What: Carter Lamour Chardonnay Columbia Valley 2012 $30 

Where: Full Pull Wines 

Why: Every wine has a story but few have stories like this one. Brothers Dain and Dreux Dillingham had the makings of a formidable Washington winemaking duo. Dain worked as an assistant winemaker for Aryn Morell (Matthews, Tenor, Alleromb) while Dreux had spent a decade working at various wineries in the state, most recently at Waters Winery. 

All that changed on August 16, 2013. While celebrating his 28^th birthday on a Seattle rooftop, Dain stepped backwards and fell 10 feet onto his neck, shattering his C5 vertebrae. The fall left him paralyzed and in the hospital for two months. Suddenly, instead of moving to the Okanagan to start a new winemaker position, Dreux became a full-time caregiver for his brother. 

To assist with Dain’s on-going care, two friends, Morell and Andrew Latta (formerly of Charles Smith Wines, now of Latta Wines) formed a new wine project – Carter Lamour. “We wanted to do what we could to help,” Latta explained. “We hope that over time, the winery can be something that they could take on as their own once they are able.” 

The winery’s first release, the 2012 Carter Lamour Chardonnay Columbia Valley ($30), is a blend of equal parts Alleromb wine, Morrell’s winery, and Sixto, a Charles Smith project. Pleasing aromas of cream, spice and stone fruit are followed by an exquisite interplay of fruit and barrel. The wine was originally slated for two considerably more expensive bottles and it tastes like it. This is wine with a cause without sacrificing one iota of quality. All the more reason to drink up!