In an era of instant everything, some things still take time – growing, making and sipping a glass of wine is one of them. For wine lovers in Southwest Washington, there’s much to smile about.
As of this year, Clark County has 11 wineries. That’s up from the two that were here in 1983, when Charles Brun, Ph.D. and horticulture advisor for Washington State University Extension, began working with the extension and wineries.
According to Brun, the growth of the area’s wine industry is a natural for both the region and the locavore trend of buying and eating food that’s made and grown within 100 miles.
“You do the same thing with your wine,” he said.
Some 80 percent of the grapes used to make Clark County wines are trucked to regional winemakers from The Gorge and Eastern Washington, where the drier climate is more favorable for producing wine-making grapes, Brun said. Even so, a number of fledging wineries are planting their own, with the hopes of making wine from their vines within the next few years. Each winery has its own personality and niche – a perfect beginning of a budding industry in Clark County.
Here’s a regional roundup of what you’ll find as spring buds burst and winery tours top to-do lists.
Vancouver
English Estate Winery
17806 SE 1st St.
Contact: (360) 772-5141
Hours: 12 to 6 p.m. Friday through Sunday; 4:30 to 7 p.m. Monday
English Estate began as a potato farm, moved to filberts, dairy and (in 1980) vineyards. The winery opened in 2000 and the tasting room, once the dairy cows’ loafing shed, opened about a year later.
Don’t look for bottled wine at this winery, the oldest in Clark County. English Estate ferments and sells their product in plastic bags, surrounded by a box.
“We’re known for bag in a box,” said Andee Mowrey, tasting room and marketing manager for the winery, which produces 2,000 gallons of wine per year.
A bag holds about three liters of wine (equivalent to four bottles) and costs $50 to $99, depending upon the variety. The winery also offers live music.
Bader Winery
711 Grand Blvd.
Contact: (360) 750-1551
Hours: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday
Steve Bader opened Bader Winery in 1992. It’s a wine and beer supply store, which also offers classes in crafting both and makes custom batches for customers. Classes run $25 for three hours and supplies cost about $175 to $210 to make a six-gallon batch of wine, which makes about 30 bottles.
Bader said he’s witnessed an uptick in customers, even during the height of the recession.
“Making your own wine is typically less expensive than what you’d buy in a grocery store,” Bader said. “And one of the things about a bad economy is you have lots of people with lots of time. The worst economy for my industry is when everyone is really going fast they don’t have free time.”
Benke Cellars
1804 NW 119th St.
Contact: (360) 907-9525
Hours: By appointment only
Deidra Benke and her husband Rob opened this tiny winery in 2003 and released their first vintage in 2005. Rob worked for L'Ecole No. 41, a small Walla Walla winery, in 1983. After that, the couple moved to Switzerland for a year, where they worked in vineyards and learned about making specialty wines.
The couple sources their grapes from vineyards in The Gorge to make their small production of 130 cases a year. The tasting is free (by appointment) and bottles cost about $15.
Gouger Cellars
1812 Washington St.
Contact: (360) 909-4707
Hours: 2 to 8 p.m. Friday; 10 to 6 p.m. Saturday; 12 to 5 p.m. Sunday
Gary Gouger started his winery, right next to Cellar 55 cold wine storage, in 2009. For the pharmacist turned winemaker, it started out as a hobby in 2002. From there, Gouger enrolled in a winemaking degree program and started getting serious about his wines.
Gouger sources his wine-making grapes from vineyards in Washington and California, a model that he says he prefers to working the land himself because he’s free to play with combinations of varietals.
Tasting fees are $5 for five samples or $10 for all. Bottles range from $18 to $39.
Battle Ground
Olequa Cellars
24218 NE 142nd Ave.
Contact: (360) 666-8012
Hours: 12 to 5 p.m. one weekend per month. Call ahead.
Monkia Ansy and her husband bought a five-acre site shortly after they married in 2004 with the intent of opening a small winery. They planted three acres of vineyards in 2005 and produce about six barrels of wine annually, or about 3,600 bottles.
Rusty Grape Vineyard
16712 NE 219th St.
Contact: (360) 512-9338
Hours: 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday & Thursday; 12 to 9 p.m. Saturday; 12 to 6 p.m. Sunday
Jeremy Brown started his vineyard about five years ago when he planted with 3 1/2 acres of vines on 5 acres of land.
According to Brown, each winery has a personality of its own. Put them together, and you have a diverse overall winemaking scene in the area.
“It’s not a tire shop,” Brown said. “Wineries, you’re going to go [visit several of them].”
During summer months, Rusty Grape offers movies on the lawn and live music. Tasting fees are $5 and waived with the purchase of a bottle. Prices range from $9 to $45.
Heisen House Vineyards
28005 NE 172nd Ave.
Contact: (360) 713-2359
Hours: 4 to 9 p.m. Fridays (with live music); 12 to 6 p.m. Saturday & Sunday
Michele Bloomquist fell in love with her property first – an 1898 Victorian farm house in need of some TLC. After a year of living there, Bloomquist and a friend took stock of the apple trees on the property and set out to make hard cider. From there, she was hooked and began her trek into winemaking, planting an acre of vines on her five-acre property.
The winery produces about 200 cases of wine annually. Live music enters the scene on Friday nights in the summertime. No tasting fees and bottles run $15 to $27.
Ridgefield
Three Brothers Winery
2411 NE 244th St.
Contact: (360) 887-2085
Hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; 12 to 5 p.m. Sunday
Dan Andersen produced the winery’s first vintage in 2006; the tasting room opened one year later. With 15 acres of vineyards planted on two sites, Andersen’s interest in winemaking came on as a highway civil engineer on California interchange projects during the 1980s. He said those projects put him within proximity of winemakers, who he became friendly with. By 1996, Andersen had planted his first vineyards when he settled in the area.
Three Brothers offers spring barrel tastings, progressive dinners in the fall and other seasonal events. Tastings are free. Bottles run $15 to $37.
Confluence Vineyards & Winery
19111 NW 67th Ave.
Contact: (360) 887-2343
Hours: 12 to 5 p.m. Saturday
East Fork Cellars
24415 NE 10th Ave.
Contact: (360) 727-3055
Hours: 12 to 9 p.m. Thursday; 12 to 10 p.m. Friday; 12 to 6 p.m. Saturday & Sunday
