{"id":2671,"date":"2016-04-06T10:12:40","date_gmt":"2016-04-06T17:12:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/danthewineguy.com\/?p=2671"},"modified":"2018-03-17T13:34:16","modified_gmt":"2018-03-17T20:34:16","slug":"washingtons-family-wineries-prove-that-hard-work-pays-off-by-resulting-in-excellent-wines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/?p=2671","title":{"rendered":"Washington’s Family Wineries Prove That Hard Work Pays Off by Producing Excellent Wines"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article originally appeared, in part, in the April\/May, 2016 issue of Bellingham Alive magazine.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

If you think that most of Washington\u2019s wineries are large, faceless, corporate-owned entities you might be in for a surprise. In fact, the vast majority of the 850-plus wineries in the state are small, family-owned enterprises that oversee every phase of the winemaking process\u2026from crushing, fermenting and aging the grapes, to bottling, marketing, and distributing the finished product.<\/p>\n

This hands-on, personal touch is the hallmark of many smaller wineries, and the \u201cstart-to-finish\u201d process requires long hours and dedicated service. But most family-maintained wineries feel this approach results in a quality, attention-to-detail product\u2026and they wouldn\u2019t have it any other way.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at two successful Washington wineries and the people behind these 100-percent family-owned and operated businesses:<\/p>\n

DYNASTY CELLARS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Peter and Olga Osvaldik immigrated to the United States from Czechoslovakia with their son, Peter Jr., in 1983. The Osvaldiks moved to Bellingham in 1990 and established Dynasty Cellars five years later, drawing on over 150 years of winemaking experience from Peter\u2019s paternal family.<\/p>\n

After progressing through the \u201chobby phase,\u201d Dynasty had its first commercial release in 2006. \u201cI remember our first commercial wine\u2026seven tons of grapes (at about 100 pounds at a time) through a small ratchet press. It was crazy,\u201d Peter says with a laugh. \u201cI still have that press as a reminder of our beginnings.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"null\"From its inception, every task associated with the winery has been a family affair. Peter and son Eric work together through the crushing and production phases while Olga and their daughter Monica primarily work in the tasting room and on special events. \u201cWe don\u2019t have titles,\u201d Peter says. \u201cWe are whatever we need to be that day!\u201d<\/p>\n

The winery currently sources all of its grapes from Les Collines Vineyards in Walla Walla, reflecting Peter\u2019s desire to produce single vineyard\/single varietal wines.<\/p>\n

Current releases include the 2012 vintages of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, a gorgeous Merlot with silky-soft dark berry flavors, and a bold Zinfandel with blackberry fruit and spicy, peppery finishing notes.<\/p>\n

Scheduled for release in April of this year are a 2015 White Wine blend of 90-percent Chardonnay and 10-percent Semillon, and a 2015 Off-Dry Riesling. The remainder of 2016 will include releases of a number of 2013-vintage red varietals including Tempranillo, Primitivo, Syrah and Merlot.<\/p>\n

The winery\u2019s sense of family is apparent from the minute one steps into the tasting room, where guests are warmly greeted and often asked, \u201cWhat can I pour for you?\u201d This, coupled with the care that goes into every bottle, has made Dynasty Cellars a favorite among local wine enthusiasts.<\/p>\n

Downplaying credit for his winemaking efforts, Peter humbly notes, \u201cThe fate and quality of the wine is determined at the end of fermentation. You\u2019re the guardian; (just) keep the barrels safe and sound until you\u2019re ready to bottle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dynasty Cellars is located at 2169 East Bakerview Road in Bellingham and open Thursday through Saturday from 1 pm to 6:30 pm and Sunday from 1 pm to 5 pm. More information: dynastycellars.com.<\/p>\n

TUCANNON CELLARS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tucannon Cellars is located about 15 minutes west of the Tri-Cities, just outside the Red Mountain Appellation. The winery is named for the Tucannon River near the Blue Mountains in southeastern Washington and owned by father-and-son duo Phil and Ethen Warren and Phil\u2019s wife Danette.<\/p>\n

Phil started producing wines in 2008, primarily, \u201cto see if he could make a small batch of handcrafted wine for private consumption\u201d notes Ethen. The elder Warren\u2019s wines became popular among friends who, \u201cgot so tired of waiting for the next batch they helped and supported him in the winery licensing process,\u201d Ethen recalls.<\/p>\n

That took place in 2011, and Phil continued to produce wines in the garage at his Pasco home. Then, as a logical step in the growth of the winery, he purchased Oakwood Cellars on Red Mountain in February, 2014, where Ethen serves as tasting room manager and assistant winemaker while Danette handles the winery\u2019s administrative work.<\/p>\n

At that time, Tucannon was primarily focused on making red wines. \u201cWe started out just doing reds, but we\u2019ve really gotten more serious about white wines,\u201d Ethen says. That may be in part to a number of stainless steel tanks they acquired from Oakwood, which have been instrumental in the production of white wine varietals such as Chardonnay, Viognier, and Riesling.<\/p>\n

In addition to sourcing grapes from the state\u2019s renowned Burgess and Alder Ridge Vineyards, to name a few, the Warrens have also planted two acres of estate-grown red varietals: Carm\u00e9n\u00e8re and Mourv\u00e8dre.<\/p>\n

\"null\"Other red wines that have just been released include a lovely 2012 Cabernet Franc, with dried red fruits, hints of milk chocolate, and sweet cedar on a lingering finish with a hint of earthiness; a 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, with intoxicating aromatics of vanilla wafer, beeswax and meadow grasses followed by red cherry flavors and a touch of hazelnut; and an outstanding 2012 Merlot with black cherry and licorice on the palate, toasted oak accents, and a nice, textured finish.<\/p>\n

Production has expanded to about 1,800 cases annually, but that hasn\u2019t had an effect on all the small details the Warrens address while operating their family-owned winery. \u201cWe still do everything by hand,\u201d Ethen says, and, noting his increasing involvement in all phases of the winemaking process, \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be able to do it without my dad\u2026and our friends are (also) still a tremendous help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tucannon Cellars\u2019 tasting room is located at 40504 North DeMoss Road in Benton City, just minutes north of Interstate 82, and open Thursday, Sunday, and Monday from 11 am to 5 pm and Friday and Saturday from 11 am to 6 pm. Wines can also be ordered on line at tucannoncellars.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article originally appeared, in part, in the April\/May, 2016 issue of Bellingham Alive magazine. If you think that most of Washington\u2019s wineries are large, faceless, corporate-owned entities you might be in for a surprise. In fact, the vast majority of the 850-plus wineries in the state are small, family-owned enterprises that oversee every phase […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-from-the-bellingham-herald"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2671"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2671\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3483,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2671\/revisions\/3483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}