Cougar Crest Winery

Wine was off, oxidized and terrible flavor. Don’t buy.
Honestly, I should have known better when the tasting room we had planned to go to and found this one by chance. Normally, in the past, I’ve found some of my favorite wineries this way. So we tried a flight of some wines being tasted and I noted the wine had an off flavor of oxidation. I pointed this out to the person helping us with our tasting. She also had another employee taste the wine and both agreed it was bad. She opened a new bottle and, to me, it appeared better. But I can only assume after tasting such a bad bottle it was still stuck in my mouth. I ended up buying six bottles. Three Syrillo, a cab franc, a desert and a bottle of white which I cannot recall. Heck it may still be in my wine cabinet.
Well I got home and took the Syrillo to a party to show off the wines I found in Washington and as soon as I smelled the bottle I could tel it was off; oxidation strikes again. I tasted, confirmed, and dumped down the drain. I was thoroughly embarrassed but hey, even the best fall sometimes. I got home and a few weeks later tried the second bottle. Again, oxidized. Kind of a chocolate raisin mixed with stale bread is how I might describe the flavor. Not a treat like one would imagine. I opened the cab franc and could detect the faint smell/​taste of the same problem. Either they over macerate, under– sulphite, or barrel age in old barrels that had an infection problem. I believe they used the wine from that batch to blend both. Unfortunately, this would seem to end in disaster… Especially for me and my guests.
I notified the owner who emailed me back that she can’t ship to my state a replacement. Don’t know that I would want one anyway. I suggested a refund to my credit card and then I got radio silence. But hey, I was only out the price of a few bottles. In fact the only reason I remembered to write this is i left one bottle, minus the glass, in the refrigerator way too long and dumped it (cab franc). Which is what I should have done with the initial taste.
Best of luck on your tasting, but I wouldn’t do this one…

This place gets two stars solely because its tasting room was beautiful.
Our group of 4 stopped here as our first stop on Day 2 of a wine extravaganza in southern Washington, and boy, what a disappointment. The woman pouring the wines was anything but friendly and it seemed as if it was a real chore to be pouring wine to interested people. She also gave us virtually no explanation of the wines we were trying, which (I think) in a major wine-​growing region is a real detraction. The wines that we tried, in comparison to the other wines we tried on our trip at other tasting rooms, was pitiful. Only make the stop if you want to purchase a can of Cougar Gold cheese.

Really enjoyed this Winery and the friendly staff! They were slammed with a large group tour but still made time to help us with our tasting. Lots of wines to try out, and I ended buying a bottle here. I was limited on what I could take back in my luggage but I made room for one of these fabulous wines! Shout out to the staff for being so awesome! Can’t wait to come back next year!

Stopping here was a spur of the moment decision. The facility was nice and the server very helpful but the wines were average. We left with one wine but can’t recommend this stop.

Visited Walla Walla few weeks back with a group excited to taste wine in the area. Cougar Crest was our first stop of 5 wineries on this day. We meet Seth as we walked in approaching the tasting area. One couple in our group had a dog so we asked if it was ok if dog could come in, he hesitated but finally agreed. We enjoyed the wine but Seth was not very personable especially when I asked for an additional taste of a particular wine. We all bought wine but probably would have bought more if the experience was more pleasant. The 4 other wineries we visited were very personable and fun and all welcomed the pet in our group.

Great wines, fantastic values and awesome people! They don’t release wines until after a few years in the bottle so they can be drank now.

We visited the winery (Frenchtown location) over thanksgiving weekend. The tasting room — presumably new — was spacious and inviting, and offered additional merchandise. The tasting fee was subtracted from the cost of any wine purchased. I found a couple of nice reds, that tasted fine at reasonable price points. Came home with a bottle of «Dedication Six» which donates proceeds to the Portland Children’s Hospital. Nice touch.

Been a fan for years and the first wine club I ever joined. Always outstanding world class wines. Debbie Hansen (owner and winemaker) and her team are always very friendly and do a great job whenever we visit the tasting room at the winery. My wife and I try to make it there at least twice a year especially during Spring and Fall release. Love their wines!

Hands down the best wines in Walla Walla. No, I’m not just saying that because I’m a Coug! Their Syrahs can compete with the best in France and blow CA wines out of the water. The tasting room is beautiful with an amazing Cougar sculpture (Go Cougs!). Also, the Dedication series is one of the best $ 20 bottles of wine you can buy. Pay the extra fee to taste the reserves, you won’t regret it!

We visited a lot of wineries in Walla Walla this week and I would encourage anyone to skip this one unless an absolute fan.
Almost all wineries in the area offer tasting with a refundable fee. Not Cougar Crest — it costs even if you buy wine. Furthermore, they offered miniscule pours for their reserve tasting — almost too small to get a good idea about the quality of the wine.
Get real guys!

Chris couldn’t have put this any better.
Cougar Crest is making decent wines, but nothing stellar for under $ 45. The tasting room is small, yet well air conditioned. The folks pouring are very nice. Not too many nic-nac’s or souveniers. Just low key, unpretentious people pouring some unpretentious wines.
Make a stop in here if you are near the airport, or if you happen to be a big fan. Worth the taste, but still waiting for them to wow me with something.

Nice selection and nice pours from a well-​established Walla Walla estate winery. Friendly staff. A little pricey. Tasting room a bit small. Definitely worth stopping in while you’re out tasting in the airport district.
***THEY’VE MOVED! Cougar Crest relocated to their brand new winery just West of Walla2 on the main highway in early April.