04 Apr Sunday Destination #1 – Golden Ridge Cellars
Knowing full well that it was “Taste Washington” weekend, we figured that we’d likely not have any issues with crowds at the various tasting rooms on this gorgeous Sunday, and indeed, that was the case all day long. Our 1st stop was Golden Ridge Cellars, one of two relatively new additions to the 5-warehouse “barn buildings” that house wineries in the airport district. We know this area well, and were surprised to see this new tasting room just waiting for us to come inside. As we approached, a golden retriever named “Lucky”, with LOTS of personality, greeted us at the front door. My wife loves winery dogs, so she ended up making a new friend and taking some photos to add to her “winery-dog collection” she’s been developing over the past few years. I’m greeted by the winemaker/owner, Mr. Michael Rasch. We had a good discussion and I learned about his small production winery and the various estate wines he has been crafting over the past few years. What I particularly enjoyed was that he was pouring older vintages that were very pleasing to my palate. I’m a fan of Bordeaux varietal wines and blends, and he was specializing in Bordeaux-style blends from 2010 through 2014. What I found even better was the fact that he also sold stemmed wine glasses with his logo! And this is always something I love to hear. So we ended up going home with a bottle of the 2014 Estate Blend and a logo’d wineglass as well. I’m hoping Mr. Rasch has continued success in creating delicious wines and growing his small winery! As Arnold Schwarzenegger once said in the 1st Terminator movie, “I’ll be back!”