Discover Washington Wines: Trillium Creek Winery, Key Peninsula

You can find a terrific local winery right at Home (the town of Home, Washington, that is!) which is right in our own South Sound backyard. The new Trillium Creek Winery, licensed back in 2006, produce Pinot Noir, Muller Thurgau, Gewurztraminer, Leon Millot, and Siegerrebe wines on their 15 acre property. The Syrah and Cabernet varietals are derived from purchased grapes from Eastern Washington (however, all of the processing and bottling is done right there at Trillium Creek). Fruit wines are also a feature of the winery; for these unique wines, Trillium Creek partners with Fairview Acres Lavender Farm (also another delightful attraction in the Key Peninsula that I am longing to visit).

Trillium Creek owners are a husband and wife team, the Garhards. French born Claude and Pacific Northwest native Claudia have been making wines for nearly thirty years as a hobby. Upon retirement from their “first” careers several years ago, they decided to make a go of the wine making business. According to their website, in a tree clearing project on their Key Peninsula property, they decided to plant some grapes. The grapes just took off and a new career was born.

We discovered Trillium Creek really by accident just recently. We were driving around Home to find the property where my dad lived as a child. We saw the welcoming winery sign and decided to check it out. We drove up a pretty woodsy drive and happened upon this darling and immaculate cottage with spring flowers all around. The cottage served as the tasting room. We were promptly greeted by the charming Claude and his lovely daughter-in-law who warmly welcomed us (along with a cute floppy big dog aptly named Champagne). We were invited inside the tasting room and it was wonderful. Inside the warm and cozy cottage there was a pretty wine bar and plenty of wine and scrumptious gourmet cheeses. Claude offered us a complete tour of the vineyards and the facility. We took a rain check as we were on our way to a friend’s home. Claude happily encouraged us to return when we were ready for the tour and he shared with us the history of the winery, the kinds of wines available, and a bit of the wine making process. Claude said (with a twinkle in his eye) that we needed to sample the wines we were interested in before we purchased them. Mom and I sat down at the wine bar and were positively dazzled by the Chardonnay, Syrah, and Merlot (the Merlot was my absolute favorite).

After some relaxed sipping and chatting, we purchased bottles of what we sampled to take back home. I thought the prices were quite reasonable for these delicious high quality wines. Of course, the service was fantastic. However, what struck me the most was that this family owned business was lovingly crafted and cared for. I plan to make Trillium Creek a regular stop on my journeys over the bridge. Please click here for their website (check out the special events section too!) for more information on the winery, their hours, and driving directions. On a special note, from the Trillium Creek Winery site there is a link to go to Fairview Acres Lavender Farm; check out this site too for their fine local products.

More to come from The Key!

Easy Spring Getaway—Visit Key Peninsula’s Joemma Beach State Park!

On a recent visit to the Key Peninsula to visit family and friends, I discovered a true local and natural gem. The remarkable Joemma Beach State Park is a great of example of South Sound beauty. This recreation site was created in 1961 and named the Robert F. Kennedy Recreation Area and opened officially in 1968. In 1995, the property was renamed, Joemma Beach State Park, after Joe and Emma Smith who lived there from 1917 to 1932. This park spans 122 acres right on the salt water of the Southeast Key Peninsula. Its pristine views of Harstene Island and the sparkling salt waterway cannot be beat on a sunny spring day. The beachcombing was AMAZING as my family and I discovered lots of pretty shells, many hermit crabs, and amazing pieces of driftwood that were gorgeous walking sticks or lovely treasures to take home to create art in the garden. Beautiful and lush trees border the park that serves as the homes for glorious bald eagles and other shore bird species. We were lucky enough to come up upon a bald eagle, literally close enough to see his feathers flutter a bit in the light breeze. Awesome! And being the only visitors in the park at the time, we could hear the water gently lapping at the shore and the call of the sea birds. We walked along the beach slowly and steadily and retreated to a welcomed and relaxing beach log to sit and soak up the sun. Unfortunately, this was one of those excursions that was totally spontaneous; and of course, I had no camera with me. But the experience is still etched in my mind.

What stood out to me the most was the cleanliness of the park. Clean, well maintained, and plentiful picnic benches with tables had glorious views. There is a boat launch that is in wonderful condition and gently slopes into the water (it’s $5.00 to launch). Signage told of the terrific salmon fishing and crabbing opportunities that this state park has to offer. The camp sites and bathrooms were pristine and boasted wonderful views, decent privacy, and great picnic tables and benches. Some had fire pits ready to go. For more information on fishing, crabbing, camping, and driving directions, click here or go to http://www.parks.wa.gov. Lastly, a quick tip: wear good shoes to walk the rocky beach, particularly when rocks get wet (it can be a little slick).

South Sounders, this is a great day trip for anyone. Explore it. In fact, there's a lot to love about the Key Peninsula. More posts to come!