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63 Robert Ramsay Cellars WOODINVILLE Traditional style, food-friendly Rhone wines are the hallmark of Robert Ramsay Cellars, where subtleties and nuances in traditionally-crafted wine are showcased. Here, one does not find the big, bold flavors characteristic of wineries of California, but wines that are suited for refined palates—those that crave a balanced acidity and appreciate complexity without a monolithic punch of oaky flavors. Owner and winemaker Robert "Bob" Ramsay Harris founded Robert Ramsay Cellars on the principals for his great-uncle and namesake, Mason Ramsay, was known. Mason mentored Bob's father for years and stories of Mason's life are still being passed down to new generations, but they all have a common thread: treat others with respect, work with and for the community, and don't be afraid to get your hands dirty, literally in some cases as Mason was a shop teacher and rancher. It made sense then that Bob would pay homage to this great man when it came to naming the winery, where getting your hands dirty is a daily activity. Gifted with a fine-tuned nose—and a mom who went back to school as an adult and left her husband and boys to figure things out for themselves at mealtimes—Bob taught himself to cook. From an early age, food and the way flavors mixed became very important to him. Years later, while on break during college, he met and worked for a man who owned an extensive wine cellar that focused on European wines. The friends would cook together and share a bottle of wine that, most of the time, impressed Bob's now sophisticated palate. At one such get-together, he looked at the wine and thought, "This didn't just happen. Someone built this wine and made it happen. I want to build something like this." FACING PAGE: Spring showers and sunlight over the Direen Vineyards in the Yakima Valley. Photograph by Richard Duval ABOVE: Owner/Winemaker Robert Ramsay behind the tasting bar at Robert Ramsay Cellars in Woodinville. Photograph by Keith Magae

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