Nick Tomassi's Wine of the Week: Wind River 1997 Meritage 45% cabernet
sauvignon, 45% merlot, and 10% cab. franc. A great Bordeaux blend to have
with steak. (about $20)
Wind River Cellars is one of four wineries in the Bingen, WA-Hood
River, Oregon area. Kris and Joel Goodwillie purchased the Charles Hooper
Family Winery in 1997 and changed the name to Wind River Cellars.
The winery is open 11 am to 5 pm daily and has a steady flow of customers
especially on the weekend. Wines are sold at the winery tasting room and
in specialty shops in Seattle, Portland, Spokane and some
restaurants.
For our interview we sat outside the tasting room with the delicious
Wind River Meritage, and the fantastic view overlooking the Columbia River
and Mt. Hood. Joel Goodwillie said, "Hooper did a really nice job of outfitting
the winery. All in scale to the production, it's great!" They have 7 acres
of vineyard land on 17 acres of property. Old customers who still come ask,
"Why did you change the name?" To which Joel replies, smiling, "It's cheaper
than changing my name to Charles Hooper."
They released their first wines in March of last year (1997) and
have since received positive reviews. They produce Chardonnay, Meritage,
Port, Dry Gewurztraminer, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling and Pinot
Noir. 80% of the grapes come from the praised Celilo Vineyard.
Goodwillie said, "Our 1999 crush will be about 5000 cases, a size
we're very comfortable with. We are extremely proud of our quality label
and packaging and feel that our wines will gain a reputation equal to some
of Washington's best."
This Spring they released the wine from the '97 vintage, including
the Meritage and chardonnay. While waiting for two years for these wines
to age, they released a brand of hard-cider called "Bad Seed Cider" with
a great looking label. This product has been extremely successful, enabled
them to generate cash flow almost immediately, and sold it out half way through
the summer. They then had another bottling focused on hot cider for the winter.
It was so popular that it almost overshadowed the wine line.
In the few shows they presented the cider, it was the number one
selling product. Joel knew he wanted a certain look to the apple on the label
to appeal to the younger crowd.. The designer of the label also designed
the Oregon State University Beaver helmet.
A popular summer attraction there is white-water and wine trips on
the White Salmon River: one of the best places for white-water rafting. Kris
Goodwillie said, "We have a partnership with a commercial rafting company
and offer a four hour rafting trip and then come to the winery for wine tasting
and lunch.
We probably will do four of those trips each week in the summer.
$65 per person for everything, the trip, equipment, lunch, and wine tasting.
It's really fun and unique to this area." Contact them at 509-493- 2324 or
via e-mail:
windriverwines@gorge.net
Joel is the winemaker, vineyardist, viticulturist, chemist, cellar-
rat, and jack-of-all-trades. Kris is the financial officer, and presently
expecting their second child. This energetic, personable young couple have
a plan, a goal, and are determined to succeed.
NOTE: The WSLC Board named June, 1999 Austrailian Wine Month. Great
bargains!
About the Author: Nick Tomassi teaches wine and beer appreciation
classes at Olympic College. Visit his website:
www.silverlink.net/winecabinet |
