Four great wines to warm you and your tastebuds!

Wallace Brook
Pinot Noir 2012
Willamette Valley Ore.
Retails at $15 per bottle.

Wallace Brook is a “second label” from Adelsheim Winery of Newberg, OR., which means it easily provides the quality of Adelsheim wines, but with a very budget-friendly price. This wine provides great winter flavors of ripe cherries, spice and a hint of citrus. Pinot noirs are perfect for cold weather, as they are both earthy and warm, and they pair with a wide variety of winter’s bounty.

Buried Cane “Heartwood” 2010
Columbia Valley Wash.
Retails for $25 per bottle.

Buried Cane wines (along with Walla Walla’s Cadaretta Winery and Paso Robles California’s Clayhouse Winery) are brought to us by Grays Harbor’s own Middleton Family. This is a medium­bodied, spicy, wintery red blend made from 30% Mourvedre, 30% Grenache, 26% Cinsault and 14% Syrah. Share a warm blanket and a bottle of “Heartwood” with someone special and don’t be surprised if it gets spicy. Kiona Late Harvest Riesling 2013

Columbia Valley Wash.
Retails for $15 per bottle.

Kiona Winery in Benton City, Wash., makes some of the state’s most impressive and most affordable dessert style wines. This wine ­­ made from very ripe Riesling grapes ­­ is everything a dessert wine should be. Ripe fruit flavors, abundant sweetness and balanced acidity. Pull a peach cobbler (or even a tray of crème brûlée) from the oven and pair it with this sweet treat and you’ll forget all about the winter blues.

Treveri Extra­Brut “Blanc de Blancs”
Columbia Valley Non Vintage
Retails at $14 per bottle.

Treveri Cellars located in Wapato, Wash., is the state’s premier sparkling wine house. The “Blanc de Blancs” is made of 100% Chardonnay grapes and is exceptionally dry with flavors of apple, toasty bread and bright acidity. This sparkler is better than many at two and three times the price. Treveri Cellar’s wines were the featured sparkling wines at all State Department holiday receptions in 2011.

The combination of a glass of crisp and toasty sparkling wine, a cheese plate and a warm fireplace can turn a cold winter night into a celebration.

The Wine Expert

Stephen Pavletich is the General Manager of Swing Wine Bar in Olympia. Prior to Swing, Stephen was the Front-of-House Manager and Wine Director at Rediviva Restaurant in Aberdeen and the Wine Director at the Ocean Crest Resort in Moclips. Stephen is obsessed with good coffee, and is an avid collector of vintage Fiestaware and is a Morrissey devotee.