2016 Zinfandel
Beautiful, bright Italian plum, cocoa powder and hints of sweet tobacco bring a wonderful uniqueness to our 2016 Zinfandel. Stone fruit, caramel and fig on the nose, this particular vintage rounds out with a smooth, delicate spice.
Cathedral Ridge's Zinfandel features the grape's traditional flavors, yet carries a touch more spiciness inherent to our growing region. We ripen the grapes until deep berry richness in flavor is achieved and then age the vino for 22 months in oak casks.
Pairs well with: Alfredo, gorgonzola, bleu cheese, seared steak, mushrooms, dark chocolate
SILVER MEDAL WINNER
2019 Savor NW Wine Competition
2016 Bordheauxd Red
Our Bordheauxd Red (pronounced Board Head Red) is a delicious blend of Echo Vineyard Cabernet, Reid Vineyard Merlot, and Reid Vineyard Syrah. Hood River and the Columbia Gorge are famous for the winds that gust through creating the perfect conditions for surfing and boarding. Because of that, kite boarders and windsurfers flock to the Gorge and are known as the Board Head Community. In the old days, they used to be called Boardheads because they carried their boards on their heads. While is was not a nice term at the time, the kite boarders and windsurfers soon adopted it. Bordheauxd Red is a clever play on the words Bordeaux and Board Head and gives homage to the colorful community that provides Hood River much of its spirit.
Pair Bordheauxd Red with a number of different appetizers and meals like tapas or Spinach and Artichoke Quiche – the recipe included with purchase.[show_more more="Read More” less="Show Less”]The grapes in Bordheauxd Red came from Reid Vineyard and the Helmsley Springs Ranch, which was one of the very first in the Oregon Territory, established in 1847. The vineyard is an extremely unusual site facing a steep canyon with substantial western exposure and ground that is chiefly sand; you can even walk around in your bare feet! Owned by the Reid Brothers Doug and Dave, it used to also have a shooting preserve. While the preserve is gone now, my dog Rhett and I still have great fun hunting pheasants and chuck.[/show_more]
Pairs well with: Barbecue pork, grilled eggplant, Chinese food
2015 Syrah
Sourced from Moody Vineyard at the mouth of the Deschutes River and Reid Vineyard 10 miles further east, comes this unsuspecting, somewhat non-traditional Syrah. Aged for 24 months in neutral oak to soften the tannins and exude the flavors of the Columbia Gorge region, this delicate vintage boasts of deep blackberry and boysenberry with a soft subtle spice.
A perfect wine for an array of cuisines and charcuterie favorites, our 2015 Syrah is best enjoyed among family and friends.
Pairs well with: chili, pork, ribs, bacon, gorgonzola
Silver Medal Winner! 2019 First Taste of Oregon
2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot
Our 2016 Cabernet/Merlot blend is a traditional Bordeaux style blend, a perfectly balanced pairing of 50% Merlot and 50% Cabernet Sauvignon.
This bold blend features spiced persimmon and freshly picked Oregon blueberry. Dark currant on the nose, notes of leather, white pepper, tangy rhubarb and citrus peel give way to sturdy, lingering tannins. Slight oak on the finish, this authentic Columbia Gorge wine is stunning in every way.
