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Enticed by Double Canyon 2012 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Horse Heaven Hills

An enticing wine made from a windswept estate vineyard. I'm often asked by visitors to Washington wine country about the quality of our wines. "Why are these wines so good?" As most of you know, you cannot make good wine without good grapes. And Washington wine grapes can be very good. Case in point. The Horse Heaven Hills AVA is home to 25% of the state's vineyard acreage.   Eastern Washington lies in a sweet spot in the Pacific Northwest. The Cascade mountain range captures most of the precipitation from the Pacific coast, leaving much of Eastern Washington semi-arid desert steppe. To grow grapes here, you must irrigate. The Northwest location also provides additional daylight in the summer, plus additional heat units and typically cool desert evenings. The best vineyards are located on poor soils, which are  relatively pest free, so no vine grafting required. Frequent winds also contribute to a nearly perfect growing region. View of a portion of the ...

Review: Double Canyon 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Horse Heaven Hills

Horse Heaven Hills Joyride! I find it interesting how well I have come to appreciate wines produced from Horse Heaven Hills fruit. There is something special going on in that AVA. A good example would be the inaugural release from Double Canyon - the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine was released in October 2012 and is just beginning to showoff. This winery is new to me. Likely because it was established in 2007. Double Canyon Vineyard is located in the heart of the Horse Heaven Hills AVA in SE Washington state, just six miles from the Columbia River. They produce limited-production estate-grown wine that expresses the varietal distinctiveness of this region. Something I can get behind. Last month, Jason Ledbetter began overseeing all winemaking operations. Jason works closely with Vineyard Manager Will Beightol.  Jason came to Double Canyon from Pine Ridge Vineyards in Napa Valley where he worked as assistant winemaker for four years....