Sparkle Is My Favorite Color

I’ll never forget the day my love affair began.  It was the summer of 2014.  I entered Treveri Cellars winery and from the first taste I was madly in love.  The bubbles in that Blanc de Blanc shimmered and gurgled in that elegant flute, then tickled my nose like the feathers of miniature angel wings.  I heard tiny fairy harps play.  A voice somewhere within me whispered “Time to party! Time to party!” And thus my life was changed.  Now, sparkle is my favorite color, “Always start with bubbles” is my favorite saying, and Treveri is my favorite place.

A visit to Treveri Cellars is not so much a wine tasting as a sparkly experience.  Rather than bellying up to the bar and holding out your glass, you are cheerfully greeted at the door, seated at a table, and then poured samples of the bubbly liquid joy by a knowledgeable but decidedly unpretentious tasting room server.  After tasting several of the bubbly wines there are always some interesting cocktails to try.  The staff at Treveri gets very innovative mixing their sparkling wines with different juices, flavorings, and garnishes. (Raspberries! Candy canes!)

Winter is a perfect time to visit the winery, located close by on the hills above I-82 on Gangl Road at the Thorp Road exit.  The hills are covered with snow but the tasting room at Treveri is warmed by a mammoth fireplace and graced by a Christmas tree made of gleaming green wine bottles.  It’s a perfect place for a little holiday lunch.  Order a bottle of your favorite bubbles, eat one of the yummy flatbreads (Pear & Gorgonzola! Margherita!), and spend an hour or so on the comfy couch watching the snow come down. New this winter:  tableside s’mores for dessert!

Treveri Cellars makes sparkling wine and only sparkling wine. (A note here:  the label “Champagne” is legally limited to sparkling wines only from the Champagne region in France.  Although made by the same process and with the same varieties of grapes, in the U.S. it must be labeled “sparkling wine.”  In Italy it’s Prosecco, in Spain it’s Cava.)

Owner Jürgen Grieb grew up in Trier, Germany, learning winemaking from his father and later going to winemaking school and learning the craft of “Methode Champenoise”.  He moved to Washington state in 1982 to work for Langguth Winery, but his true passion was always bubbly wines.  He and his wife Julie started Treveri Cellars in November of 2010.  Now their son Christian is assistant winemaker, and daughter-in-law Katie is the Marketing V.P.

National recognition came quickly.  Treveri wine has been served at three different U.S. State Department dinners in Washington D.C. It was chosen to be served at a dinner at the James Beard Foundation.  The Wine Enthusiast’s Paul Gregutt chose Treveri over several pricey vintage champagnes in a blind taste test.  It was voted one of the Top Ten Hottest brands by Wine Business Monthly.  Yes, it’s that good.

Since that first taste I admit I’ve become something of a Trevangelist. (Ok, I made up that word).  I post about it constantly on Facebook.  I Instagram pictures of the bottles.  I take photos of it in the forefront of all our family celebrations.  I arrived in Maui for vacation with nothing but a small carry-on bag and two cases of Treveri.  (In my defense, we had a lot of company.)  Once when I bought two cases the lovely lady who loaded it in my car remarked, “You must be having a BIG celebration!”  To which I replied, “Yes. Yes I am.”

I’ve introduced countless friends and relatives to it.  I know they’re hooked when they call me the next morning and ask, “Is it wrong to have it for breakfast?”  (Answer: NO.  And do not taint it with orange juice and call it a mimosa.) I order it in every restaurant.  If they don’t have it, I ask them why.  Then I tell them all about it.  I convince them to sell it by the glass, because I don’t always drink an entire bottle by myself.  The Yakima restaurants, Cowiche Kitchen, Zesta Cucina, the Carousel, Birchfield Manor, Twigs, Apple Tree, and the Yakima Country Club all have Treveri on their wine lists.

Treveri wines are the perfect aperitif before dinner.  The crisp Pinot Gris is great with hors d’oeuvres.  For Christmas dinner, break out the special “Holiday Sparkling Red” or the beautiful ruby-toned Sparkling Syrah.  Dessert calls for the lovely Rosé or the sparkling Riesling.  But my personal favorite is the brut Blanc de Blanc.  It’s perfect with fish or chicken.  Actually I’ll drink it with steak, ribs, pizza, tuna casserole, or peanut butter sandwiches.  But Treveri’s bubbles are wonderful all by themselves.  With a friend on a Friday night.  Or without.  On a Tuesday.

 

Thank you for sharing your passion for bubbles, Gay! Cheers!