“I am very excited about the opportunity to make wine for the family business,” Mrachek said. “I know that Craig has left some big shoes to fill but I am excited to work on both sides of wine production.  I love working outside in the vineyards and I am thrilled to get a chance to work in air conditioning.”

Mrachek, Son of Owners Mike and Laura Laurent Mrachek, brings extensive viticulture experience to his new role. Prior to joining Saint Laurent Estate Winery, Mrachek studied Viticulture and Enology at Washington State University. Mrachek also worked for Chateau St. Michelle Wine Estates for three years prior to returning to the family business.

“We are a small boutique winery,” Mrachek said. “Being such gives us the opportunity to be picky about our grapes, and our wine. We do not want to put anything but the best into our bottles. We will wait to see what 2012 holds in store for us.”

Within the next seven months, Mrachek will have a better inventory count for the 2012 harvest and crush. Until then, Saint Laurent hopes the weather cooperates and gives the grapes a chance to thrive in the Spring of 2012.

It’s an all too familiar story now in the wine industry – farmers turn to grapes which eventually leads to a winery. Mike and Laura Mrachek bring that story to the forefront in the great Wenatchee area – in fact, their team produces some of the best wines I’ve tasted from that area – they are an oasis of good wine in a valley that is starving for good wine. To read more, click here.

Saint Laurent, A Rising Washington Star

For Mike and Laura Mrachek, success begins in the soil.

The couple began with four acres of cherries in the late 1970s. Today, they successfully farm more than 500 acres in Washington's Wenatchee Valley and Wahluke Slope.

They planted their first 60 acres of wine grapes in 1999, focusing on cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Today, their 260 acres of vineyards overlook the Columbia River near the towns of Mattawa and Malaga.

best washington wine buys of the month

I have been doing a monthly blog entry on the Best NW wines tasted over the past four weeks, but it inevitably focuses on pricier wines. Once in awhile a $20 wine slips in, but the majority of the high scorers are pricey. So I’m inaugurating an occasional Best Buys blog, to focus on the top under $15 wines that I have recently reviewed that combine good to excellent quality with high value pricing.

I taste many thousands of wines (mostly Washington, Oregon and California) each year. Out of them, a small percentage hit the mark for both exceptional quality and low prices. As consumers have been noting (with unconcealed glee), prices for fine wines from everywhere have been dropping. A wine glut, a winery glut, a global surplus of grapes and juice, and the generally gloomy world economy have all contributed. But it hasn't been this easy to find excellent wines at every day prices in at least 20 years.

With that in mind, here are some current Washington releases that really ring the bargain bell. Prices quoted are suggested retail (nothing over $15) and in many instances you may find them selling for less, especially at big box retailers such as Costco. Happy hunting! Read more at http://www.paulgregutt.com/2011/05/best-washington-wine-buys-of-month.html

Writer, and Marmot-Lover, Jill Lightner took the journey out to Wenatchee. In her travels she visited Saint Laurent Estate Winery, as well as Tiny's Organic Farms, Ivy Wild Inn, Cafe Mela, Snowdrift Cidery & Malaga Spring Winery.

"There are plenty of places to sit outdoors at Saint Laurent, wrapped in a sweater against the wind but enjoying a glass of Rose`, which tastes just right in the sunshine." - Lightner

Click HERE to read about Jill's Visit.

The Washington Wine Commission compared all of the Wine Spectator's 2010 reviews of their wines with those for Oregon, California, and French wines. They crunched the numbers for two things: the percent of the wines reviewed that received a score of 90 points or higher and the average price of the bottles that got those 90+ scores. The results:

Reviews across 2010
Washington—50 percent of wines reviewed rated 90 or higher
Oregon—49 percent of wines reviewed rated 90 or higher
California—29 percent of wines reviewed rated 90 or higher
France—41 percent of wines reviewed rated 90 or higher

Average price of these high-scoring bottles
Washington—$41
Oregon—$48
California—$74
France—$96

Look to Washington for value on the high end!

To read more of Paul's comments about Ancient Lakes, click here.

To learn about the hidden treasures of the Ancient Lakes A.V.A., click here.

Our 2007 Lucky Red Blend was picked this week as the best buy of the week!

 To read more, visit: http://view.exacttarget.com/?j=fe8f117574600c7475&m=ff011174756401&ls=fdf11672716c037477147673&l=feb81679766d0d7a&s=fe2916797264057a7d1573&jb=ffcf14&ju=fe611174756602757616&mi_email=Tri-City%20Herald_Northwest+Wine+of+the+Week