My Papa
My father has given me many things over my lifetime – love, support and knowledge.
His philosophy on winemaking is in my head each day. He has a gift with the vine - an instinct I admire.
His technique was to choose your vines carefully.
Cultivate the vine with your horse.
When you do this remember that you also cultivate peace and harmony
Harvest the fruit at the right time and make a good wine
And distill “une eau de vie” ( water of life )
That’s my dad, 95 young and still solid like a Rock
Bon fête papa
Happy fathers day
(that is me in the first picture peeking around my papa)
Mar 17, 2023 at 4:23 PM
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Terrior it up in Eastern Washington
Eastern Washington is an exceptional place to grow grapes - it has the right terroir. The word Terrior is a French word that refers to the soli – the land. (pronounced tear-wa )
True winemakers have a belief that the land where the grapes are grown impart unique characteristics into the grape that could not be imparted by any other region of the world.
The grape derives its personality not only from the soil in a region, but also from the climate, the weather, the aspect of the vineyards and the terrain.
Eastern Washington contains a mosaic of different soils due to glacier movement thousands of years ago. Sand, chalk, granite, volcanic and more are all aspects of the land.
These unique characteristics add diversity into the wines.
Another precious point is the extremely good weather conditions. It has 300 hundred days of sunshine controlled by the Cascade Mountains which stop the clouds coming from the Pacific Ocean and allow Eastern Washington to be a desert type of region.
Temperatures can easily get into the upper 90’s during the summer days, but it will go back to cooler temperatures at night also controlled by the Cascades (Mt Rainier, Mt Hood, Mt baker, Mt Adams etc….) I call them the AC mountains.
An important part of any good growing region is access to water and we are fortunate to have the Columbia river as an irrigation source
Terroir, Sun and water are the three major elements that make the grapes grow in such a unique way in Washington and help us to make world class level wines.
Watch for upcoming blogs with recommendations on trips and best places to visit in Eastern Washington.
Mar 10, 2023 at 10:27 AM
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