Spokane’s Grande Ronde Cellars
The story of Grande Ronde Cellars is the circle of life…wine life. It’s the story of a caterer who struggled to find good wine, so he opened a wine shop. It’s the story of a wine shop owner who struggled to find access to quality wine, so he started a distributorship. It’s the story of a distributor who fell in love with the process and passion of wine-making and used his connections with key grape growers to secure quality fruit. In 1997 Grande Ronde Cellars was born and now the circle is complete as they are a winery that uses […]
Episode #28 Liberty Lake Wine Cellars
Liberty Lake Winery’s story is not uncommon; a hobby that grows beyond the boundaries of a single cellar. What separates Doug and Shelly Smith is their passion for the Liberty Lake and Spokane community. “If we could just enjoy a glass of wine with everyone in our area, we’d be happy,” says Doug. Originally Doug was experimenting with home brew when Shelly encouraged him to make something she could enjoy too. Realizing that their concentrated kit wine wasn’t up to par with what they were experiencing at wineries, they asked for tips from places they visited. “Good wine comes […]
Barrister Wine – Setting the Bar High
The journey of Barrister Winery began as two lawyers, Greg Lipsker and Michael White, were vacationing with their families in British Columbia and they stopped in a local shop to buy wine and walked out with a five gallon Zinfandel wine making kit. When I asked how it was, Greg responded, “We thought it was wonderful.” “But it wasn’t,” Mike quickly joked. Five gallons turned into 50 gallons, which then turned into crushing 1 ½ tons in their garage in 2000. “Friends and family were so supportive. When they heard we were making wine, they were eager to help.” Trial […]
Spokane Wine Tour
Spokane is a destination for wine. 18 wineries call Spokane home. Whether you are a local who is exploring the region one sip at a time, or you’re visiting for conventions, golf, travel, skiing or more, you need to take a moment and get a sip of Spokane. Explore the majestic views and award winning wines at Arbor Crest. See pioneer Mike Conway of Latah Creek. Spend the afternoon in Greenbluff picking fruit and sipping wine. Relax with a sip overlooking Liberty Lake at Liberty Lake Wine Cellars. Go urban with amazing boutique wineries like Ovebluff, Barili, Vintage Hill, Robert […]
Episode #20 Latah Creek Winery Spokane
Only a handful of wine makers in the state of Washington have as much experience as Mike Conway.When Mike opened Latah Creek and Hogue Cellars in 1982 (in a partnership with Mike Hogue), there were only 18 wineries in the state. After two years as the head wine maker at Hogue, Mike left to concentrate on Latah Creek. The full history of Latah Creek can be read on their web site. Mike crafted his winemaking skills in the 70’s working for wine giants E&J Gallo, Franzia Brothers and Parducci. It was while at Parducci that he honed his skills for white […]