Col Solare

Beautiful location to visit even on a rainy winter day. I can only imagine what the vineyards would look like when it’s lush and green. The facility is quite nice as well. A little «snooty» for my taste… unlike most Washington wineries, more in line with Napa from that stand point. They don’t offer wine tasting, your only option is to buy a a wine flight of 3, 2oz pours for $ 17.

Beautiful winery on red mountain. They don’t do a traditional tasting but provide three wines to drink side by side. The fee is $ 17. This is a good approach to compare and contrast. I thought the wines were ok but did not fit my tastes. A little stuffy for me too

I may be a little biased, because I’m a huge Antinori fan, but this was a great find for me. All three of the wines we were able to taste were delicious, complex, and would develop well over time. I enjoyed them so much I not only bought some of those, but also some of the reserve collection, which is not available for tasting. The facility is beautiful, and our server, Felicia, was happy to talk me through the architecture (as well as the wines, winemakers, etc.). Yes, these wines are expensive, but you pay for quality.

Have been in all of Red Mountain tasting rooms and Col Solare is by far the best wine being made on the hill. We were treated like family by Deb and Arron in the tasting room and the quality of the wine is comparable to Leonetti and Quilceda Creek but a third less pricey. Read Kevin D’s review and suggest he and company visit lesser wineries rather than complain about one out of his price range, step up or shut up Kevin, you get what you pay for. The unfortunate thing about these online reviews is people like Kevin D. If you KNOW good wine this is the best on Red Mountain and perhaps the entire area.

We had high hopes about this winery which appeared to live up to expectations until we actually got inside.
So, we will start with the pros. The estate is beautiful and expertly farmed. Since they are a supplier to Château Ste Michelle, they have some money and knowledge poured into the vineyards and how you have to drive through the vines of grapes to reach the tasting room. The façade up to the winery was gorgeous and was picture worthy. This has an amazing view of the surrounding hills from high on Red Mountain. Then, we walked inside to a beautiful tasting room which was complete with fireplace and conversation dice at the tables. This is where the experience stopped being enjoyable.
The cons: We were not sure if the tasting room was even open even after opening the door and having to ask if they were. A warm smile would have gone further than a blank stare as we entered. Once we got to the counter, the server explained how they were not like normal tasting rooms and started by explaining the history of the winery and then breezed over the three wines available to taste. Since they only had the three, we decided to get two taster sets for the three of us (I was driving but still got a few sips). They do slightly larger than normal pours, but they poured every wine at the same time and did not explain anything other than their vintage year and primary grape used. While we did enjoy the ambiance, the wines were less than outstanding. They all tasted good and were ‘drinkable’ but did not jump out at us after our excellent experience and better wines at another winery earlier that day. The entire time we tasted, the attendant was on the phone and did not even notice when we had a small spill and then did not even offer to help clean up. I would say that our help was maybe an anomaly, but she never introduced her self. The worst part about the experience was when the bill came. $ 54.50 for two tasting sets of three 2 oz. pours. A typical glass of wine is 4 oz. that means we paid nearly $ 18.00 per glass of wine which is more than we paid for three tastings of six wines altogether at another tasting room. I understand wine is not meant to be cheap, but I believe in quality deserving price and the quality was not there.
Overall, I think this winery could be a great place for a restaurant and bar that does not focus on their wine and uses the beautiful environment to feature the Red Mountain Vineyards area.

Best thing to hit your lips… bc this is the kind of love that last forever… I bow… perfection in a bottle! They only do private tours and they only do them at 2pm on Sunday. :-)

Gorgeous tasting room but don’t take me away from what I am here for: the wines. Can feel the italian influence (investors) on the architecture.
The 2007 Col Solare is very good, the 2009 needs some years.
We had to pay $ 16 to try 2 wines and they don’t even get you some water to rinse your palates nor some crackers. Please drop the marketing line and be friendly, if you are a wine bar, let us know it prior…

The tours were not available when I went, but it was also near closing time. However, we were able to catch the tasting for about ~$ 25 — 3 wines (2006, 2007, 2008). One of the more expensive, if not most expensive wineries in the area. Hmmmmm, winegasmic as it touched my lips. Hello 2007. We also had some unusual sausage meats, including kangaroo, venison, etc. It wasn’t unbearable… I would say pleasant with the mustard, but not something I’d go out of my way to eat regularly.
The vineyard is absolutely gorgeous and the stairs leading up to the winery is a great photo op. See my photo.
Was nice to get out of the 110+ degree heat.

