Gold Medal & Best Buy Rating, Wine Press Northwest

2005 Columbia Valley Merlot

The folks at this Issaquah, Wash., winery are reinventing how we think about wine containers.  The packaging is a tube about the same size as a wine bottle but holds 1.5 liters, making this Merlot a really great deal.  And it's really good Merlot, too, with aromas and flavors of fesh fruit and sweet spices, backed up with solid tannins.