Arbor Crest winery has staged a comeback with fine new releases

Only a small number of Washington wineries have passed the quarter-century mark — not a long history by Old World standards, but highly significant in this competitive industry. For those too young to remember, there were barely three dozen wineries in the state in 1982, the year Arbor Crest was founded, and many of them have disappeared. In the Spokane area, only Latah Creek dates back almost as far.

Arbor Crest was founded by the Mielke brothers, David and Harold. The family business was orchards and fruit. David had begun growing grapes in the Wahluke Slope; Harold was working as a medical researcher in the Bay Area. They hired Scott Harris (from California's Davis Bynum winery) to be their winemaker and focused production on white wines, highlighted by a fruity, French-oak-aged, slightly sweet sauvignon blanc.

Within a few years Arbor Crest had grown to become one of Washington's largest wineries. But by the time Harold's daughter, Kristina, and her husband, Jim, decided to move to Spokane and take over, the winery had lost its focus. That was 1999. Today, winemaker Kristina Mielke van Loben Sels has just completed her 10th Washington harvest. She studied fermentation science at UC Davis and worked as enologist/assistant winemaker at Ferrari-Carano. The move north came suddenly, and not without challenges. To put it bluntly, it has taken a decade for the brand to recover. But as the excellent lineup of new releases shows, Arbor Crest is again at the top of its game.

The flagship white wine is still the sauvignon blanc ($10), with fruit sourced from Bacchus vineyard vines more than 35 years old. It's stainless-steel-fermented, with just 13 percent alcohol allowing some of the more subtle varietal flavors (melon, green apple, lime and grapefruit) to shine.

If you love a big, buttery style of chardonnay, Arbor Crest's 2006 Conner Lee vineyard bottling ($18) is right up your alley. The ripe fruit is supported with firm acids and a dollop of vanilla cream.

The current crop of red wines is the best overall in the winery's history. One caveat: The distributor (Odom) appears to be backed up with older vintages. The vintages quoted here are the ones to seek, and you can always order direct from the winery.

The Arbor Crest 2006 Merlot ($15) opens with an interesting floral note, followed with bright raspberry and light chocolate flavors. It's 100 percent varietal. As are most Arbor Crest wines, the 2006 Syrah ($20) is also 100 percent varietal. This one is sappy and brimming with berry flavors. The ripe fruit is set against firm acids, then finished with caramel and butterscotch flavors from judicious aging in new French-oak barrels.

Kristina van Loben Sels says the cabernet sauvignon sourced from the Klipsun vineyard on Red Mountain is destined for a new van Loben Sels label. For the moment, though, it is part of the regular lineup. The 2005 version ($35) captures the essence of the vineyard's strengths: black cherry and cassis; tar, gravel and smoke; chewy, earthy tannins.

The winery's top red is the 2005 Dionysus ($45), a Bordeaux blend given extended barrel age. The current vintage includes all five Bordeaux grapes for the first time. Dark, sappy and bursting with ripe cassis and black cherry fruit, silky tannins and juicy acids, this lovely bottle is ready for additional cellaring.

The winery's Web site (www.arborcrest.com) lists a number of limited-edition wines as well. Cliff House, home to the Arbor Crest tasting room and gift shop, is open from noon to 5 p.m. daily.