Our Winery
We established our winery in 1989 based on the belief that the vineyards of Eastern Washington were capable of producing world-class vinifera wine grapes. The growing recognition Washington wines have received has certainly proven this to be true. By starting our winery at a relatively early time in the Washington wine industry, we were able to source our grapes from the best and oldest vineyards in the state.
We believe that blending wines made from different grape varieties and sourced from different vineyard locations will generally make a more balanced wine with better flavor complexity. However, in years when the wines of a specific vineyard are especially outstanding, we may also produce vineyard-designated wines. We believe that exceptional wines should age well. Therefore, most of our wines are built around a tannic backbone that has proven to give them a long life when properly stored.
Production is still very small – growing from 100 cases in 1989 to 1,200 cases in 2005. At this small volume it is easier to give the proper attention to each wine during every phase of the winemaking process.
We approach winemaking very much as an art, rather than a science, and rely on taste for most of the winemaking decisions. The ultimate criterion is that the wine should be very enjoyable and always beckon you back for another sip.
To realize the full potential of the grapes in our wines we have specialized in red wine made only from Bordeaux grape varietals. This specialization allows us to discover how to best handle the many variables that make winemaking so fascinating, e.g. the best yeast strain, the optimum fermentation temperature, the use and duration of extended maceration, how hard to press the wine and the barrel regimen.
Our winemaking practices are very low-tech and therefore labor intensive. We use small open-top fermenters and punch down the cap by hand 2-3 times a day. The small lots allow us to closely monitor and control the fermentations and the amount of time the juice spends “on the skins”. We press the wine very slowly to avoid extracting any harsh flavors and do minimal pumping to be gentle on the wine. The barrels are primarily French oak from several different coopers to provide complexity. We prefer that oak not be a primary component of the wine so use only about 40% new barrels each year.
Last updated November 13, 2005
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