Wine touring is a beautiful thing.
You get to see one of the most romantic crops imaginable in person, including plump, gorgeous grapes on the vine.
It’s all especially delightful in remote or rural locales in Eastern Washington.
Sipping leisurely, you compare, contrast and, always, always, learn, gazing across the land as you attempt to taste its terroir.
But then there’s that dreaded catch.
Someone has to drive.
And that can be a pain, of course, on winding roads that traverse steep vine-covered hillsides or along major highways that take you from one appellation to the next if you’re particularly ambitious.
That’s why my husband, Matt, and I were incredibly excited to check out SageCliffe, a bona fide wine destination, home to an award-winning Cave B Estate Winery, the Cave B Inn, a spa, an outdoor swimming pool and a restaurant called Tendrils, all overlooking the dramatic Columbia River gorge 900 feet below.
Though the winery released its first vintages in 2000, SageCliffe’s inn opened in 2005, including 15 stand-alone “Cliffehouses,” 12 guest rooms in the “Caverns,” built directly into the basalt cliffs, and three guest rooms in the main lodge.
Where a typical wine trip might mean traveling from one winery to the next, SageCliffe is all about sitting back and relaxing in one place.
Apart from The Gorge Amphitheatre, which happens to be right next door, this is rural Washington with only the small towns of George and Quincy nearby.
That’s just what Matt and I were looking for when we headed to SageCliffe for TomatoFare, one of many special events at the resort.
The next TomatoFare, an annual celebration of heirloom tomatoes with tomato and wine tastings, a farmers market, tomato-themed food booths run by Washington chefs and live music, is set for Aug. 24 next year if you want to book early.
Upcoming events this time of year include a harvest festival Oct. 13, a yoga and wine retreat (Oct. 25 to 28) and a murder mystery weekend (Nov. 16 to 18).
But you don’t need extra activities to make SageCliffe interesting, especially if you like to taste wine, lounge in posh accommodations and walk.
Keep in mind, however, that The Gorge Amphitheatre is quite literally next door — for better or worse. Though you can only barely see people roaming the ridge top during concerts, the sound is not contained.
If you’re a fan of Dave Matthews or Eric Clapton, it might be a good thing. On the afternoon of TomatoFare, we heard a bit too much from the Vans Warped Tour 2007 rocking out at the 20,000-seat venue, though it was completely quiet by nightfall.
Be sure to check The Gorge schedule or ask the agent when you book your reservation so you can take advantage or avoid concerts.
SageCliffe owners Vince and Carol Bryan fell in love with the rugged property here in 1980 and built the amphitheater to draw tourists east. They later sold the amphitheater, now run by House of Blues, and have since focused on perfecting their idyllic SageCliffe.
Up next, the Bryan family is planning a full 500-acre retreat, “a hilltop village,” with an additional lodge with a restaurant and guest accommodations, artist studios, indoor and outdoor theaters, a golf course, an equestrian center, exhibition halls, galleries and art vistas placed throughout the property.
No matter what you do with the current amenities, however, you really need to stay the night to make the most of SageCliffe.
We happily bunked in one of the free-standing Cliffehouses, definitely a one-of-a-kind experience.
It was a well-appointed little home with rich, cabernet-colored accents, a soaking tub, a large shower and a refrigerator stocked with Cave B white wine and other beverages. We had a flat-screen TV that rotated to face either the living room or the bedroom area of the house, divided quaintly by a pass-through fireplace. Best of all, we had a floor-to-ceiling sunset view of the Columbia River.
Outside, on our arbor-covered flagstone patio, ornamental grapes climbed the support posts, sage emitted a desert fragrance and sangiovese grapes were ripening on the vine just a few feet away.
It was from our patio that we set out exploring the grounds, planted with vines in various stages of maturity, including cabernet franc, sauvignon blanc, cabernet sauvignon, barbera, semillon, merlot and syrah.
The SageCliffe main lodge, looming up the hill from our Cliffhouse, sets the architectural tone for the entire resort with a stunning two-story atrium and a modern arched roof, echoed on the design of the smaller Cliffehouses.
Our random path meandered in and out of vineyards as we took in the views of the gorge and cliffs on the other side of the Columbia.
Eventually, we discovered not only the spa, offering all kinds of beauty treatments, including couples massage, but also a chef’s garden featuring sunflowers, squash and tomatoes all just down from The RoundHouse, home to the winery’s tasting room and a large upstairs event venue and deck that would be ideal for a wedding reception.
Our visit to the tasting room and gift shop, featuring both SageCliffe and Cave B label wines, was quick and dirty.
It was incredibly crowded, probably because of the hubbub of TomatoFare, but many of the wines, and not just the expensive ones, stood out, including the impressively complex 2005 Cave B semillon, aged 15 months in oak.
Of course, we also enjoyed the two top Cave B reds — a 2004 Bordeaux blend known as Cuvee du Soleil and a 2005 syrah, both top scorers on wine connoisseur lists.
Despite our rush to escape the people waiting to taste, we did find time to dip back into a cavelike room — not The Cave, which is nearby and full of barrels. Its rugged walls of jagged basalt, scattered spot lighting and bottle-labeling machines created a secluded space, another good venue for a special event.
After tasting, we relaxed with still more wine at TomatoFare at the resort’s “piazza,” where tables with white tablecloths were perched under a large pergola covered in ripening grapes.
Next, we could have taken a 2-mile walk to Chimpanzee Point or a 4-mile hike to a waterfall and the banks of the Columbia River, but we instead hung round the pool and our luxurious room and patio, continuing with a bottle of red from the tasting room.
Finally, we walked over the main lodge for a late dinner at Tendrils, under the direction of James Beard Award-winning chef Fernando Divina, who pairs his take on regional Northwest cuisine and local produce with Cave B estate wines.
Our meals didn’t blow us away — the kitchen had run out of the lamb entree; our appetizer was less than stellar; service was slightly awkward — but it was probably a fluke. Other reviews have been rave.
Tendrils’ dining room and bar area were beautiful and offered a warm, inviting and unforgettable space for spending an evening complete with a 30-foot-tall double-sided basalt fireplace and hand-blown glass chandeliers.
After dinner we walked the quaintly lit stone stairs to our Cliffehouse and retired to the patio under the stars. We looked out into the great gorge below, not seeing but knowing the massive river was rushing, gurgling and further carving into the cliffs below.
Reporter Sarah Jackson: 425-339-3037 or sjackson@heraldnet.com
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