Columbia Valley

This elegant white wine, a collaboration of Chateau Ste. Michelle and Germany's Dr. Loosen winery, shows the enormous potential of Washington state riesling. It's a powerful wine -- mostly dry but with enough residual sugar to ward off severity -- with a great deal of the elegance found in a top-notch Rhine. It displays a complex blend of pear, mineral, cherry, sweet pea and citrus flavors and finishes with a hint of spritz. Serve with roast turkey and spicy Asian dishes.

This wonderfully made red blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, syrah and other varieties is immensely appealing in a purely sensual way. It's not a wine for contemplation but sheer enjoyment with its medium-full body and lush fruit. It offers a rich variety of flavors including black cherry, raspberry, herbs and winter mulling spices. It gives the impression of sweetness without actually being sweet — a wonderful characteristic in a wine. From: Columbia Valley, Washington Price: $15 Serve with: Hearty stew, red meat

1995 Hedges Cabernet-Merlot, Columbia Valley ($11.29).This red-wine blend, from an excellent Washington state winery, offers firm structure and ripe, voluptuous black currant and black cherry fruit. It's a full-bodied, forward wine in the Mae West style. There's also enough backbone here to let this wine age for a good five years.Pub date: 3/2/97

If you're looking for a bargain, check back another week, If you're looking for a superb dessert treat to follow the Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, this decadently wonderful wine justifies its price tag. It's patterned on the rare and wonderful beerenauslese dessert wines of Germany, and if it's any consolation, it's cheap by comparison. This nectar is packed with flavors of honey, winter spices, apricots, pear, apple and pineapple — then followed with penetrating acidity that keeps the fun going.

Out of a sextet of white wines from this reliable Washington state producer, this was the best value. It's a full-bodied, dry wine with an appealing, creamy texture. It offers a complex-for-its-price blend of lemon, apple, spice and mineral flavors. All in all, it's a worthy New World echo of Alsace pinot gris. Serve with salmon.

These are some of the top Washington state wines tasted during and after a recent visit. Each wine is marked either * for wide availability in Maryland; ** for limited availability here; or *** for a wine that is impossible to find in the state. Some wines marked *** might be available in limited quantities in the District of Columbia. Within each wine type, wines are listed in order of preference.Where the appellation is Washington state, that has been omitted.REDSCabernet Sauvignon: 1987 and 1988 Quilceda Creek***; 198Woodward Canyon, Columbia Valley**; 1988 Columbia Winery, David Lake, Red Willow Vineyard**; 1989 Facelli, Limited Bottling***; 1988 Gordon Brothers***; 1988 Columbia Winery, David Lake, Otis Vineyard**; 1989 Andrew Will***; 1987 Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Valley, Cold Creek Vineyard**; 1987 Paul Thomas Reserve**; 1989 Columbia Winery*; 1988 Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Valley*.

1995 Hedges Fume-Chardonnay, Columbia Valley ($9.49).Columbia Valley, in Washington state, is earning a reputation for skillful blending and sound value. This crisp, dry white wine displays both. Its smoky, herbal flavors from sauvignon blanc grapes intertwine neatly with the apple nuances and fuller body of the chardonnay. Together, they form a stylish, medium-bodied wine that could be matched with a variety of seafood dishes.Pub date: 3/16/97

2003 Chateau Ste. Michelle Cold Creek Vineyard Riesling, Columbia Valley ($17). This intensely flavorful riesling from Washington state is just a little off-dry and displays a broad array of flavors: minerals, strawberry, citrus fruit, melon, honey and sweet peas. That's a lot going on in one glass. This would be an excellent pairing with spicy Asian dishes.

1994 Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay, Barrel Fermented, Columbia Valley ($12)This Washington state winery produces this crisp, TC medium-weight chardonnay in massive quantities, but the wine still retains an artisanal authenticity. It's exquisitely balanced, with fine toastiness, rich yeast flavors and surprising complexity. It's a wine to look out for, especially on restaurant wine lists.@

1999 Chateau Ste. Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley ($15). This widely distributed wine from one of the nation's finest large wineries shows just how classy a midpriced Washington state cabernet can be. This full-bodied wine is packed with black cherry, black currant, chocolate and toasty oak flavors. The tannins are soft but ample, giving the consumer the option of drinking it now or letting it develop for five to eight years. Its complexity level compares well with many California cabernets in the $20 to $40 range.

