Winemaking Philosophy and Style
(see individual wine descriptions below)

Blending for Quality
All of the lots of wine that we make are very small, reflecting a careful, demanding selection process used to select vineyard plots and grapes for Vin du Lac. While Washington state is capable of producing quality in a broad range of wine varieties, we believe that the best grapes often exist in small quantities in select vineyards or sub-plots within vineyards. Thus we will continue to vinify small, even micro-lots of wine.  We typically vinify nearly forty differnet batches of wine from up to eight different vineyards in a given vintage. That's a lot of wines for a small winery!  However, Larry is a believer in the art of the blend, and the numerous lots will ultimately be combined into the nine or ten standard Vin du Lac varietal bottlings. Larry's complex, but meticulous approach to winemaking has garnered Vin du Lac numerous awards in the past year for many of its wines.

Combining art and science for Quality
While all Vin du Lac wines are truly handcrafted, we insist on the best of modern technology and winemaking theory to complement traditional winemaking techniques. Gentle whole-cluster pressing, temperature control, and constant chemical analysis go hand in hand with centuries old, hands-on winemaking techniques such as barrel fermentation, battonage, and the other traditional components of elevage. Larry's winemaking philosophy is that small is good, hands-on is good, but science is good too. There is art in winemaking, and thus the winemaker must be artisan, but the science keeps us honest, and also keeps us from making silly mistakes that harm wine quality.

