Arbor Crest Winery- A good taste of local wine

While shopping at River Park Square in Spokane on Saturday, my fiance and I decided to try a glass of wine from Arbor Crest at the food court. We decided to try the 2006 Sauvignon Blanc (which is on special right now for just $11 for a bottle) and it was great. It offered a lot of fruity flavors and was very fresh tasting and lively.

Although the lady assisting us was a bit eccentric, she was very knowledgeable and gave us some good tips:

1. when smelling a wine, leave the level and bring your nose all the way into the glass, even going so far as to bring your cheeks to the glass.

2. swirl the wine so that it gets as thin to the glass as possible for approx. 25 seconds to allow as much air into it as possible and then smell it again. This time it should smell much more fruity.

Arbor Crest Winery is located in Spokane and offers a large variety of wines. The actual winery is a great place to go wine tasting, have a wedding, and to host many other events. Check out their website at http://www.arborcrest.com/ for more information!

Camas Prairie Winery

     Camas Prairie Winery in Moscow, Idaho is small, and older than most of the students in the area, yet it still manages to stay afloat during these tough times thanks to its savvy owner, Stuart Scott.
     While other wineries in the area are about five years old, Scott’s winery started in Moscow 26 years ago in the basement of his house.
     “I started the winery in 1983 and in 1989 I moved it into town,” Scott said. “You see, in 1983 it was illegal for me to sell wine in Idaho directly to restaurants and retail. In 1986 that law changed and I decided I wanted to sell retail, not just wholesale, so I began looking for a new place to make my wine and the rest is history.”
     Although Scott’s operation is small, he offers the largest variety of imported beer in North Idaho and over 25 varieties of his own wine.
     Camas Prairie Winery offers quite the selection for wine connoisseurs, everything from sparkling wines, to dry whites and reds, sweet dessert wines and everything in between. Along with the multitude of selections, Camas Prairie offers wine tasting.
     Scott said Camas Prairie Winery is different from its competitors for many reasons, mainly focusing on customer service.
     “Not only do we make, bottle, cork, and label our own wine, but we have a clean establishment, a history, and we offer everyone’s favorite flavor, and a few they haven’t tried,” he said.
     Scott also explained how he keeps a large customer base by offering imported beer. He said Camas Prairie offers a minimum of 88 different beers at any one time.
     “We group them by style, Blonds, Brunettes, Blacks, etc.,” Scott said. “With that we include a full description so that we can provide direction and information. We try to offer as much service as product.”
          For more information regarding Camas Prairie Winery, visit them at http://www.camasprairiewinery.com/ or go see them at 110 S. Main Street in Moscow.