Washington state is home to small wineries and big, big vineyards. Sure, there are exceptions. By and large, though, farming belongs to the semi-arid land east of the Cascade Mountains. That’s where the spouse and I headed.
In the Yakima Valley, conditions are nearly perfect for growing a variety of grape varieties. Warm summer days and cool nights ripen grapes while locking in their trademark acidity and freshness. Cold winters kill off pests and allow vines to rest. And water? The mighty Columbia River and its vast network of tributaries channel plenty of mountain snowmelt to irrigate fields.
“Growing grapes in Washington is not that complicated,” explains Pat Rawn, pictured above, co-owner of Cooper Vineyards and Two Mountains Winery in Zillah. “We have dry, perfect soils. But good to great – that incremental step is where paying attention comes into play.”
Paying attention is something consumers can do, too, by reading wine labels, asking about the source of grapes in a wine and checking out wineries online. If any of these four Yakima Valley vineyards get a mention, you may want to take a closer look.
Red Willow Vineyard
Jonathan Sauer and whoa! Who’s this? A surprise – his father, Mike – greet us at Red Willow Vineyards on Day 1 of our Yakima Valley road trip. We plan to hop immediately into jeeps and ride cowboy-style through the vineyards, but the fierce wind forces us indoors at first.
Founded in 1971, Red Willow is one of the region’s oldest vineyards and the one furthest west in the Yakima Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area). About 30 wineries source grapes from Red Willow, most notably Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon.
At 1,300 feet of highest elevation, the four blocks in Red Willow’s steep, remote and isolated 150 acres of vineyard stretch over a “checkerboarded” land owned in part by the Yakima Indian nation. Red Willow’s stone, mission-style chapel sits at the tippy-top of these vineyards, just the way it appears in dozens of Yakima Valley and Washington wine publications.
There are 10 blocks of Syrah in the vineyard, side by side. Each is different. Yet, they all produce wines with “more shoulder, more tannin, more intensity” than Syrah from other vineyards in other parts of the state, Mike says. Check out Part I of this series for more about Red Willow and the Sauers.
Elephant Mountain Vineyards
Owned by Joe and Susan Hattrup, Elephant Mountain Vineyards spreads over 120 acres high on the gentle, southern-facing slopes of Rattlesnake Hills, an AVA within the greater Yakima Valley appellation. Day 2 of our trip dawns chilly and still windy. We’re grateful for the donuts and hot coffee waiting for us at the top of the mountain.
At 1,320 to 1,460 feet, these vineyards are located above the irrigated portion of the Yakima Valley. Joe and company hit water 1,500 feet below the basalt bedrock. Everything was sagebrush before he started planting his own-rooted, rather than grafted, grape vines in 1998.
Today, the grower counts 17 varieties between the Elephant Mountain vineyards planted solely to reds and his lower-elevation Sugarloaf vines consisting of whites. The last frost is two weeks earlier in spring at the top, and the harvest season is generally frost free. This longer frost-free season sustains acidity in the reds.
Of all these grapes, only Grenache is problematic – “a pain” to grow, susceptible to disease, winter-tender and tender in the nursery,” he says, “and it’s popular! Everyone wants GSM” (Grenache-Syrah-Mourvèdre blends).
Joe listens closely and pays attention to the wishes of his 60+ winery partners. His “custom grow” of the grapes includes hand-leafing and hand-picking. Only dormant pre-pruning is mechanized. He plants crested wheatgrass between rows to minimize erosion and soak up heat.
Cooper Vineyards/Two Mountains Winery
Leaving Hattrup Farms, we bump along the country road for about 20 minutes before pulling into Cooper Vineyards to meet co-owner Pat Rawn. He’s seated on the back of his pickup truck waiting for us to arrive.
Pat and brother Matt are fourth-generation farmers in the Rattlesnake Hills. His family started out growing tree fruit, such as apples. Now they grow grapes for more than 70 wineries on 350 acres of land. They also own and operate Two Mountains, a 15,000-case winery that distributes wine in 18 states and direct to consumer. A finance major, Pat is the analytics, numbers-driven guy, traits that work well on the farm. Matt is the winemaker.
Their grower contracts are “higher-end programs,” Pat notes. “We’re not selling in bulk.” These “high-touch” winemakers appreciate the elegance and finesse of Yakima Valley reds – their good acid retention, rounder tannins and lower Brix (sugar level at harvest) than grapes from elsewhere in the state.
Vineyards like theirs, Pat says, depend on winery partners to be successful. “The grower should always be looking to partner with the winemaker. Wines are made from a place – about a place.”
As a partner, Pat consistently asks, “What do you want to achieve?” He uses the winemaker’s intended style and inspiration to build a vineyard plan.
DuBrul Vineyards/Cote Bonneville Winery
After lunch, we head over to DuBrul Vineyards to meet up with Kerry Shiels. You can read the post I wrote following my Zoom interview with Kerry earlier this year.
In the 1970s, Kerry says, Californians came to the Yakima Valley because they wanted to farm. At first these farmers grew alfalfa and Concord juice grapes before gradually expanding their farming operations.
Kerry’s parents arrived almost 30 years ago and planted a 45-acre vineyard on their steep, rocky hillside. They got advice from experts on matching variety to site. At first, they sold all of their grapes. Then, in 2001, they established Côte Bonneville Winery in nearby Sunnyside to showcase the purity of their fruit. Kerry became the winemaker in 2009 after leaving her engineering career and earning a master’s degree in viticulture and enology from UC Davis.
On these south-facing hillsides straddling the Rattlesnake Hills and Snipes Mountain AVAs, they grow Syrah, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon in gravel soil mixed with basalt. At the top of the hill, at 1,350 feet, in river rock and basalt, is their Riesling. Everything is own-rooted and hand-picked. They sell about 75% of their fruit to 14 wineries.
“This is boots-on-the-ground farming,” Kerry says. “It works when you’re small.”
The Shiels get their water from the Roza dam and canal, an irrigation pipeline that makes farming possible in much of the Yakima Valley. Irrigation gives the Shiels control over their water, but, as Kerry notes, they have an ecological responsibility that goes hand in hand with their choices. Decisions get weightier as the climate becomes drier and warmer.