Wind River Cellars

The views are stunning. The wine is magnificent. The hospitality is first-rate. Wind River Cellars has it all.

With magnificent views of Mount Hood to the south and Mount Adams to the east, visitors to Wind River Cellars have license to use the word “stunned.” This is the perfect setting to get married (which they do) or to enjoy a catered lunch on the deck after a day of white water rafting (which they also do). Wind River Cellars' vintner Joel Goodwillie loves being in the Columbia River Gorge. It seems that he’s the perfect ambassador for the tiny town of Husum. A visit there might have you packing your bags as well and taking up windsurfing.

Joel Goodwillie handcrafts 12 varietal wines using grapes from his vineyard, other local growers (including Celilo Vineyard) in the Columbia River Gorge. He states that the Columbia Gorge grapes have more acid than grapes from other wine growing areas of Washington and therefore you get that clean crisp lively finish on the tongue. However, the word “velvety” came to mind when we sampled our way through a fairly ambitious list of Wind River wines: riesling, chardonnay, gewürztraminer, pinot gris, merlot, pinot noir, syrah, lemberger, pinot noir, cabernet franc and tempranillo and a “save room for dessert” Port of Celilo and a beguiling white port. Phew!

If you are there with your sweetie, make it a point to kiss on the deck. There’s a reason that Wind River Cellars gets the vote as one of the best places to kiss in the northwest!

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  Wind River Cellars was featured in WineTrails of Washington as part of the Columbia River Gorge WineTrail on page 172!