Tulip Valley Vineyard & Orchard

The old 1920s barn is being renovated, but when it’s ready in the spring of 2007 the Tulip Valley tasting room will be a “must stop” along the Northwest Washington WineTrail. Currently Tulip Valley’s three partners—Ector Deleon, Drew Zimmerman, and Carl Inglebreath—are slogging their way through a major remodel of the supersized barn. In the meantime, they have set up a temporary tasting room in a cozy corner of the barn, complete with a portable toilet outside. It’s everything that a diehard WineTrail enthusiast would love!

The truly wonderful thing about the Northwest Washington WineTrail is the variety of wines you encounter. At Tulip Valley Vineyard & Orchard you will find traditional wines such as chardonnay and pinot noir, in addition to some award-winning apple-cider wines made from local fruit. The champion of the cider wines is Drew Zimmerman, and if you are lucky to visit the winery when Drew is there, you are in for an eloquent spiel about the noble apple and how its sugary liquid converts into hard cider. Of course inhabitants of the Normandy region of France and the Welsh countryside already know about the virtues of cider wine. But it is somewhat surprising that in the “apple capital of the world,” we don’t have a lot of experience with fermented apple juice. Drew is out to correct that, and you might find yourself toting away a bottle of his Jonagold semi-dry or his award-winning “Red Barn Fire Barrel” cider.

By the way, in terms of cider-wine food pairings, consider ham-and-cheese crepes. Hard cider (which is actually only 7 percent to 8 percent alcohol) also goes nicely with a number of cheeses such as Brie, Cougar Gold cheddar, and fontina. Chicken and seafood are also strong candidates. But for me a glass of “Fire Barrel” cider and a couple of cinnamon donuts from Seattle’s Mighty-O Donut Shop are a hit.

WineTrail Trivia: Across the street from Tulip Valley is Washington State University’s Mount Vernon Research and Extension Center. For many years, this WSU agricultural service has worked collaboratively with the grape growers of the Puget Sound region to develop and promote cool-weather grapes such as Madeleine Angevine and siegerrebe, which is actually a cross between Madeleine Angevine and gewürztraminer. From Vashon Island to San Juan Island, grape growers have lauded the efforts of WSU’s extension program.