Lake Chelan Wine Country
by Clint Campbell
April/May

Wine Tours
As the state’s newest American Viticultural Area, Lake Chelan has enjoyed a lot of good press lately. We’d like to augment these travelogues with our favorite itineraries, tips and pointers to make your next Lake Chelan wine tour the best. 

• When to Come:  Spring is lovely time of year and heralds the release of the nouveau white and rose’ wines, the spring barrel tastings and their associated events.  It’s also one of the best times for lodging values.  Fall enjoys the celebrations of the ‘Crush’ festivals and is the most popular winery season.  Summer is perfect because, well, because it’s Chelan in the summer.  Many of our guests have also discovered the Winter season with most wineries open on the weekends, our famous Winterfest Festival and multiple Wine and Chocolate events over Valentines weekend. 

• How to Tour:  Grab a few friends and hire a professional limo service.  Lakeside Limousine ( www.ChelanLimo.com) will tour you in style.  If the weather’s nice, consider touring in an open air Pinzgauer, an all terrain Swiss Army vehicle from Chelan Valley Tours.  ( www.ChelanValleyTours.com)  If you take your own car, get a designated driver.

• Where to Tour:  Start out five miles up the south shore at Karma Canyon and see their cave.  Try their champagne, the only winery in the valley making champagne.  They’ve a nice menu with salads and sharables too.
Then mosey downlake one mile to Nefarious Cellars.  Meet Heather and Dean Neff, the owner operators.  These are personable folk who make some of the best red and white wine in the valley.  Downlake another three quarters of a mile takes you to the grandest of all the Chelan wineries, the elegant Tsillian Cellers.  A taste of Tuscany and the perfect place for your lunch at the winery’s Sorrento’s Ristorante.  Italian fare and one of the prettiest places to dine au fresco, looking down at the vineyard and lake.  Continue through Chelan around the foot of the lake and begin heading up the north shore to Vin Du Lac Winery, recently named ‘Winery of the Year’ by Wine Press Northwest.  Owner Larry Lehmbecker has turned an old farm house into a quaint French Bistro setting.  Good wine, live music and French bistro fare.  Next stop, Benson Winery.  Head towards Manson, four miles or so.  With the best view of all the wineries in the valley, a newly finished tasting room and very good wine, you could call it a day.  But the Tildeo Winery beckons, four more miles into the pastoral Manson area, where you’ll meet the most accomplished wine maker in the valley, Katie Perry.  Good red wine, outdoor seating and live music.  And finally on to Hard Row To Hoe Winery.  This small boutique winery is just plain fun, features a wonderful Syrah and has a amusing story behind its name.    

• Useful Links:
www.lakechelanwinevalley.com– All about the areas wineries, wine events and more.
www.lakechelanwinevalley.com/files/documents/LCWV_09TourMap.pdf- a touring map.
www.ComeToTheLake.com– Chelan’s comprehensive on-line visitor’s guide.
www.ChelanLimo.com– Limo service.
www.ChelanValleyTours– Charter those open air Pinzgauers.
www.CampbellsResort.com– The best place to stay.
www.DineAtCampbells.com– The best place to eat.

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