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Dirt
Our vineyards are absolutely the key to our success. Nothing is more important. Good thing we're in some of the best vineyards in Washington, if not the galaxy.
Klipsun, Red Mountain
www.klipsun.com
 When we first walked into this vineyard we just felt different. The notion struck that if Klipsun were a rock and roll band it would undoubtedly be Led Zeppelin. The wines we produce from these grapes bear that idea out: deep, complex, soul-stirring elixirs that perhaps come more from alchemy than winemaking. The potential of these wines is the greatest of any in our cellar. Our relationship with Patricia and David Gelles is an added bonus of sourcing fruit from their vineyard. Suffice it to say that there is always plenty of laughter to go around.
Ciel du Cheval, Red Mountain
Jim Holmes owns and operates Red Mountain's top vineyard. Planted in 1975, Ciel du Cheval is 120 acres and includes Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Sangiovese and Nebbiolo. Holmes sells his grapes to more than 20 wineries and has partnered with Quilceda Creek and DeLille Cellars to have their own adjacent vineyards. We chased Jim for 5 years before he finally let us in. Man, what a vineyard. We got Tablas Creek clone syrah in 2009. Hallelujah!
Boushey, Yakima Valley
 The man, the myth, the legend. Must be more than one Dick Boushey. How else to explain how he does so much, so well? We are stoked to have been granted a little bit of syrah from the extra special Birdhouse Block at the top of his Yakima Valley vineyard in Grandview, all of which goes into our Darkness syrah. All lush and deep and hedonistic. We learn so much from Dick every time we visit it makes the head hurt. We look forward to all that is to come from the dirty hands of the inimitable Mr. Boushey. Red Mountain anyone?
Stillwater Creek, Columbia Valley
www.stillwatercreekvineyard.com
 In 1968, Thomas A. Alberg, Sr. of Seattle, Wash. purchased 245 acres of land now known as Stillwater Creek Vineyard in the Frenchman Hills of the Columbia Valley near Royal City, Washington. Though Mr. Alberg and his family long suspected the land would make an excellent vineyard, it wasn’t until the family gathered historical data from the property in the late 1990s that the site’s suitability to wine grapes was confirmed. In 2000, the Albergs began planting a wide selection of premium vinifera grapes with the intent of developing a vineyard known for its unique selection of clones.
The source of Lumière Chardonnay, this is one of the most promising vineyards in the state, voted Vineyard of the Year by Seattle Magazine for 2007. We agree, it rocks. We will be sourcing a lot more fruit from SWC in the very near future. Kudos to the Alberg Family, Mike Januik, Tom Thorsen and Jerry Bookwalter for the program they have developed at SWC. Fine dirt.
Kelly began her Sauvignon Blanc project with fruit from Stillwater Creek in 2009.
Evergreen, Ancient Lakes
www.milbrandtvineyards.com/evergreen.asp
In 1997 Butch and Jerry Milbrandt planted their first grapevines in Eastern Washington’s Columbia Valley AVA. At first glance, Eastern Washington is not your typical wine country. It’s a remote, windswept, high desert dotted with sagebrush and tumbleweeds. But it also holds some of the most breath-taking terrain, ranging from deep river gorges to vast mountain ranges and undulating hills formed by Ice Age floods and ancient volcanoes.
The Milbrandt family had been farming in the area since the mid-1950s and they believed the region’s moderate temperatures, low rainfall and sandy soils were ideal for wine grapes. Today, the Milbrandt family farms 13 estate vineyards totaling nearly 1600 acres.
We sourced remarkable Sauvignon Blanc, touched in small part with noble rot (botrytis) as part of Kelly's Sauvignon Blanc project in 2009.
Red Willow, Yakima Valley
http://www.redwillowvineyard.com/marcoux.htm
 Mike Sauer, owner of Red Willow and Les Vignes de Marcoux says "in farming there is no substitute for soil, water and hard work. Inherently the nature of farming brings a spiritual dimension to our efforts. For us wine brings the soil, the site, the season and the efforts of many people together into a single vintage. Later, that vintage becomes a cherished memory of that year."
Les Vignes de Marcoux is located approximately ¾ of a mile west of Red Willow on the 80yr old Stephenson family farm. This 60 acre vineyard slopes south and south east with an elevation range of 1100-1300 feet. The soils are sandy loam and less variable than the steep vineyards of Red Willow. We are fortunate enough to have a 1.65 acre block with 12 clones of cabernet sauvignon, and a bit of cabernet franc, malbec and carmenere.
Temperance Hill, Eola Hills, Oregon
 Temperance Hill Vineyard is a 100 acre vineyard made up of roughly 20 different blocks of wine grapes. The site itself is 200 acres (lots of room to grow) in the west Eola Hills, just west of Salem, Oregon. It has an elev ation range of 660 to 860 feet making it a cool, late site; excellent growing conditions for Pinot Noir. The soils are predominantly Nekia, Rittner and Jory. The site is thought to be the remnants of an ancient volcano and grapes are planted on many different slopes with varying exposures.
80% of the vineyard is planted in Pinot Noir, the rest is made up of Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer and Pinot Gris. The oldest vines at Temperance were planted in 1980 and 81 and are on a hanging trellis system. The more recent plantings of Dijon clone material are on a single upright vertical trellis system. The latest plantings are on a single arm Guyot system and have 1550 vines per acre. Some of the blocks in the latest planting are Dijon clone Pinot Noir and some are Pommard clone.
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