For those of us lucky enough to live in wine country, which now includes every nook and corner of Washington state, there is special pleasure in new discoveries. Just last summer I toured the newly minted Columbia Cascade region, a broad triangle roughly defined by Leavenworth, Wenatchee and Chelan, and visited a couple-dozen new wineries, most of them less than 5 years old.

JIMI LOTT / THE SEATTLE TIMES FILE PHOTO Lance Baer works on his wine storage at Baer Winery, which specializes in a pair of blended reds named Ursa and Arctos.

Every six months or so, a trip to Walla Walla introduces me to eight or 10 newcomers to that tightknit wine community. Closer to home, Woodinville is positively vibrating with new winery construction and ambitious, multi-use, wine-related projects. From Port Angeles to the Columbia Gorge, Paterson to Oroville, Seattle to Spokane, the state's wine industry is in an explosive growth mode. It now includes more than 300 wineries and another 300-plus vineyards.

A great way to explore the depth and breadth of all this activity is at Taste Washington, an annual April showcase for Washington wines (April 8-10, Seattle). It's a three-day affair that includes an education day with nonstop seminars.

When I was asked to come up with a topic for two seminars, my immediate thought was to showcase a hand-picked selection of the best, newest, smallest and by-and-large unknown wineries in the state.

"What are the cult wines of tomorrow?" I wondered. So many of today's superstars started super-small: Leonetti, Quilceda Creek, Andrew Will and many others. Who might be out there today, making wine in a warehouse, selling a few hundred cases by mailing list and word-of-mouth?

With the assistance of the Washington Wine Commission, I pulled together a tasting of wines submitted by wineries whose total annual production is under 1,000 cases. Some 30 wineries submitted 45 wines, which were separated into five groups (blends, syrahs, merlots, cabernets and other), brown-bagged, and tasted blind.

From this tasting I settled upon 10 wines and wineries that will be featured in the two seminars. Since these wineries are so small, and quantities of the wines are severely limited, I want to give readers a head start on finding them, or their siblings, so I'll profile them this week and the next.

If you enjoy the thrill of hunting for the next big wine discovery — long before the national press finds it, and in many instances before anyone but the neighbors know about it — you'll find some good leads here.

Baer 2002 Arctos ($32)

Baer Winery made its first wine, Ursa, in 2000, working out of a tiny apartment and some rented space in another winery. Now relocated to 6.5 acres in northern Woodinville, the winery specializes in a pair of blended reds named Ursa and Arctos. Moderate but consistent growth has brought total production up from 200 cases initially to around 850 cases of the newly released 2002s. Projections call for production to reach its maximum capacity of about 1200 cases in 2003 and 2004.

Vineyard sources have evolved with each vintage: Alder Ridge in '00 and '01; Stillwater Creek and Elerding in '02; Stillwater, Boushey and Ciel du Cheval in '03; all Stillwater in '04.

2002 is the first vintage for Arctos, predominantly cabernet sauvignon with merlot and cab franc making up the rest. Much as I admire the Ursa, this Arctos seems to up the flavors a notch, with dark, thick fruit and a rich, toasty finish.

Just 305 cases were made. The official release date for both wines is March 26, and on that date the winery will hold an open house for customers placing advance orders. The winery recommends that interested buyers contact them at 425-483-7060, or sign up for their mailing list online at www.baerwinery.com.