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Our 2003 example is from Fred Artz' on Red Mountain and Chandler Reach, just a stoneÕs throw up the Yakima Valley. This wine showcases some of the reasons that Cabernet Franc is beginning to turn heads. Depth of color, flavor, mouth feel; raspberries, not black berries, high palate tones, not plums and cherries - these are marks of Cabernet Franc at its best and beautifully expressed in this vintage. Try our Cabernet Franc with salmon sometime. We find it complements salmon almost anyway you fix it - blackened, poached, baked, or barbequed. The brightness of the fruit and good acid levels will cut through those healthy Omega 3 fats and fit right in with the spice of a blackened fish or with a summer's fresh fruit salsa. Enjoy!

Our 2002 example is from Fred Artz' on Red Mountain and Chandler Reach, just a stone's throw up the Yakima Valley. This wine showcases some of the reasons that Cabernet Franc is beginning to turn heads. Depth of color, flavor, mouth feel; raspberries, not black berries, high palate tones, not plums and cherries - these are marks of Cabernet Franc at its best and beautifully expressed in this vintage. The 2002 was recognized as a "Wine of American Greatness" in the prestigious Jefferson Cup Invitational competition organized by Doug Frost. Doug is one of only three people in the world to hold both the Master of Wine and the Master Sommelier designations and we are honored to have earned this recognition for the winery and the state.

The 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon is a wine of character, sort of like us at Camaraderie, or at least we're a winery of characters, or so folks have said. We have worked to make a wine that is approachable now for those full flavored meals and a wine with enough structure to age beautifully for the next decade, though you may have difficulty saving it for that long. In reality, a good food wine needs the acid and tannin profile to stand up to hardy fare. If it doesn't, neither the wine nor the longevity do so well.

The 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon is a wine of character, sort of like us at Camaraderie, or at least we're a winery of characters, or so folks have said. We have worked to make a wine that is approachable now for those full flavored meals and a wine with enough structure to age beautifully for the next decade, though you may have difficulty saving it for that long.

For the first time since making Grâce we have blended all five Bordeaux varieties, namely: abouot 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, about 20% Merlot, and 15% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Malbec and 2% Petite Verdot. The varietal percentages are only part of the story, however. A true Washington State, Columbia Valley wine, grapers are sourced from four official appellations. Fred Artz vineyard on Red Mountain complements fruit from Paul Champoux at Mercer Ranch in the Horse Heaven Hills, which merges with fruit from Butch Milbrandt's Clifton Vineyard on the Wahluke Slope. In addition small lots come from Chandler Reach, Craford Family Vineyard, and Meek Family Vineyard, all in the Prosser-Benton City areas of the Yakima Valley. Each vineyard brings structure for long-term aging, but we think you will find the 2003 Grâce quite attractive now. Past vintages of Grâce have scored multiple international awards including a Double Gold at the San Francisco International Competition and Platinum in head to head tastings with other Gold-medal wining wines. The 2003 follows in this tradition. Wine making for the Grâce emphasizes the development of flavor layers and complementarity. This is achieved though the use of multiple yeasts during fermentation, a barreling regime that uses both French and American oak (about 25% new each year), and secret incantations at and during the gibbous moon (usually sung alone in counter tenor by the winemaker)

This year's Bordeaux-styled blend has four of the five varieties of Bordeaux wines in it. Namely 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, about 20% Merlot, and 15% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Malbec. Grâce is a French word, that means "thanks and blessing, elegance and charm". We have heard a lot of folks pronounce it differently, but the word rhymes with "gloss". This wine is not glossy without substance, however. Like many of our wines, the grapes are from Fred Artz' vineyard on Red Mountain, Paul Champoux at Mercer Ranch, and Len Parris at Chandler Reach. The Malbec comes from Crawford Vineyard in Prosser. Each vineyard brings structure for long-term aging, but we think you will find this quite attractive now. We have worked hard to soften tannins and build the middle palate of our red wines over the last few years and hope you will agree. Our 2002 version of Grâce has scored multiple international awards including a Double Gold at the San Francisco International Competition.

We harvest Malbec late in the season (mid-to late October) and the comparatively cool site of the Crawford Vineyard allows for "hang time" to let flavors get deeper and deeper. We fermented in small lots (with only two tons, what else?), kept fermentation temperatures on the cool side, and "voila" (or is that Walla). Barrel aging was in neutral oak, and the combination produced very fruit expressive wine that will hold up with anything its foreign siblings have to offer. Of the "Bordeaux" varieties, Malbec is the most iconoclastic from our experience. Taste for near citrus elements and something that might be a cross between Syrah and Zinfandel (yes, I know that sounds odd, but É) Cherry, pit fruit, and berry flavors mark Malbec's Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon neighbors, but seem to have chosen to take a back seat to Malbec's choice to be different. Enjoy this wine with foods that need a complementary spiciness. We have had it with salad with blood orange dressing and a wonderful traditional Hungarian Goulash. What ever you have it with, make sure you have it with friends and celebrate uniqueness and the philosophy at Camaraderie that the best things in life really are meant to be shared.

Our Merlot holds its own with any of the other Bordeaux varieties. The grapes are from Chandler Reach, within eyeshot of Red Mountain, and Fred Artz' vineyard on Red Mountain at the far eastern end of the Yakima Valley. Grapes from these vineyards make for structured wines that might be confused with the mouthfeel of Cabernet Sauvignon, except for one thing. If I knew what it was, I'd tell you, but I'm not sure except that the "middle palate" weight of our Merlot is as Merlot-ish as you can get. No "I'll have a Merlot" light weight kind of wine, this one. It's full of black berry and cherry and is chewy ® not to excess, but definitely a wine that will be enjoyed most by folks who like to carry on a dialog with their wine. Drink it now for a quality but youthful discussion, or allow both of you to age a couple of years for a deeper conversation.

"What kind of a grape is a Trinquer", our customer asked. Well, it isn't, I said. Then the customer asked, "Well, what kind of a fruit is it then?" I took a deep breath and went on to explain, that Trinquer, is our proprietary blend of three wonderful white wine grapes - Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and Viognier and it is just perfect with our Northwest seafood. I had to explain what a "vignar" was, and finally just said, "Try it, I hope you like it". It was well received, and a smile and better conversation ensued. The Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon came from our friend Fred Artz on Red Mountain where ripe pear and apple flavors flourish. The Viognier is from Crawford Family Vineyard in Prosser and has the classic aromatics of peach and apricot. Barrel fermented, the Viognier lends a wonderful depth to a classic wine combination already made famous in Bordeaux. "Trinquer", means to clink glasses in French, and is pronounced sort of like "trank-kay". It reminds us of the celebration wine brings to any meal. Try it with seared scallops, oysters, shrimp, or halibut.