When we were in college we used to drink Red Mountain wine, a very bad tasting but cheap gallon of wine you could buy at Walgreen’s for $1. It was bulk wine from the Central Valley in California made by Gallo and now a long discontinued label. Last week in the Yakima Valley we tasted several wines that had on the label the designation “Red Mountain.” We could not help but chuckle a bit as we thought about those long-ago Red Mountain college days in contrast to the wines we now tasted from the Red Mountain AVA vineyards of the Yakima Valley. These wines are lush and complex and some of the best wines we have ever tasted. The man most responsible for the development of the prized-Red Mountain AVA is Jim Holmes, who began growing grapes here in 1975. We were lucky enough to do a vineyard walk and listen to how he manages and grows the grapes of his Ciel du Cheval Vineyards.
Jim Holmes at his Ciel du Cheval Vineyards
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This is the Pre-Conference session of the Wine Bloggers’ Conference. It is a tough and challenging day of tasting fabulous wine and gourmet fare. Here we are at the DuBrul Vineyards, what many think are among the very best vineyards in the state of Washington. The vines are grown on hillside terrain that overlooks the Yakima Valley. The vineyard owners, Hugh and Kathy Shiels, planted these vines in 1992. The Shiels have their own label, Cote Bonneville, and after careful selection of grapes for their own label sell the rest of the vines by rows to several wineries. Fortunately for us, we were able to sample some of the Cote Bonneville wines at lunch and they are amazingly delicious. We would never be able to afford these wines at $120 for a beautiful red blend and $50 for a delicious Chardonnay.
We join a vineyard walk led by DuBrul’s vineyard manager Larry Dolan. As we walk Larry points out that to our right is a Syrah row of vines and to our left is a row of Riesling vines. It is rather remarkable that six varietals of vines grow here and equally produce wonderful wines all within the same climate and soil conditions. As we walk across the rows we can see down below that a crew of women are working to thin the vines. We move closer as Larry explains that some of the women have been at DuBrul for 15 years. They are well trained and need no directions from Larry. They work quickly in 90-degree heat and with precision cut the shoots that don’t belong to these prized grape vines. We hope these woman are paid well; what they do is nothing short of extraordinary.
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We are in the state of Washington until Monday for the 3rd annual Wine Bloggers’ Conference. We have tasted Washington wines before but never to the extent that we will be tasting over the next few days. Over 50 wineries are set to pour and entertain 300 wine bloggers. I’m anxious to find out about Washington wines and the geology and climate of the region. I want to learn all about the Yakima Valley and where that is in relationship to the Columbia Valley. And what about the Walla Walla wine region? What makes the Red Mountain such a highly-prized AVA? What issues do these winemakers have compared to elsewhere? It is dry and hot for sure. On Wednesday, a pre-pre conference day for us, we visited three wineries in the Tri-Cities area near the Pasco airport. The first two wineries we visited had the Alsace Varietals of Riesling, Gerwurtztraminer, and Pinot Gris. I asked our host where these grapes were grown in relation to the red varietals. “Oh,” she said, “in the same area.” I doubt if that is the case but we plan to find out over the next few days. One thing I do know right off is that the days are much longer here than in California and thus affect the growing season. This morning I was awakened shortly after 5 am with a warm sun piercing through my window. Last evening we had a beautiful sunset overlooking the Columbia River at about 8:45. That is a lot more sunshine than we get in California.
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