Innovation and creativity.

Cougar Winery is family owned. The owners used to live at the base of Cougar Mountain in Bellevue, Washington. They brought a piece of their history to the name. Their wines are Italian based and they’ve brought to fruition many unusual varietals. Lambrusca di Alessandria is a rare, dark grape. Cougar uses this grape to make a petite sirah style red and a rosé. They have a deli in the tasting room. They say they have employees from other wineries lunch at Sangio's Deli.

Things I learned at this winery:

You can apply to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, to introduce a new varietal. Cougar was the first to introduce Falanghina and gained approved in November of 2014.

Falanghina is similar in taste and structure to our Sauvignon Blanc.

“Off dry” is the same as saying slightly sweet.

We should watch the documentary “Somm: Into the Bottle.”