Wine Country RV Park [September 2019]

All right, if you remember at the closing of last weeks blog, I mentioned that Shawn found a unique campground for us to stay. Well, we have everything packed up and we are headed back home to our Arizona home for the winter [ballooning] season. It just so happens that on our first night, Shawn found the Wine Country RV Park in Prosser Washington for us to stay. We didn't go too far, but Shawn humors me and my wine habit. Haha!! With Prosser being such a big winery town, and with 12 wineries within walking distance of the campground, Shawn thought I would enjoy staying here!! [he was not wrong!! LOL] When we checked in, there was even a wine bar in the lobby!!

Each week one of the wineries [maybe some of the ones that were within walking distance LOL] comes over to the campground lobby to set up shop [so to speak] and offer wine tastings to the campground guests!! I thought this was really grape!! HA!! I mean who wouldn't want to stay at a campground that is located on Merlot Drive, and has nightly wine tastings from local wineries!!?? First we had to go check out some of these close-by wineries, [and I can tell you that we didn’t walk.. LOL] then we can come back for the campground tasting. I had fun chatting with the wine maker from Coyote Wines!! [photo below]

Prosser is much more than a big winery town; it could be said that it is the birthplace of the Washington wine industry. Prosser has more than 30 wineries in town, and is also home to the Walter Clore Wine & Culinary Center. Named of the "Father of Washington Wine," the center is a wine tasting and education destination. With its ideal climatic conditions and geographical location, Prosser yields some of the best grapes in the world!! Prosser is part of a bigger valley, [Yakima Valley] which is known as one of the finest fruit growing regions in the nation. There are more than 120 wineries sitting on more than 17,000 acres of wine producing vineyards. Wowsers!!

We jumped in Steele and just started driving around with no plan!! [if you can believe that!! Haha] I will just touch on a few of the wineries we were able to visit. You must know that we had to stop at Airfield Estates, right!? Let me make a long story short... back in WWII a flight school was built on the property, having only three dirt runways. Its purpose soon changed to become a War Training Service Program area, and after the War it was auctioned off to the highest bidder. Turned out that there was only one bidder, H. Lloyd Miller, and he still owns it. Back then he paid a whopping $1.00 at auction, and turned it into what it is today!! This is where I picked up the shark plane wine bottle you see Steele carrying around below!!

We had a lovely dinner on the beautiful patio at “Wine O’ Clock” because it is obviously “somewhere” LOL!! Owned and run by the Bunnell Family, they call it their “unique spot for civilized wining and dining.” You can taste wine from any [or all] of their three labels. Bunnell Family Cellar, Wine O’Clock, and Newhouse Family Vineyards. Let's move on to the Thurston Wolfe Winery. Opened in 1987, by owner and wine maker Dr. Wade Wolfe, [did anyone else know you can earn your Ph. D. in grape genetics!?] his wife Becky Yeaman, and their son Josh. [sales manager] The “Thurston” from Thurston Wolfe is Wade’s mother’s maiden name. [sooo sweet!!] I clearly picked up a bottle here, as seen in Steeles back seat. [all the way to the right]

I would say 3 Farmers Tasting Room was the favorite of the day, it was also the place we visited. This is where I picked up three of the bottles in Steeles back seat. When I saw the Farm Girl and Farm Boy wines, [created by winemaker Robert Smasne] I simply had to get them. This totally made me think of my girl Jessica Henry, and her boy Daniel Liberti. [who I have blogged about before] You see, Jessica calls Daniel “boy” and he calls her “girl” and they needed this gift!! [see photo below… hahaha!!] Since we were stopping to see them on our way through I just had to have it for them!! I don't remember if we liked the wines, but it's the thought that counts, right!?

It’s pretty incredible that this little town of Prosser, found in and among the approximate 665,600 acres of Yakima Valley, produces over half of Washingtons State’s wine grapes!! They support other wine regions in the Pacific Northwest as well, such as Woodinville, Walla Walla and Oregon’s Willamette Valley. It is definitely one of my favorite campgrounds that we have ever stayed in!! LOL

In the event that any of you were wondering what a Whining Pig is, tune in next week as Wine with Wixy heads to Desert Ridge shopping center to find out just that!!

Cheers to you my wine loving friends, and TTFN!!