The Grapes of 2102

We have returned home with our booty of grapes. They are currently sitting in a bath of themselves in my giant cooler. We started with 100 pounds. Then they went through the crusher and became juice...or perhaps more accurately, must. 

But let's get things in order.

We started our day by getting up around 8 and having a hearty breakfast at the Sunnyside Inn. If anyone is looking for a nice place to stay in the Yakima Valley, more specifically, the Sunnyside/Prosser area, we recommend the Sunnyside Inn.

After breakfast, we loaded up and headed for our first winery. We were planning on going to Steppe Cellars in an area known as Rattlesnake Hills, but they didn't open until 11. We had to be at our grape source at 11 so that was a no-go. There was another winery in the immediate area called Tefft, so we went there.

We ended up buying a box of wine from these guys.

From here, we went to Vine Heart. This is our grape connection. Things went very smoothly at Vine Heart and we were in and outta there with our must in 20 minutes.

After that, the day was ours to do as we pleased and then head home at a reasonable hour.

There is a wine makers coop area in Prosser where we can hit several wineries in one stop. We went to three bing-bang-boom!

First was Coyote Canyon. There were a bunch of people there and we got a nice tour and lots of questions answered. Plus they had meatballs. Yum!

Next door was Martinez and Martinez. Tasted lots, bought nothing.
Oh wait! I forgot that Susan bought a Corkscrew from these guys.
Next to them, behind the fountain is Apex. Again...tasted but no purchase. 

We ended our tasting day at Milbrandt Vineyards. We had some food and some wines and then decided to call it a day.

The drive home took two and half hours, covering about 180 miles. It was a quick weekend trip, made necessary by our busy schedule.

Here are a couple of pictures to depict the definite arrival of Autumn. The park looks fabulous!