Merry Cellars

“Wine is sunlight, held together by water!”—Galileo Gallilei

I believe if Galileo were a Coug he would have reworked his poetic line to read, “Wheat is sunlight, held together by undulating hills.” When I think of the Palouse, I see fields of gold and green, I feel dry heat, and I hear the grasshoppers at night. However, until the emergence of Merry Cellars, wine imagery wasn’t used in the same sentence with the Palouse. Then, one taste of Merry Cellar’s “Twilight Hills Red” shook my world, and I learned that the taste of the Palouse comes in a bottle. It’s true. As its tasting notes make clear, Merry Cellar creates wines “comfortable and approachable, and maybe just a little rugged around the edges.” That, to me, reminds me of my Eastern Washington roots.

Winemaker and owner Patrick Merry is a transplanted Montanan who grew up in a family that appreciated wine. I am envious of that. My own family’s experience with wine was a bottle of Cold Duck, which would be left in the refrigerator for eons after some family event. Patrick’s goal is to create wines for different occasions, from backyard barbecues to elegant weddings. He respects the fruit’s origin and applies a minimalist approach to his hand-picked and hand-sorted grapes in order to bring out the terroir of each vintage.

Located just 90 minutes south of Spokane in Pullman, Merry Cellars is a joy to visit any time of the year. Be sure to check out the WineTrails Northwest website (www.winetrailsnw.com) for event information. When Merry Cellars hosts wine-tasting and food-pairing events, there is no need for you to stop by the Coug to pick up Cougar Gold. Merry Cellars will supply the perfect wine to accompany delectable cheeses.

Directions: From Spokane head south on US-195 toward Pullman and travel about 70 miles. Keep left onto SR-270 [Davis Way] and go 2.4 miles. Bear right (south) onto SR-27 [SR-270] and go only .1 miles. Turn left (east) onto SR-270 [SE Paradise St.] and arrive at 245 SE Paradise St.

Addresses

• Spokane-Pullman WineTrail

  Winery

  245 SE Paradise Street, Pullman, WA 99163
  Hours: Thursday through Saturday 1–8, or by appointment
  46.728854-117.180877