What Cathedral Ridge Winery is known for

Cathedral Ridge Winery sits at 4200 Post Canyon Drive in Hood River. It began in 1985 as Flerchinger Vineyards and took its present name when Robb Bell bought it in 2003. With Sonoma winemaker Michael Sebastiani, Bell turned the programme toward big red wines from around 15 Columbia Gorge vineyard partners, now more than 30 wines in all. A second tasting room operates in Dundee in the Willamette Valley.

Cathedral Ridge Winery sits at 4200 Post Canyon Drive, five minutes outside downtown Hood River, Oregon. It takes its name from the knife-edge ridge that runs northwest off the summit of Mount Hood. The winery began in 1985 as Flerchinger Vineyards, a family operation founded by Don Flerchinger with a reputation for aromatic whites in an Alsatian style. Robb Bell, a Pittsburgh native who first hitchhiked into Hood River as a teenager in 1960, bought it in 2003 and renamed it. He brought in Michael Sebastiani, a fourth-generation Sonoma winemaker, to shift the programme toward big red wines from Columbia Gorge fruit. Bell serves as day-to-day cellarmaster while Sebastiani sets the protocols and does the blending. Wine Press Northwest named Cathedral Ridge its Oregon Winery of the Year in 2007. Around 15 local vineyard partners supply the grapes for more than 30 wines, from Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah to Zinfandel and Barbera. They are poured in a tasting room with a barrel room view of Underwood Mountain across the river. A second tasting room operates in Dundee in the Willamette Valley, and the grounds host weddings and events.