A Taste for Wine – and Adventure
March 5, 2010 by Heather Caro
A Taste for Wine – and Adventure
By Heather Caro
Interested in savoring local sage-steppe scenery with wineglass in hand? Intrepid wine lovers might enjoy a visit to TRY – Tasting Room Yakima in Naches.
From wildlife viewing and a picnic lunch to mountain biking and rock climbing, visitors here have much to choose from to satisfy a taste for adventure as well as fine wine. The sweetest treats from TRY – aside from vintages featured from Wilridge Winery, Naches Heights Vineyard, Harlequin Wine Cellars and Mountain Dome – are the many outdoor delights available on site.
Perched near the cusp of Cowiche Canyon, the picturesque 1900s-era farmhouse and tasting room is bordered by more than 85 acres of vineyards, orchards and rugged native landscape, including Wilridge Winery’s 12-acre organic and biodynamic vineyard. There is an extensive organic herb and vegetable garden on the grounds and free-range chickens that roam the vineyard, fertilizing and naturally suppressing the bug population.
Wanderers are welcome.
As you walk, be sure to watch for artistic touches by Paul Beveridge, Wilridge Winery’s proprietor and winemaker, who is also an accomplished artist. His pottery can be found on display throughout TRY grounds … in sometimes surprising places.
Gourmet snacks are offered at the farmhouse, such as the Salumi Salami and cheese plate served with La Panzanella Croccantini flat bread. For those who prefer a pint, ales from Yakima Craft Brewing Co. are also on hand.
Sip and snack while enjoying panoramic views of the valley from the farmhouse porch – or lace up your hiking boots and make a day of it. Visitors can pair a vintage with their picnic lunch and venture down into the canyon. The newly developed half-mile Cowiche Canyon Winery Trail begins near the tasting room doors and eventually intersects the main canyon trail.
For further exploits, a rock wall with established anchors for top rope climbing is located on the south side of Wilridge Winery. The wall is a favorite among local climbers, so be sure to bring your gear.
Whatever adventure visitors decide upon, knowledgeable onsite Tasting Room managers Damon Lobato and Lori Carpenter are quick to answer questions and point guests in the right direction.
Directions: From Interstate 82, merge onto U.S. 12 toward Naches/White Pass. Turn left on Ackley Road and then right on Powerhouse Road. Stay straight onto South Naches Road and straight onto Schuller Grade Road. Turn right onto Naches Heights Road and then left on Ehler Road. Follow the signs to the Tasting Room and Wilridge Vineyard.
Tasting Room Yakima
250 Ehler Road, Yakima, WA 98908
Tasting Room Hours:
11 a.m.-7 p.m., Thursday – Monday
Tuesday and Wednesday by appointment
Phone: 509-966-0686
winesofwashington.com
On site TRY managers Damon Lobato and Lori Carpenter
Q&A with Damon Lobato
We caught up with sommelier Damon Lobato at Tasting Room Yakima during a rare quiet moment. Here’s what he had to say about wine, learning to dig in the dirt and what’s in store for TRY.
YM: Damon, you’ve had some amazing experiences in the food and wine industry. What brought you to TRY?
DL: My first job was in a restaurant at age 14. While attending Metro-State College in Denver, Colorado, I worked at various boutique chef-owned restaurants, which inspired me to pursue a career in the business. I started studying wine on my own, and set off for a two-year stint with the Orient Express in Europe, as a wine captain. It was a treat to have breakfast in Berlin and dinner in Paris on any given day. In 2004, I received my First Level Sommelier Certification. Shortly after, I worked at the world-renowned Broadmoor Hotel (in Colorado Springs, Colo.), where I worked as a sommelier. I then left to Boston, where I headed 28-Degrees in South End. After a year there, back in Denver I opened restaurant Shazz Café & Bar: an upscale restaurant, which emphasized the “farm to table concept.” With the struggling economy, I then looked to the Northwest to satisfy my appetite for all that it offers. I couldn’t have done better.
YM: What have been some of the surprising benefits to being part of TRY?
DL: The response that we get from every person who makes it out to TRY is great to experience on our end. It gives them an opportunity to breathe in the spectacular terrain and sunny weather – and taste through some very good wines. For me personally, though, it is being part of this land and learning what it has to offer every day. Coming from the city, it is one thing to talk about organic agriculture, viticulture, community and sustainability to others, but what really matters is that I am practicing what I preach now – living and working in the country.
YM: What are your hopes for the future of TRY?
DL: We have so much to accomplish in the near future as a business, from our renewable energy efforts (wind turbines along the canyon ridge are planned with assistance from President Obama’s Clean Energy grant), the pending Naches Heights AVA (if approved, it would be the first 100 percent organic AVA in the country), to the (visitor lodging) cabins that will be in place by next summer on the backside of the vineyard and atop the Cowiche Canyon. We will continue to practice sustainability and keep people coming out for all the recreation that we have to offer.
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