An interesting luxury wine experience (as they like to be known) vying to be the cabernet winery in the area.
The winery is unique in that they our one kind of winery also called Col Solare, and a tasting flight allows you to taste three vintages of the one wine. The generous pours of the three vintages (2006, 2007, and 2008) cost $ 24 and we were not offered a tour.
I was bit overwhelmed by the woman behind the counter and her fairly hard «sell» and uptight demeanor. She obviously memorized a script and it came off as forced. However, at the end of our stay, as we were saying our goodbye, she relaxed and gave us great information about the nearby wineries, speaking quite highly of a handful of them. She kept saying «…they’re a small production, keep that in mind…» as if that were a negative characteristic. I embrace small productions and family-​owned and operated wineries.
Col Solare is a joint venture between Château St. Michelle and a winer group in Italy.
We did not try the food, as we drank our 3 glasses and immediately left, however, I do remember that almonds will cost $ 8. A bottle of the 2007 cost about $ 85.
The view is amazing. As you walk up the very many steps, you start to get a glimpse. Then, when you reach the top, you see Benton City area and freeway in the distance at base of the mountain. We chose to drink our wine on the outer patio (there is an inner patio without a view and an indoor «salon» — a room with two large tables, and a kitchen counter with a sink and cupboards) but we soon realized that we couldn’t enjoy the view as we sat because the handrail of the patio was so tall that it obscured our view as we sat. Perhaps, a six foot tall man could sit and drink wine and actually see the view at the same time.
Overall, with so few wines to drink and a view we couldn’t enjoy as we sat and sipped, we won’t be returning anytime soon.

This is a phenominal winery with a phenominal view! I went in the early spring and had a great time with the staff. I cant wait to go in the summer!

This is a gorgeous tasting room with delicious wine (red only!), tasty food & friendly staff.
On Saturdays during the summer, they offer a cichetti menu as well as flights, single glasses or bottles. The wine is amazing & they only have a few vintages available at a time — so you aren’t overwhelmed with having to choose.
The view of the vineyards & the extended landscape from the deck is breathtaking, especially during sunset.
They do not have a lot of shade, so bring a sun hat & sunscreen… they will make sure you have plenty of water & you can always go inside to cool off a bit.
When we were there, it was not busy — it was very peaceful & we had great service!

Holy Hell. If I could give this 10 stars, I would.
We rolled into this place with about 30 minutes to spare before we had to leave to catch our flight in Pasco. We sheepishly explained that we were in a rush and the two women working there rolled out the red carpet for us — speedily delivering our two wine flights and a bevy of delicious foods to us, including a free cheese platter that we didn’t even order, just because they were being nice. And the coolest part was, even though they hustled to get this all out to us, nothing felt rushed. They still explained every wine, the intricacies of each vintage, and each cheese with detail and intelligence. We left feeling more relaxed than when we arrived! Somehow, their attention to our time constraints made us feel like we weren’t in a rush at all.
Oh — and BESIDES all that awesome customer service, THE WINES WERE TO DIE FOR. Every single one. Their goal, as they both independently told us, is to make the single best Cabernet in the state of Washington. And I think they are doing a great job achieving that!
Not to mention the absolutely gorgeous, Artesa-​like modern building & grounds. We sat outside on the patio and overlooked Red Mountain. It was the day after the «rapture» (May 22, 2011), and I sure felt like I was in heaven!
I hope that more people find this gem, which is why I wanted to write here and rate it a 5 star joint. It’s tough to find things to do in this area of Washington, so I highly, highly recommend visiting Col Solare. It will be the highlight of your trip!
Thank you to the wonderful associates there for taking such awesome care of us — we won’t forget it. We can’t wait to come back!