This is hardly the greatest sparking wine on the market. But there's a good case to be made that this is the best widely distributed, reasonably dry bubbly in this price range. It's not as dry as most brut Champagnes, nor is it as complex, but it's a well-made, toasty, crackling wine that doesn't insult the palate — as cheap sparklers often do. It competes well with many of its counterparts in the neighborhood of $20. You could call it frugality with some class. From: Columbia Valley, Wash.

Here's a delicious, affordable red blend made in Washington state from the cabernet sauvignon, merlot and syrah grapes. It's one of those wines that is dry but gives the impression of sweetness with its lively black cherry, wild berry, blueberry and chocolate flavors. Well-balanced and intense, it's ready to drink now but could keep a few years. 2007 Kamiak Rock Lake Red From: Columbia Valley, Wash. Price: $15 Serve with: Red meat, pasta

From: Columbia Valley, Wash. Price: $15 Serve with: Red meat, pasta Here's a delicious, affordable red blend made in Washington state from the cabernet sauvignon, merlot and syrah grapes. It's one of those wines that is dry but gives the impression of sweetness with its lively black cherry, wild berry, blueberry and chocolate flavors. Well-balanced and intense, it's ready to drink now but could keep a few years. Recipe search   Search over 3,000 recipes in our archive Keywords:    Or choose a date:    Choose ... All to April '02 Feb. 3, 2010 Jan. 27, 2010 Jan. 20, 2010 Jan. 13, 2010 Jan. 6, 2010 Dec. 30, 2009 Dec. 23, 2009 Dec. 16, 2009 Dec. 9, 2009 Dec. 2, 2009 Nov. 25, 2009 Nov. 18, 2009 Nov. 11, 2009 Nov. 4, 2009 Oct. 28, 2009 Oct. 21, 2009 Oct. 14, 2009 Oct. 7, 2009 Sept.

Retailer Filene's Basement, known for its discounted brand names and annual bridal gown sale, is preparing to close three stores in Columbia, Hunt Valley and Towson, leaving the Inner Harbor location as its only spot in the Baltimore region. The three Baltimore-area stores are among 11 locations nationwide that are expected to be shut down by the end of next month unless the retailer is able to negotiate lower rents with their respective landlords, Filene's general counsel, Julie Davis, said in a brief interview yesterday.

From: Washington Price: $12 Serve with: Shellfish, Thai or Vietnamese cuisine This pioneering Washington state winery long has been known for its rieslings, but until this year its dry version of the famous German white varietal had been sold only in the Pacific Northwest. It's good to see it go national because it's a crisp, fruity version that is quite dry but not overly severe. There's plenty of complexity here - apple, peach, pear, spices, coconut and minerals - and stylishness, too, for the price.

This Washington state red wine is simply a terrific value. It can fairly be described as a "fruit bomb" - with amazingly pure and intense black-cherry and cassis flavors, and hints of blueberry and chocolate. Its silky-smooth texture notwithstanding, there's a core of firm tanning here that should give confidence to anyone who wants to stash away a few bottles for a decade or so. This wine is a tribute to the extraordinary progress being made in Washington state. Serve with rack of lamb, top beef cuts.

If you're very sophisticated and demand only complex, dry wines, see you next week. This white wine is definitely on the sweet side, and you don't need a cryptologist to decode the message that this wine is all about the fruit (and a great price). It's pure riesling - with loads of citrus, peach, melon, tropical fruit, honey and all those decadent flavors. It's not so sweet it can't be served with the right foods, but it has enough residual sugar that it might appeal to some young people making the transition from shooters and soda pop. Serve with Thai green papaya salad, satay or roast turkey.