The esteemed Wine Spectator magazine apparently loves our reds from the Columbia Valley. Three cabernet sauvignons from that region made the publication’s top 100 wines in 2022 list. A local syrah and merlot also made the cut.

The highest-rated Washington wine, according to the publication’s judging panel, was the 2018 Columbia Valley cab from the cult brand Quilceda Creek Winery in Snohomish, which was ranked the ninth best wine of the year. (The top-ranked wine was the 2019 cabernet sauvignon, Oakville Double Diamond from Schrader Cellars in Napa Valley.)

Judges called the Quilceda Creek cab “a dynamic red, impeccably structured yet rich and harmonious.” The bad news is that this $200 wine – of which only 5,300 cases were made – has long been sold out.

The good news is that four other reds that made the glossy’s best of list are easier to find online or on shelves.

30. DeLille 2019 D2, Columbia Valley ($50)

39. Horsepower 2019 syrah, Walla Walla Valley, The Tribe Vineyard ($122)

41. Bookwalter 2019 cabernet sauvignon, Columbia Valley Readers ($28)

69. Luke 2019 merlot, Wahluke Slope ($25)