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Posted: September 28, 2014

Lake Chelan Wine Valley hosts annual Crush Festival

The Chef and The Grape

By Chef Kristof Gillese

The Lake Chelan Wine Valley will kick off the month of October with two weekends of wine tasting, grape stomping and fall fun. The annual Crush Festival will take place on October 4-5 and October 11-12 and will allow guests to experience harvest and the winemaking process first-hand.

Throughout both event weekends, local wineries will open up for live concerts, barbecues and more. Visitors can taste wine, meet winemakers and even have the chance to stomp grapes.

Besides wine tasting, guests can enjoy some of the wonderful recreation Lake Chelan has to offer in the fall, including golf, boating, mountain biking and hiking. Small-town charm abounds in Downtown Chelan and Manson, with shopping and dining options for every taste.

Lake Chelan Wine Valley is a thriving community of 21 wineries that are attracting attention from winemakers, grape growers and wine enthusiasts. The valley was recognized as an AVA in the Federal Register in April 2009.

Located in the heart of Washington’s Cascade Mountains, Lake Chelan is a scenic destination three hours east of Seattle (about 5.5 hours from Cranbrook), situated on a pristine 50.5-mile lake. Throughout the year, Lake Chelan visitors tour vineyards, meet the winemakers, taste award-winning wines and dine at many winery restaurants – the perfect wine-lovers destination.

Some of the varieties that flourish in the valley include Syrah, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris and Viognier.

Loyal readers know of my deep-set admiration and respect for the hard-working folks tending vines in the Lake Chelan AVA. You have no further to look than the article I wrote last summer about my visit there.

Of course, no visit to Lake Chelan would be complete without the vital excursion north to Veranda Beach.

And so when my friends in Chelan told me about their upcoming ‘Crush Festival,’ I knew I had to spread the word to the people I knew would enjoy a weekend there.

– Having started in ‘greasy-spoons,’ truck-stop diners and pubs – Kristof Gillese brought a sincere appreciation for “simple is better” when he moved on to work with the likes of Fairmont Hotels, The Post Hotel and challenge Rob Feenie for the Best New Restaurant of Vancouver. Whether it’s food or wine, Kristof believes that the best quality ingredients at the beginning yield the best possible results. And the pairing of food and wine? At its heart, pairings are more about personal taste then they are about any hard-and-fast rules created by stuffed shirts long ago. You can read more of his rants-on-wine including full portfolio reviews, interviews with winemakers and notes from the illustrious #WineTastingCircle on his website www.TheChefandTheGrape.com and his blog www.AStudentofWine.blogspot.com.