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Vineyards
Philosophy
As an estate winery, we are stewards of the land we farm and committed to growing our fruit sustainably. Our goal is to make sure that our Desert Wind Estate Vineyard, which includes mostly 20+ year old vines, is able to produce high quality fruit for years to come. We are dedicated to producing wine that showcases the remarkable qualities of the Wahluke Slope and believe that having control over the entire process, from vine to wine to table, is the best way to remain true to that sense of place.
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Located at the foot of the Saddle Mountains in the Wahluke Slope AVA of Washington, Desert Wind Vineyard provides most of the fruit used to make Desert Wind wines. The first vines were planted in 1993, and today the vineyard has 415 planted acres, and growing! The most abundant plantings are of Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot and Syrah, with smaller amounts of Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Tempranillo, Mourvèdre and Carménère. The vineyard ranges in elevation from 800 to 1,000 feet and boasts deep, sandy topsoils that allow excellent drainage. The warm climate in the Wahluke Slope, paired with the proximity to the Columbia River and gradual slope of the landscape, allows the fruit to develop complex characteristics over a long growing season. The wines produced from Desert Wind Vineyard fruit are characterized by beautifully developed tannins and silky texture.
Desert Wind Estate Vineyard
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Located right outside the winery doors at approximately 560 feet elevation, our Yakima Valley estate vineyard is home to small quantities of Portuguese red wine varieties: Touriga Nacional, Souzão and Tinto Cão. With its head-trained, densely spaced vines, a layer of heat-retaining basalt, and selection of unique varieties, our Yakima Valley estate vineyard represents a style of farming more common in Europe than eastern Washington.
Planted in 2007, this vineyard was originally intended to serve both a decorative and experimental function. To our delight, we discovered it also produced excellent fruit with flavor profiles different from those at our estate vineyard on the Wahluke Slope AVA. The basalt stones prevent soil moisture from evaporating on hot days, as well as radiate heat in the cool evenings.
Yakima Valley Estate Vineyard
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