WITH AN average of two new wineries opening every month in Washington, it isn't easy for consumers to keep up. Granted, not every new winery hits the ball out of the park on the first bottling. But after working a couple of vintages, many learn how to improve their wines. And a few get it right the first time, producing beautiful, luscious, food-friendly wines right off the bat.

We surveyed a dozen Washington retail wine shops and combined the results with input from our judges in the wine awards to single out four new wineries for recognition as first-timers in the front of the pack. To be considered, the wineries had to have product out on the market and had to have created industry buzz about their wines. A winery can be bonded for several years without having wine available, so although these wineries may have been around for a few years, their wines came to the market in 2006.

àMaurice Cellars is run by the Schafer family, fifth-generation Washingtonians who started out with a registered evergreen tree farm in the 1940s. The winery is dedicated to Maurice Schafer, a timber company executive (àMaurice means "to Maurice" in French) and father of the current generation. The winery produces a Bordeaux blend, a Chardonnay and a Viognier made by Anna Schafer and Ned Morris. The wines are thoughtfully made, with honeysuckle, grapefruit and lemon zest in the Chardonnay. Their very quaffable Cabernet Sauvignon has a little extra spice in the nose from the 3 percent Malbec added. This is a family that cares about the land and its stewardship, and it shows in the quality of their wines.

Tildio Winery (the name is Spanish for killdeer, a bird that lives in the vineyard) is an eight-acre winery in the heart of Chelan County, about one mile from Lake Chelan in Manson. Winemaker Katy Perry and her husband, Milum, built a small farmhouse a few years ago for making wines. Katy was the winemaker for another Chelan winery while she was trying to start her own place. Her wines are made in small allotments and are sometimes hard to find, but they're worth getting when you come across them - she makes Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc and Malbec, among other varietals. The wines are produced with finesse and elegance, as both Katy and Milum handcraft their dream project, which includes building a new tasting room.

Gorman Winery is the outcome of Chris Gorman's desire to get into the wine-making business after years of distributing wines around the Northwest. Gorman wines, produced at the winery in Woodinville, have scored high marks as big, bold Syrahs, Cabernets and blends, with memorable names like the Evil Twin (Syrah/Cab blend), Pixie (Syrah), the Bully (Cabernet Sauvignon) and Zachary's Ladder Red Table Wine (Bordeaux blend). His wines have weight in the mouth and wonderful fruit that lingers forever. It is up to us consumers to convince Gorman to quit his day job and make more of these gorgeous wines. They are hefty, with high alcohol content, but they're never unbalanced or unwieldy. The years of tasting and distributing wine paid off, and Gorman is making wines that rival anything on the market.

Va Piano Winery has been a passion of Justin and Liz Wylie for years, propelling the Walla Walla couple to buy the land, plant the grapes and slowly build to the day when they would have wine out on the market - a day that arrived in early 2006. The Wylies' wines are terrific - an elegant, scrumptious Syrah and a full-bodied, rich Cabernet Sauvignon. On top of everything else, Justin created a blend named after Father Bruno Segatta, a priest who helps poor families in underdeveloped countries. Portions of the sale of Bruno's Blend are given to Father Bruno to help with his causes. The new Bruno's Blend just came on the market and promises to sell out quickly. Justin is the kind of winemaker who makes certain he does his homework, spends the extra time in the winery and tries to get it right before the wines show up in restaurants and stores.