Trail, which links area farms and food purveyors. The tasting room offers samples of house-made pear wines, hard ciders and still wines, along with wines produced by others nearby.

Winery founder Lonnie Wright has been planting and managing vineyards in the Columbia Gorge since the mid-1980s. In 2001, he teamed with Oregon winemaker Peter Rosback to create zinfandels and other varietals with grapes from his family's vineyard. You can taste their selections, which include zinfandel, pinot noir, gewürztraminer and others, in the winery's spacious Hood River tasting room.

Established by Dick and Christie Reed, in 1993, Wy'East produces estate pinot noir, pinot gris and chardonnay, as well as a few others with grapes sourced from nearby vineyards. Its 8- and 20-acre estate vineyards are located on nearby sites in the shadow of Mount Hood (known by the indigenous Chinook people as Wy'East). The fun, friendly tasting room is on the Hood River County Fruit Loop Trail. The winery also produces a delicious port-style pinot noir dessert wine, fortified with brandy from Clear Creek Distillers. The latter pairs particularly well with Hershey's Kisses, which tasting room staffers keep on hand for this very combination.