Westport Winery Garden Resort’s 2014 Shorebird Chardonnay earned 92-points along with a gold medal and “exceptional” rating at the Chardonnay World Wine Championships held in Illinois, in early March. The grapes for this vintage were harvested from Conner-Lee Vineyard located near Othello, Washington, in the Columbia Valley AVA. Director of Winemaking Dana Roberts said, “Conner-Lee has been a consistent producer of superior Chardonnay for us. Their unique soil and site offer the perfect long, cool season needed to make the best Chardonnay.”
The judges said the wine had “Lively, fresh aromas and flavors of tropical fruit salad, vanilla frozen yogurt, and lemon herb muffin with a silky, tangy, fruity medium body and a silky, elegant, medium-long tangerine, coconut milk, and caramel apple finish. A vibrant, zesty chardonnay with ripe tropical fruit and acidity tuned for the table.”
In the winery’s Farm to Fork restaurant it is suggested that this wine be paired with their fresh Pan-Fried Oysters featuring “smalls” locally produced at Brady’s Oysters.
A portion of the proceeds from each of Westport’s wines benefits a local charity, in this case, Shorebird Chardonnay benefits the Grays Harbor Audubon Society. Additionally, each of the wines is commemorated in the display gardens with a sculpture by a local artist. Welder, Mike Peterson of Aberdeen, crafted the piece in the outdoor art gallery. The wine’s label, featuring a Tufted Puffin, was painted by watercolorist Darrel Easter, of Camarillo, California. Easter has created eight of the winery’s 37 labels.
Westport Winery Garden Resort is located on the corner of Highway 105 and South Arbor Road halfway between Aberdeen and Westport. The winery (including the restaurant, bakery, nursery and gardens) is open daily and offers lunch and dinner from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.