|
Red Willow Vineyard is a grape-growing estate located in the far western end of Yakima Valley AVA, within the Yakama Indian Reservation. Beginning with their relationship with Columbia Winery and Master of Wine David Lake, grapes from Red Willow have been used to produce some of the most critically acclaimed Washington wines with the vineyard's name regularly being featured on vineyard designated wines.〔Harvey Steiman ''"(This and That from Washington State )"'' ''The Wine Spectator'', March 14th, 2008〕 Paul Gregutt, wine writer for the ''Seattle Times'' and ''Wine Enthusiast'', list Red Willow as one the "top ten" vineyards in the entire state.〔P. Gregutt ''"Washington Wines and Wineries: The Essential Guide"'' pgs 17-38, 61-75, 107-109 University of California Press 2007 ISBN 0-520-24869-4〕 First planted in the 1920s to potatoes and alfalfa by the Stephenson family, Red Willow switched to viticulture in the 1970s when Mike Sauer married into the family and planted 30 acres of Concord. With the urging of Dr. Walter Clore of Washington State University, Sauer began planting experimental blocks of ''Vitis vinifera''. In 1973, Sauer planted 3 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon which, after Otis Vineyard in the lower Rattlesnake Hills and Harrison Hill Vineyard in the Snipes Mountain AVA, is one of the oldest plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon still being used for wine production. From the WSU experimental plantings also came Washington's first commercial planting of Cabernet Franc and through a 30+ year relationship with David Lake and Columbia Winery, Red Willow would pioneer the plantings of many new varieties including Barbera, Malbec, Mourvedre, Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Tempranillo and Viognier.〔 ==History== The land that is today Red Willow Vineyard has had a long history as part of the homeland for the Yakama Nation of the Columbia Plateau. Following a series of tribal wars in the 1850s, the confederate tribes of the Yakama Nation moved to their current reservation south of the present day city of Yakima, Washington.〔Yakama Nation Museum ''"(Yakama History )"'' Yakama Nation Museum and Cultural Center. Accessed: June 15th, 2012〕 In the 1920s, the Stephenson family purchased parts of what is now Red Willow Vineyard from the Yakama Nation tribe and planted it to alfalfa and potatoes while raising cattle on the higher slopes. The farm was named Red Willow after a dry creek that ran along the Ahtanum Ridge west of Yakima, Washington.〔Ronald and Glenda Holden ''"(Governor's Trophy' Awarded Hogue And Columbia )"'' The Spokesman Review, August 6th, 1985. Accessed: June 15th, 2012〕 The land continued to be a working farm until the late 1960s when Mike Sauer (who had married into the Stephenson family) returned home from college and began planting Concord grapes.〔 Following the success of the Concord, Sauer branched out and began experimenting with ''Vitis vinifera'' including Sémillon and Chenin blanc. These early ''vinifera'' plantings didn't survive in the rich-soil that they Concords were planted and soon Sauer began looking at the steep hills with poorer soils. In 1973, when a friend had a buyer back out at the last minutes on Cabernet Sauvignon cuttings, Sauer took the cuttings and planted 3 acres even though he didn't know at the time if Cabernet Sauvignon was a white wine grape or a red wine grape. During this same time, Sauer was working with Dr. Walter Clore of the WSU extension and research facility in Prosser to plant an experimental vineyard of grapes like Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Riesling and other varieties to see what kind of grapes could survive the cold Yakima Valley winters and grow to full ripeness.〔〔 Like many Washington wineries and vineyards, the 1991 ''60 Minutes'' special on the "French paradox" saw a surge of interest for Red Willow—particularly for red wine varieties such as Merlot. Columbia Winery introduced a special "Milestone Merlot" bottling of vineyard designated wine from Red Willow that would become a staple of Columbia's lineup until David Lake's retirement. Eventually the "Merlot boom" would die down and many red varieties were hard hit in the 1996 vintage by a series of arctic blasts that severely reduced the yields of that year. The one exception were the Syrah vines planted at Red Willow and younger Syrah vines planted from Red Willow cuttings on Red Mountain and many other vineyards in the Columbia Valley AVA. These demonstration of the winter hardiness of Syrah, as well as the critical acclaim for Syrahs made from Red Willow and other vineyard, would usher in a period of heighten interest for the variety.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Red Willow Vineyard」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|