Our tasting of Pacific Northwest fortified dessert wines drew 39 examples. As one might expect, some of the best came from wineries that have specialized in this style of wine.

Fortified wines are easy to love, but our judges looked for the elements they always seek in wines regardless of style: balance and flavor. In the case of this judging, our panel of experts found a lot to like. And that is good for all of us.

Cairdeas Winery • $35 – Excellent

2014 Fortified Petite Sirah, Yakima Valley

This up-and-coming winery on the north shore of Lake Chelan dipped into the Yakima Valley for bold Petite Sirah grapes. The resulting wine is young and fresh with aromas and flavors of black raspberry, boysenberry syrup, vanilla and molasses. (56 cases; 20.1% alc.)

See the full article here – http://www.winepressnw.com/2015/09/02/3721200/northwest-winemakers-craft-fortified.html