Pairs well with: red meat, lasagna, pizzas and pastas
2014 Cabernet Sauvignon
Cathedral Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon is the definition of a Northwest Cabernet. Wholly unlike the more famous Napa Cabs and proudly so, our Cabernet Sauvignon boasts and intoxicating pepper and smoke nose, rounded out with plum fruit leather and tea leaves on the finish. The body is full and smooth with gentle tannins that linger with every sip. Our Cabs pair beautifully with roasted and seared meats, hearty pastas, and mushrooms – especially the Pacific Northwest Morels and Chanterelles. A favorite pairing here is simple Seared Steak with sautéed Morel mushrooms or Slow Cooker French Dip Sliders with Rosemary Au Jus, the recipe included with purchase of the wine. Alcohol of 14.2% [show_more more="Read More” less="Show Less”]Our 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon is a delightful blend of the Echo Vineyard Cabernet and Bangsund Vineyard Cabernet. Echo Vineyard, now known as Firethorn Vineyard, is located in Echo, Oregon. Owned and managed by Jay Bales and his wife Donna; it was originally started by Drew Bledsoe. The 2014 fruit was picked in early October, run through the stemmer-crusher and fermented in 3 ½ ton fermenting bins. The Cabernet grapes came in at 24 Brix (a measure of sugar in grapes) and fermented with no drama. The Bangsund Cabernet was picked early and was a relatively low alcohol wine coming in at 24 ½ Brix. Each wine stayed in the barrel for 24 months, and was then blended and bottled in 300 cases. With wines from these vineyards in our library dating back to 2002, we know these wines cellar very well with no oxidation and spectacular flavor concentration appeal.[/show_more]
Pairs well with: game, mushrooms, macaroni and cheese, filet mignon
2015 Dampier Pinot Noir
"Best of Category" Award winner! - 2018 NorthWest Wine Summit
Our Dampier Pinot is a deliciously distinct example of vineyard specific nuances. A beautiful, bright wine with late harvest cherries and earth characteristics on the nose and a full palate of Rainer cherry, and lingering baking spice. We age the wine in neutral oak barrels for a minimum of 16 months. While considered a long time for Pinot Noir, we believe this makes a smoother, more developed Pinot than one that is bottled in under than a year. At the cool end of the Columbia Gorge region, Dampier Pinot Noir is a true cool weather Pinot with mouthwatering acidity (pH) of 3.5, perfect for food. It pairs well with a whole range of foods from seafood to salami - we particularly love Grandma Bell’s 5-spice Glazed Yams – a custom recipe provided with every sale of the wine! Limited bottling of 125 cases.[show_more more="Read More” less="Show Less”]Dampier Vineyard is a gorgeous vineyard estate owned by Paul and Pier Huber that sits across the Columbia River on the Washington side of the Columbia Gorge as part of the illustrious Underwood Mountain grape growing district. Some of the most famous Columbia Gorge AVA grapes and wines come from this area such as Celilo Vineyards legendary chardonnay. Underwood Mountain is a bit of a phenomenon, even for the Gorge – with southern facing walls dramatically reaching from river to a peak over 1400 feet and gets the last tickles of moisture coming from the west. The mountain was formed when the Missoula Floods washed through the area creating the Columbia River and depositing sediment from volcanic ash along with soil muddled with minerals of all descriptions.
This combination of factors creates a very distinct wetter and cooler meso-climate at Dampier Vineyards, different from even our winery’s climate at only a stone’s throw across the river, 1 1/2 miles away. As one example, Underwood typically receives up to 58 inches of rain a year (similar to the Willamette Valley) while our House Vineyard gets an average of 38 inches of rain a year – Wow! That’s a mind-blowing difference in landscape for such a short distance. There is no irrigation on Underwood – it is all dry-farmed. From the Hood River winery, we look directly at Underwood and Dampier Vineyards and can witness the changes throughout the year – a rare treat! The fruit is thinned to a single cluster per shoot to and the mineral-rich soil delivers fabulous grapes that are lighter in body, elegant and exude less tannins – Perfect for Pinot Noir.[/show_more]
Pairs well with: Grilled Salmon, Salami, Yams/Squash, Goat Cheese
2016 Necessity Red™
“Great wine is a Necessity of Life” quotes Thomas Jefferson and we agree! Necessity Red is a unique Pinot Noir blend created at Cathedral Ridge inspired by the Thomas Jefferson quote. We share that view and celebrate it with a unique take on Pinot Noir. Necessity Red is essentially a Pinot Noir with some serious cojones. We achieve this delightful effect by blending with a judicious amount of our Moody Zinfandel and McKinley Springs Barbera– this creates some wonderful complexities and a sensuous mouth-feel - and the result is one of our best sellers.
The Pinot Noir from Dampier Vineyard’s distinctive acidity creates a wonderful balance with the Moody Zinfandel and the McKinley Springs Barbera. We have trademarked Necessity Red because we feel it's truly unique and appeals to red wine lovers across the board. A lovely and nuanced wine, it is great for many styles of food including Cassie’s quick n’ dirty Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken Wings for which we provide a recipe card with every purchase. A limited run of 375 cases make this vintage of the blend rare.
Pairs well with: sweet & savory dishes, barbecue chicken, honey mustard, salmon