In the sought-after opinion of globetrotting Greg Jones, there is no doubt.

Unlike some magazines, there's no charge to enter the annual Wine Press Northwest wine list competition.

In the Pacific Northwest, most of the popular wine grapes are firmly rooted in France: Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Merlot and Syrah.

The Dundee Bistro, Dundee, Ore.

Two months ago, the building was a bland former Army warehouse - a carbon copy of those surrounding it.

The federal government has moved the Lake Chelan American Viticultural Area one step closer to reality, as it has opened the proposal for comments, which can be submitted until Oct. 14.

Petrol, politics and global climate change are dominating headlines during the harvest of this 2008 vintage.

Dear Editor:

The next time you log onto Wine Press Northwest's Web site - winepressnw.com - I hope you'll notice a few changes.

If Dr. No says The World is Not Enough and The Man with the Golden Gun, Goldfinger or Goldeneye didn't see A View to a Kill, which was really meant For Your Eyes Only ... well that's a lot of responsibility, let alone if you're going to Live and Let Die just to Die another Day, is the hassle really worth it?

As dozens of wineries around the United States consider whether to leap into the Riesling derby, following the huge success of Chateau Ste. Michelle with that variety, one of the linchpins on which decisions are based is: Can I sell this wine?

The arrival of fall is a felicitous time when Northwest cooks head back to their kitchens to welcome the season's bounty of Dungeness crab and shellfish; game meats, pork and beef; hearty greens; walnuts and hazelnuts; apples and pears.

In the past few years I've noticed several varieties of wines with names I'd never heard of - Siegerrebe, Kerner, Ortega and Ehrenfelser, to name a few - are being produced in our region's wineries. Why and where do they come from?

Oliver serves as the "Wine Capital of Canada," home of the Golden Mile and gateway to the Okanagan Valley.

Bill Powers has always been ahead of his time.

Abacela Vineyards & Winery in Roseburg, Ore., has changed winemakers, announcing the promotion of Andrew Wenzl to lead winemaker on July 27.

In this unending time of increasing prices for almost everything, ol' Bargain Bob is more relevant than ever.

It is difficult to tell whether wine lovers will like Bottle Shock, the recently released film loosely based on the 1976 "Judgment of Paris" tasting.

You could feel the sensory anticipation at Reid Hall on the Whitman College campus in Walla Walla, Wash., where 50 folks paid good money to sample vintage Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.