I am very fortunate to have been able to partner with exceptional vineyards in the region. Among them are:
Below you will find description of the wines created with grapes from these vineyards. Thanks!
Columbia Gorge Vineyard, Hood River County
Back to my roots. Riesling is one of the greatest white wines in the world and was the first variety I fell in love with. In 1981, just back from a year apprenticeship in Germany, I planted - with the help of family and friends - the Columbia Gorge Vineyard in Hood River. The vines are now getting old and gnarly but are producing wonderful quality fruit. This wine was cool fermented and is finished with a slight residual sweetness to balance the classic acidity of the Riesling grape. It has attractive aromas of apples, minerals and spices. The flavors are the same with a light sweetness that nicely balances the crisp entry and long finish. This is a wonderfully versatile wine with many foods as well as delicious as an aperitif .
10.3 % alcohol, 3.04 pH, 6.6 g/L acidity, 1.33% RS
Lonesome Spring Ranch, Columbia Valley
This somewhat obscure but lovely white Rhone varietal is from the exceptional Lonesome Spring Ranch vineyard in Benton City, Washington, owned by Colin and Ann Morrell. Colin is one of the best grapegrowers in WA and I am happy to be working with him on these wines. This Viognier planting is only 0.8 acre and so production is extremely limited. This wine was barrel fermented in neutral barrels to highlight the fruit character of peaches and flowers while still adding the rich textural elements gained from barrel fermentation. No malolactic fermentation was allowed and the wine was bottled in late winter.
The fruit is wonderfully aromatic showing notes of peaches, papaya, mango and summer flowers. The wine is dry yet very rich in texture and showing concentrated flavors that match the nose. The finish is ripe and lingering.
13.5 % alcohol, 3.33 pH, 5.7 g/L acidity, 0.4% RS
Gold Medal Winner - McMinnville Wine & Food Classic
Willamette Valley
This wine is a blend of grapes from three exceptional vineyards in the Willamette Valley. The name Cuvée R was chosen to indicate that this blend was created by Rich. The harvest was exceptional from all sites, and after cold maceration was fermented with a very large proportion of whole berries. After early pressing the wine was barrel aged for 11 months in 50% new French oak barrels with toasted heads before bottling with a light filtration.
The finished wine is a bright ruby color and offers luscious aromas of dark cherries and blueberries followed by attractive vanilla spices from the barrel aging. The flavors are true to the nose with berries and truffles and have good depth and a velvety texture. The finish is rich and long, clean and delicious. This wine will age exceptionally well for many years.
13.0 % alcohol, 3.60 pH, 6.6 g/L acidity.
Silver Medal Winner - Northwest Wine Summit
Walla Walla Valley
This is the grape of Chianti in Italy. The grapes for this wine grow in the Walla Walla Valley of Washington and Oregon. These grapes from Pepper Bridge Vineyard and Seven Hills Vineyard were harvested at a wonderful ripeness resulting in a wine of 13.9% alcohol. Aging was done in one and two year old barrels to keep the wine true to the variety, without any oak dominance
This wine offers a rich bouquet with distinctive and forward ripe black cherries, earth and some smokiness characteristic of the variety. In the mouth the flavors are very deep and rich and invite you back for more. The wine is weighty and luscious with a lingering finish and moderate tannins.
13.9 % alcohol, 3.80 pH, 5.9 g/L acidity
Alder Ridge Vineyard - Columbia Valley
Alder Ridge Vineyard is a spectacular site. It overlooks the Columbia River and on a clear day you can see all the way from Mt. Hood to the Blue Mountains. The slopes, soils and elevation are varied at this site and several varietals are growing well. John Farmer, the vineyard manager, takes great pride in the fruit he grows. In the future I will also be releasing a southern Rhone style blend from this site. These Syrah grapes were wonderfully ripe at harvest on September 17th and the wine was made to emphasize this rich yet soft character. The fermenters were punched down by hand twice each day. The wine was gently aged in new (16%), one and two year old French oak barrels for 11 months. The bouquet shows the rich and ripe black fruit character of Syrah - together with earthy exotic spice and smoke notes. In the palate it is very ripe and lush.
13.9 % alcohol, 3.90 pH, 6.0 g/L acidity
Produced 228 case
Silver Medal Winner - Northwest Wine Summit
Lonesome Spring Ranch - Columbia Valley
Only three barrels of this delicious wine were made from this exceptional site in Benton City, Washington. The vineyard lies just west of the Red Mountain AVA and is owned and managed by . This vineyard is a bit cooler than some other sites in Washington so it shows a more elegant side of this variety. Harvest was on September 30. Indigenous yeast, small fermenters and hand punching of the cap were used in the production of this special wine. The bouquet expresses lovely pure berry fruit and some white pepper, enhanced with a light touch of oak (16% new). The palate offers deep yet lively berry and spice flavors and a luscious and elegant finish.
12.9 % alcohol, 3.84 pH, 6.1 g/L acidity
Pepper Bridge Vineyard, Walla Walla Valley
This Sangiovese Rosé is from the renowned Pepper Bridge Vineyard in Walla Walla. It was made by a saignée – or drawing off of juice - from the red wine fermenters after extracting color and flavor for 96 hours. This juice was barrel fermented in a single neutral barrel with no malolactic fermentation and then bottled early to capture the bright cherry fruit aromas and the deep and fresh flavors. This will be a great summertime evening wine with good friends and grilled foods.
13.7 % alcohol, 3.33 pH, 5.2 g/L acidity, 0.1% RS
We can be reached at 503-434-9587 or email.
This page is optimized for IE 4.0 and above and is best displayed at 1024 by 768.
Viento - Vineyard Partners
2001 Riesling
Produced 310 cases
2001 Viognier
Produced 156 cases
Silver Medal Winner - Northwest Wine Summit
1999 Pinot Noir, Cuvée R
Produced 198 cases.
Bronze Medal Winner - McMinnville Wine & Food Classic
2001 Sangiovese
Produced 95 cases
2000 Syrah
2000 Syrah
Produced 74 cases
2001 Sangiovese Rosé
Produced just 22 cases