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	2006 ICE WINE  (Michaela's Vineyard) - Chelan County  Limited quantities!        This unique blend of Riesling and Gewurztraminer grapes were hand-picked by Larry, Michaela & their unwitting and very chilly staff in the middle of the snowy season!  This wine is rich in body and flavor but the substantial alcohol and acidity provide offsetting structure and crispness.  While this is definitely a dessert wine, you will find it delicate and elegant, not cloying.  Offering an intricate nose and luscious, intriguing flavors of apple, pear, honey, melon and ginger.  Packaged in a beautifully silk-screened, frosted tall bottle and sealed with a two tone cool-blue snowdrift of satiny wax, this one is a treasure to cellar for years or to give to that "special someone."  375 ml  16% RS  $44.99/btl  Order Online
	GRISANT! PINOT GRIS 2008 - Yakima Valley              Grisant means Exhilarating! Heady!  Which this wine is:  ripe, rich and full bodied, with mingling aromas of grapefruit, pear and melon, yet with a crisp, dry finish.  It is great with seafood or to share with friends after a Grisant! day. $17.99/btl  Order Online
	Savvy Blanc! Sauvignon Blanc 2008 - Columbia Valley Off dry, rich and fruitful, this wine exemplifies Vin du Lac’s bold wine styling.  Residual sweetness in premium Sauvignon Blanc is somewhat unusual, but here the hint of sweetness enlivens and lifts the ripe pear and melon flavors typical of Washington Sauvignon Blanc, and brings out more citrus and tropical notes.  The wine was vinted in small lot stainless steel fermenters with limited lees contact during early tank aging of the wine to preserve fruit and freshness.  Savvy wine drinkers know a good thing when they taste it, and will recognize this as a premium, delightful, and very hip wine. $13.99/btl  Order Online
	NEW VINTAGE!! Barrel Select CHARDONNAY 2008  Columbia Valley         Bright Citrus, delicate corn silk & floral scents; pear-apple and mild lemon-lime citrus flavors.  Mouth-warming richness, crisp acidity, and a lingering finish.  $19.99/btl Order Online
	VIE!  VIOGNIER 2008  Columbia Valley  This wine contains the classic aroma & flavor profile of peach, apricot & fruit tree blossoms, while showing crispness and mouthfilling richness.      $17.99/btl  Order Online
	LES AMIS Riesling/Muscat/Gewurztraminer blend 2008 - Columbia Valley    Riesling (75%), Muscat (20%) & Gewurztraminer (5%) Off dry, rich and aromatic, this wine showcases the innovative wine styling that epitomizes Vin du Lac.   Riesling blends are rare indeed almost sacrilege, but here, these friends complement each other wonderfully.  Together they make a wine for sharing. Delightful enough for simply sipping, yet refined enough for dinner, it's a wine that must always be enjoyed with friends. $13.99/btl         Order Online
	2007 Late Harvest Riesling- (Michaela's Vineyard)-Chelan County Riesling (85%), Gewurztraminer (15%). This wine is rich in body and flavor, but great acidity provides offsetting structure and crispness. Thus, while definitely a dessert wine, you will find it delicate and elegant, not cloying.   Intricate nose and flavors of apple, pear, honey, melon, and ginger.  In its beautifully packaged 375 ml tall bottle, and sealed with a snowdrift of satiny wax, this one is a treasure to cellar for years, or to give to that person you want to tell "You're Special". 375ml RS 9.2%   $14.99/btl  Order Online
	2007 BARREL SELECT Syrah - Columbia Valley-          $27.99/btl  Order Online
	2007 BARREL SELECT Cabernet Franc - Columbia Valley-    Vin du Lac's Cabernet Franc has been awarded Platinum from Wine Press NW 3 years in a row.  Barrel aging was in 1 year old, mixed French & American oak, with a goal of minimizing oak flavors that might interfere with the beautiful Franc character.  $39.99/btl          Order Online
	2007 Red Cafe Syrah -Columbia Valley This year’s offering includes fruit from four different vineyards, and was barrel-aged for 12 months in one-third new oak, split evenly between American and French oak.  The moderate heat of the 2006 vintage yielded a more elegant and fruit forward syrah, while still retaining some smoky depth.  Typical of Washington Syrahs, the wine evinces a very mature tannin profile, with dramatic structure and full-bodied mouth-feel, and would accompany well very rich, hearty  foods.   $19.99/btl  Order Online
	2008 CUVEE ROUGE- Columbia Valley This year the Cuvée adds a small portion of perfumed Cabernet Franc to the Big 3 core varietals that always form its backbone: Merlot, Cab and Syrah.  The fine vineyards represented by this blend yield expressive, concentrated fruit, and thus the Cuvée is a rich, ripe, full-bodied red.  The structure of the wine – good acid and substantial but very mature tannins – makes it an excellent table wine, and ensures this will be a great wine to cellar.  Yet, the overall style of the wine is big and dramatic: The nose is a rich mélange of dark fruit and spicy French oak.  On the palate, the wine is weighty, with flavors of black cherry, blackberry, licorice, and cinnamon.  The Cuvée is showing bright youthfullness at release, but will mellow into a plush, decadently opulent and showy wine with age.   $19.99/ Btl Order Online
	2006 BARREL SELECT Merlot - Columbia Valley 6% Malbec was added to this Merlot to add a layer of spice.  2005 was a cool year, and this wine is thus bright, full bodied, and youthful. 20 months in   primarily new French oak has resulted in a wine that shows the typical berry and plum aroma and flavor profile of Merlot, yet also provides leaner, more complex elements of mocha and leather in the nose, with along finish of red fruits and lightly toasty oak.  This wine is still maturing at release, and should continue to gain in complexity and smoothness for five to ten years.  $34.99/btl  Order Online
	2007 "LEHM" Dry Riesling (Michaela's Vineyard) - Columbia Valley        Blazingly tart. Stunningly intense. So dry you'll be tempted to serve it in Martini glasses. This wine from Vin du Lac is the result of Larry's obsession to craft a truly dry Riesling that honors the heritage of this noblest of grapes, & also reflects the "earth" from which it was grown. Here he seeks & achieves a Riesling that is unique in style, certainly unlike anything else being crafted in Washington. The northern vineyard site from which this wine was sourced ripens the late-maturing Riesling slowly, with incredible acid retention, yielding a wine of tart crispness & intense fruit.   $19.99/btl    Order Online

Defining style for Quality
Style should be influenced by place. While the gooseberry and citrus fruit flavors of New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs are quite the fad right now, the short hot summers of eastern Washington are nothing like the long, cool, wet seasons of Marlborough. Wine quality is best when the vintner recognizes what his grapes, his climate, his terroir is best able to achieve. From Vin du Lac, expect rich, lush, fruitful merlots; expect deep, powerful, fruit-forward syrah; expect lovely, soft, peach and apricot perfumed Viognier; expect big, scintillatingly crisp Riesling. This is what our place is capable of. This is what Vin du Lac will be the best it can be.

Where to find our wine