Hogue Cellars

Driving home from Oregon & wanted to stop somewhere to pick up a local wine. Saw a sign advertising fruit stand & wineries so whipped the ride off at the next exit.
Arrived at the Hogue Cellar building that looked deserted. Saw an open sign though so we went on in. We were the only ones there other than the one lone employee. Wanted to buy a white & a red wine so sampled 2 of each. Sample pours were a little small but free & you were able to taste enough of the wine to make a decision.
Also available in the tasting room a few food items, cute napkins, some glassware & other knick knacks.
Small picnic area right next to the tasting room in case you are starving & can’t wait to drink your purchase.

I went here for a private tasting a couple of weeks ago and had an awesome time. All the wines were poured for us before we arrived, descriptions of the wines were printed out and cheese, crackers and chocolate were served during the tasting. What more could a girl ask for?

This place is outstanding. Don’t be fooled by the cheaper wines they sell in grocery stores. Hogue makes some incredible wines that can only be found at the winery.
Basically, they have four series of wines. The regular label, wines found in the stores. They also have a Genesis label, which is like their second tier of fruit. Very good stuff, and offers excellent value. Their third label, Reserve, is fantastic. They have made some changes to their Chardonnay to make it less oaky. Their Reserve Cab and Merlot are consistent each year and they source from some of the best vineyard sites in the state. Now to their grand cru, the Terroir series. This series is reserved for the tasting room and wine club only. Look for the Rosato (Sangiovese rose) and the Red Mountain Cab. Both are very consistent. They also do a red blend with Malbec, Merlot and Cab, called «Red Wine.» It is exceptional.
The tasting room is spacious and the staff are always very friendly. If you are a wine club member you can arrange a private tasting for up to 10 guests each year. If you are looking for some exceptional quality in reasonably priced wine, look to the Hogue Cellars.

Hogue is owned by a wine conglomerate, but don’t let that turn you off.
Of the two baristas, one was very knowledgeable about Hogue and other wines and knew way more than just the script. He was well traveled within other locations within the Constellation wine family and had an interest in wines, well beyond Hogue, having traveled on his own money to Napa and Sonoma counties in California. Bottom line, he knew his wines cold. So, part of the 4* review is dedicated to him.
The wines at Hogue are very good. It was probably our #2 favorite. Many of the whites are well constructed. They compete well with other whites from the Prosser area. But in comparison to other reds from this area, Hogue’s surpass most. My daughter and I have a bias: we like fruit-​forward wines and don’t like the leathery mouth feel of the siltier red wines that seem to characterize the area”s winemaking trend. The Hogue wines are brighter and fruiter with a nice long-​lating finish.
The wines are fairly priced. There were three in our group, and one purchased the reserve tasting. The reserve tasting is a good deal both from the standpoint of wine quality and the take-​away Riedel wine glass.
The two best Prosser tasting rooms are located in this general area, and Hogue is one of them.

There is a free tasting of their entry level Genesis wines which are just OK. The get to be better if you run them through a Vinturi ($ 25 Amazon.)
The reserve and Terrior tasting is a bargain at $ 10 and includes what was described as a Logo wine glass. It is in fact an Austrian Riedel Crystal glass worth $ 10 on it’s own. Why they don’t push that fact IDK. The tasting room is the best place to taste and buy the Reserve and Terrior. After many trips to Eastern Washington and a five day wine vacation this year including many Hogue visits. I find the tasting room employees friendly but lacking in substance and character. Hogue is the premier Washington winery when it comes to research and development with Stelvin (screw top) closures. The Reserve/​Terrior rate below Columbia Crest, Cougar Crest, Château Ste Michelle, and McKinley Springs (Best Value in WA) for me. The Genesis line for me is disappointing with the Columbia Crest Grand Estates being far better quality for a couple bucks more. For me they are a wine I buy a bottle or two of Reserve/​Terrior when visiting the tasting room, not what I buy by the case.

Surprisingly modest, small tasting room, located in an industrial park/​strip mall. Our server was friendly but offered no personality. The Genesis wines you can taste for free were okay but not memorable, except for the Meritage, which we all liked a lot.
Overall, there are better tasting room experiences nearby, or on Red Mountain, but the wines here are probably more affordable.

Good wines at mid-​range prices in a nice tasting room and facility. Love some of their pickled vegetables as well.

I’m not sure what else you could ask for in a winery. They have great service, great prices, and reasonable wine. Their tasting room is quite nice, and is complete with numerous trinkets and other items if you feel to need to but something other than wine. I also have to say that their tasting room staff is outstanding. I have always been treated fantastically in their tasting room and the people are amazingly friendly. I think they owe this to the HR person because I ran into an ex-​hoguer and they were just as friendly in their new tasting room as they were at hogue.
As a side note their reserve tasting is one of the most expensive in the area. It’s $ 10 to taste through all of their wines but you do get to keep a souvenir glass. I’m not into that so it’s basically worthless but you were warned. The good news is they have a substantial list and glass or no glass you are getting a pretty good deal.
I’m also a pretty big fan of their wine club if you are in the area. Their wines are not the best in the area but they are very reasonably priced and make great table wines. Paying for the club allows you to join in on private tastings and a nice free lunch a few times a year. It makes a wonderful excuse to visit Prosser if the other 25 wineries aren’t doing it.

First winery I visited yesterday when I was in Yakima Valley. About a 40min drive from Yakima. Didn’t know before I went but it is sort of a commercial winery, with sister wineries in California. The wines were solid… nothing that I wanted to have to check my bag to take home back to CA with me. Don’t think that I was so thrilled with the wines that I would join the wine club either… but I would be happy to have a glass of something if I was at a restaurant, because nothing was absolutely terrible. The woman pouring was very friendly and informative. Tasting room is nice… but not over the top with a bunch of crap for sale like some winery tasting rooms. One of the better wineries during my visit so I would recommended stopping in for a taste if you are in the area… complimentary regular tasting or $ 10 for reserve tasting.