Tasting room of Windy Point Winery in Wapato. Submitted photos

By ELENA OLMSTEAD

When Windy Point Vineyard’s 2005 Cabernet Franc was awarded a gold medal at the Washington State Wine Competition last June, winery owners Mike and Liz Stepniewski, were extremely proud. 

But things only got better. 

In December the couple learned that the same wine had earned a platinum award, the winery’s first, from Wine Press Northwest during the magazine’s 10th annual judging of the best of the best of Northwest wines.

Mike Libbee, marketing manager for the winery, said the annual competition is only open to wines that have won a gold medal during the year. The best of the best are then judged for further awards.

In fact, Windy Point’s 2006 Exclamation Point and 2006 Pointless Red also received awards, earning Double-Gold Medals at the judging.  Exclamation Point is the winery’s Cheval-Blanc style red blend. It won Best of Show at the Washington State Wine Competition and a Gold Medal at the Tri-Cities Wine Festival. Pointless

Red, a red table wine, won three Gold Medals in 2009, including one at the Seattle Wine Awards.

Libbee said Windy Point Vineyards, which puts on emphasis on red wine making, considers Cabernet Franc the backbone of their winery. 

The estate winery nestled in the hills of the Parker Heights area grows its own grapes on 15 acres of picturesque farmland. Libbee said the winery planted their first grapes in 1999, starting with Cabernet, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. He said, a decade later, the winery now also grows Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Nior, Syrah, Nebbiolo, Barbera, Malbec, Zinfandel, Gewurztraminer and Riesling.

Libbee said 2009 was the winery’s first year growing all of their own grapes. He said becoming a strictly estate winery gives the winemaker, owner Liz Stepniewski, complete control over her final product. She can regularly go out into the vineyard and make sure that the grapes are to her liking.

Libbee said the recent platinum award has brought some nice publicity to the winery. He said receiving the award from Wine Press Northwest means a lot, as that he considers the magazine to be an important one in the wine industry.

“People in the wine industry read it from cover to cover,” he said.

Libbee said while the Cabernet Franc won the platinum award, many of the wines at Windy Point Vineyard are special. He said many of them are gold medal winners. Libbee said Windy Point Vineyard wines tend to combine the best of new and old world wine making, with the wines being fruity with a nice acidic balance.

The other thing that makes Windy Point Vineyards special is its tasting room. Libbee said the tasting room, which offers amazing views of the Yakima Valley, was designed with Frank Lloyd Wright in mind. 

The wooden ceiling with its heavy beams, comfortable leather chairs and expanse of windows all welcome visitors to sit and stay a while.

 “It’s about more than just wines,” Libbee said. “It’s more the overall winery experience. (The owners) want you to feel like you’re walking into their home.”

Windy Point Vineyards is located off of West Parker Heights Road at 420 Windy Point Drive in Wapato. The tasting room can be reached by calling (509) 877-6824.