Hightower... home of the perfect winery dog?

Hightower is another new winery for us. It's at the end of the road, closest to the river, with a unique tasting room. It's made of blocks of concrete that was mixed with wood chips, which lightens the look and warms the color. And both inside and out, the west-facing wall is lined with barrel staves, laid horizontally with a basketweave look. Really cool.

Riley, the current winery dog, met us at the glass door (all wineries should have dogs, don't you think?). I love yellow Labs. They're friendly, beautiful, fun-loving, soak up all the attention you can give them, but are happy to wander and entertain themselves.

Tim Hightower, the owner/co-winemaker, was on duty, and again, we were the only ones there. So we got to try the wines, talk with him about how he made them, and get to know Riley. His brother, Murray, is featured on two of the wines. We can only hope that Riley is so honored in the future.

Both Tim & Kelly Hightower came into the business via Columbia Winery. Kelly is the vinologist; Tim was the legal counsel for Columbia, but when they discovered what a great palate he had, they put him to work blending wines. We liked him a lot; another unassuming winemaker/owner who let his wines speak for themselves.

From Hightower we headed into Benton City and grabbed a cache, then drove the Old Inland Empire Highway toward Prosser, caching along the way. I really liked the Landslide cache, 'cause it explained the far hillside (above I-82) that is always so beautiful and full of shadows. And the Ghost Rails cache was fun, and shared a driveway with a small new building that would make a great tasting room. No signs; we'll have to wait and see what it becomes.