Yakima River Winery

Nice little shop. John, the owner was extremely knowledgable and gave us lots of info. Only bad was he was out of 2 of the 4 wines available for tasting.

My husband and I and I have tried many wineries throughout the Yakima Valley, and were a little less than impressed with this one.
The owner John was a little too proud about his wine making skills. His wines weren’t that spectacular– we’ve definitely had better. Needless to say, we weren’t surprised when he said that he was selling his business. I had a hard time buying wine/​port in a place that looked like a taxidermy shop.

If you are looking for a fancy winery/​château to try out some wine then this is not the place. Yakima River is a quaint tasting room filled with the owner/​wine maker’s trophies… which are taxidermy animals and the décor is something straight out of the late 80s.
So natural my grandpa could talk to this guy for HOURS about his African hunting stories about each of the animals in there, and he has about a dozen heads on the wall at least. Some of them are truely unique and if you are into this kind of thing then you would definitely appreciate it.
Personally my grandma and I were just tagging along and I thought the wine was OK. Not a big selection. 2 reds and 2 ports. I liked the first Red which I believe was a syrah and then the first port was pretty good too.

Fantastic wines for the price! We used to find Yakima River wines more easily in stores, but with a change in ownership for a larger distributor they are becoming hard to buy locally. So we stopped by on the way to Walla Walla and walked out the door with 4 cases. The owner/​wine maker does all single varietal wines and they are all super tasty. The winery is just a bit off the beaten path, but the few extra minutes are well worth it. Try them, you won’t be disappointed!

This winery is the real deal. A no nonsense tasting room that is off the beaten track. The wines are solid — try the Merlot or Malbec… Heck try all of them. I bought two cases of wine last time I was there and I can’t wait to get back.

Finding this little winery was sort of a hit and miss. As one of the reviewers said, it’s pretty difficult to find most of them. The cute little old man who runs the winery with his wife said they’ve been there for 35 years and some of the independents have dropped out because the Chamber of COmmerce wants them to pay money to be listed on the maps.
This man and his wife only make four reds and two ports. The reds were ok, but the ports, well let me tell you, I have had port in Spain and Portugal and these are as good as any I had there. Ended up buying a bottle just because it was wonderful and who knows when I’ll actually drink all of it. There is no charge for tasting which in today’s world is unusual.
The setting is the back of their home, it’s not elaborate and he has trophy heads mounted on the wall which sort of made me unhappy but well, the wine and the conversation made up for it. Maybe the wine was only four stars but the experience was worth the extra one.

John is the long-​time man around Prosser when it comes to red wines. He’s been making them a long time and his reds are his own — not like anyone else’s. They are a little «old-​school» in that they bring back the way red wines used to taste around here in the 1990s (a taste I sometimes want). They are all good but the Cab Sauv is probably the most reliable year in and year out. He has made some outstanding Lembergers. I’ve found that sometimes the Merlots don’t age quite as well.
He and his wife are also really friendly when it’s not busy (and you’re not drunk). They also know a lot about the local wine business and do not bad mouth the other wineries.

I went to the Olympia Wine and Food show where I bought a bottle of Yakima Valley 2003 Merlot. There was sediment was dried all over the side and top of the bottle and the wine was bad. Anyone can make a mistake right? Well I emailed them so they could make good on their product.
Their response… Sorry.
Then proceeded to tell me this was normal!
Not normal for wine or a winery!

How the hell do you find these damn wineries? Even the locals can’t point you in the right direction.
My dad and I kept driving, we saw a small arrow pointing the way, and we followed it until we came across a vineyard a house and a couple buildings that look more like a shop and not a winery.
We pulled in to an empty parking lot. ‘It’s a Thursday, so that’s probably why it’s dead.“
John Rauner, the owner and winemaker, greeted us.
«How much for the tasting flight?»
«Nothing, we’ve been here for more than 30 years, and we’ve never charged.»
Crap, now I had to buy a bottle. If they charge, I don’t feel to bad about leaving without buying a bottle, BUT the wine was sooooooo good I would have bought a bottle anyway.
This guy was one of the first winemakers in Washington State. I was really talking to one of well seasoned pros.
I told him I was getting my «Masters in Wine» in Seattle, and he knew one of my professors. When they first started the wine boom in Washington State back in the ’70’s they were the pioneers in the small circle of colleagues where everyone knew everyone.
He has a «Masters in Microbiology», and then went back to school to get his «Masters in Wine,» so I felt like I was in class talking to this guy. This guy has won so many awards, and quit deservingly as my pallet found out.
These are a few of his wines: Cabernet Sauvignon 2003, Merlot 2003, Cabernet Merlot 2002, John’s Port, 2002 and Shiraz Port 2000.
Ports are sweet and strong as expected from any port. They are too rich for my taste, but they have a great after taste. Chocolate? Yes, great with chocolate.
I really liked all his wines, but I fell in love with the Cab. A 2003 that still blossoms on your pallet. *sigh* 20 bucks a bottle.
The ports are around 14 bucks.
Don’t be put off by the esthetics of the outside. Come inside and taste some great wine.