Family ownership over a long period.
Long tenured vineyard management, with the same people working the vineyards for over 20 years.
Deep and well drained soils which allow deficit irrigation to stress vines during late season ripening.
The blocks we chose have short to medium growth, unpruned canes which eliminate any unwanted immature vegetal aromas in the fruit clusters.
Low yielding blocks where the grape clusters are cropped to produce only 2-3 tons per acre.
A mix of early and late ripening vineyards which yield a mix of firm natural acidity and aggressive tannins from some sites and softer rounder tannins from other sites. Added complexity is the result.
Finally, we are proud of the fact that many of the vineyards we use were started based on the advice of Walter Clore, the pioneer of European varietals in Eastern Washington. We hope you enjoy the quality which shines through in these vineyards. Their pedigree is certainly among the best in the Columbia Valley.
Walla Walla Valley Appellation
Two vineyards were used for the 2006 vintage.
» Windrow Vineyard
This vineyard contains the oldest Cabernet Sauvignon vines in the Walla Walla Valley. The site has very deep sandy soils with moderate moisture retention from medium amounts of clay. It is a fairly warm site and harvest is typically earlier than normal (mid October) which preserves good acid structure in the grapes.
Moisture decreases slowly in the vineyard due to the clay content in the soil. This allows for less frequent watering than typical of other sites and leaves the vines in stress for longer periods. Vine stress, if properly managed, yields quality fruit.
» Dwelley Vineyard
This is a small twenty acre vineyard set in the foothills of the Blue Mountains overlooking the town of Walla Walla. We source our Cabernet Sauvignon from a one acre block within the vineyard. It is a warm site and sits above frost pockets which usually start in the valley bottoms around the first week in October. Frost doesn’t usually hit this area until Halloween so that Dave Jones, the vineyard owner, can let the fruit hang to complete flavor development with soft silky tannins.
The soil is Walla Walla silt loam and is over 200 feet deep before gravel appears. Vine rows are watered on only one side to assure vine stress resulting in very small berries and moderate cane growth. Leaves are thinned the second week of September for good sun exposure on the fruit. Clusters are pruned to one to two clusters per cane to encourage fruit maturation during the critical period before harvest. Harvest begins typically when the clusters reach 26 brix with acid levels just starting to decline.
The Cabernet Sauvignon from this vineyard has overall mellow, mature soft tannin feel to counterbalance more aggressive tannins and acid from Windrow Vineyard.
Wahluke Slope Appellation
» Weinbau Vineyard
Our only source of Cabernet Sauvignon on the Wahluke Slope is from Weinbau, a vineyard established back in 1989. The site has never had a hard, killer freeze which is always a danger in the Columbia Valley. Overall, the Wahluke Slope is one of the warmest in the large Columbia Valley Region with a south facing slope affording good natural air drainage. The Cabernet vines are some of the oldest in the region and are naturally stressed due to their age adding to the quality of the fruit.
The warmth of the appellation and late October harvest date give the vines plenty of time to mature. Being a cooler site within the appellation allows for good acid retention which is necessary for any food friendly Cabernet.
The block utilized in the vineyard is cropped to three tons per acre whereas the natural capacity of the vines is over five tons per acre. Multiple leaf thinning passes are done during fruit ripening to expose clusters to dappled sunlight. This along with a 45’ wire type trellis system gives Miguel Rodriguez, vineyard manager, the ability to fine tune just the right amount of sun on the clusters. The result is thick unburnt skins which yields excellent flavor during ripening. When placed in the hands of a professional like Miguel, who has worked this ground since 1989, we are blessed with a great partner.
Frenchman Hills Appellation
» Stillwater Creek Vineyard
Located at Royal City in the Frenchman Hills, Stillwater Creek is the farthest north and most western vineyard chosen for our ’06 vintage. The site lies on a south facing steep slope consisting of sandy to silty loam matrix intermixed with fractured basalt. The sand and silt soil components assure good drainage and allow the management team of this family owned vineyard to fine tune stress during fruit maturation.
This vineyard is typical of a top quality site in the Columbia Valley. Warm summers coupled with nighttime fall temperatures in the 30 to 40 degree range preserve acidity necessary for a food friendly wine with excellent structure and balance.
Columbia Valley
» Gooseridge Vineyard
This vineyard is the source for the Malbec used in our Columbia Valley Cuvee Marquis. The peppery character of this blend comes from a very small one acre block within a larger vineyard located very near Red Mountain. This is another vineyard in our portfolio which was originally established with the advice of Walter Clore, the famous Washington State Professor of Agriculture who spearheaded the Bordeaux varietal renaissance in the Columbia Valley.
The union of Malbec, soil, climate and irrigation in this block is a match made in heaven. The shallow Warde silt-loam soils and deficit irrigation has led to a production of only two and a half tons per acre with very short canes of fourteen leaves per cane. The leaf count and two clusters per cane result in a beautiful mature peppery accent with no unwanted unripe vegetal character.
This is a warm site with plenty of late season heat to push the fruit to full ripeness. This is assured by pruning the vines to relativity sparse ten to twelve spurs per vine with two bud spurs on each cane. This low spur count allows the vine to concentrate all its resources on less fruit which has paid off for this family owned operation. We are very fortunate to be able to source our fruit from one of the best locales in the Columbia Valley.
» Gamache Vineyard
We source Cabernet Sauvignon from a small block within this premium vineyard. It is the coolest site from which we source our fruit with good acid structure and soft tannins at harvest. The acid lets our wine compliment red meat and red sauce dishes with the soft tannins giving a soft, round mouth feel.
The vines are cropped back to 1-2 clusters per cane with each cluster having very small berries. The small berry size raises the skin to juice ratio at crush yielding more concentrated flavors since most flavor components are in the skins. The cluster cropping also adds to the flavor profile because it forces more of the vines’ resources into maturing fewer berries.
The soils are very deep with a low percentage of clay. The quick drainage of these soils allows the owners, Roger and Robert Gamache, to fine tune a deficit irrigation regimen that encourages a thin canopy and short canes which suppresses unwanted vegetal flavors.
Walter Clore, the early vineyard pioneer in eastern Washington, advised the Gamache family that this was an ideal vineyard location. A long history of quality production has certainly born him out.
