My Unlikely Love Letter to a Sweet Wine - Latah Creek Winery Huckleberry Wine. The Rebel That Ruined My Dry Streak
Look, I’ll be honest, I’ve never been a “sweet wine guy.” I’m more of a bold Cab, dry as a dad joke, legs like a marathon runner, nose like a library. You know the type. So when Carrie (my lovely wife and proud Spokane native) handed me a glass of Latah Creek’s Huckleberry Wine, I was fully prepared to do my usual polite sip and quietly plan my escape to the nearest Zinfandel.
But folks, this wine didn’t just surprise me; it hijacked my palate, rewrote the rules, and walked out with my wine-snob street cred.
First, a Little Scene-Setting
Carrie and I have visited Latah Creek Wine Cellars more times than I’ve Googled “how to fix a leaky faucet.” It’s a gorgeous spot: welcoming, warm, and full of character. They’ve got some absolutely fantastic reds (seriously, their Sangiovese could make a grown man sing Puccini), but this Huckleberry Wine? It’s the showstopper. The unexpected diva. The Beyoncé in a lineup of solid backup dancers.
And I get it now.
On the Nose
Crack open the bottle and it’s like the Pacific Northwest threw a berry-scented party just for your face. Tart huckleberries (those elusive little purple flavor bombs native to the wilds of the Northwest) come screaming out of the glass with notes of jam, wildflower, and nostalgia. It smells like summer, but not the humid, bug-bite kind - the good kind with rivers, hammocks, and not a single Zoom call.
On the Tongue
This wine is sweet, yes, but not cloying. It dances. It sings. It glides. The huckleberry hits first; bright, bold, and just tart enough to keep things interesting; followed by this velvety finish that’s somehow both elegant and fun, like Audrey Hepburn in hiking boots.
It’s dessert without guilt. It’s the wine equivalent of hearing your favorite song on a jukebox when you thought the bar only played EDM. It’s… dang good.
Historical Vibes
Thomas Jefferson once said, “Good wine is a necessity of life for me.” I think ol’ Tom would’ve changed his tune after one glass of this stuff—maybe added, “especially if it’s packed with huckleberries and crafted in Spokane.”
And let’s not forget... on August 3rd, 1492, Columbus set sail for the New World. I’m not saying he was looking for huckleberry wine... but if he’d landed in Spokane instead of San Salvador, we might all be sipping this nectar at state dinners.
The Bottom Line
I wanted to dislike this wine. I expected to dislike this wine. But here I am, not only finishing every glass, but quietly guarding the bottles like they're the last roll of toilet paper in a 2020 Costco.
So to Latah Creek: Bravo. And to Carrie: You were right. Again.
Grapeful Red's Rating:
4.8 out of 5 Stars - surprised sips from a guy who thought he hated sweet wine.