The Wallula Vineyard might be the most perilous, dramatic, and picturesque winegrowing site on earth. Located in Washington's Horse Heaven Hills and astonishingly situated in the midst of the rugged and precarious cliffs of the Columbia River Gorge, this unconventional agricultural marvel is composed of a striking collection of non-contiguous vineyard blocks that have been meticulously shaped and carved at various elevations into breathtaking natural escarpments of basaltic rock. Although the manpower and heavy equipment required to establish this imposing vineyard was immense, the resulting wines it has created are nothing short of extraordinary.
Undertaking a project as unprecedented, arduous, and downright dangerous as preparing and planting the Wallula Vineyard is absolutely not for the faint of heart, but vineyard owners Andy & Bill Den Hoed are not ones to fold beneath a challenge. When initially considering purchasing the property with the intention of planting a larger commercial vineyard on the many acres of flat grassland above the river, the brothers became intrigued when they learned that the property line ran almost all the way down to the water's edge. In 1997 with the help of their father Andreas the Den Hoed brothers began the passionate process of carving out and planting the Wallula Vineyard, and still they gradually continue to chisel out and plant new prospective blocks to this day.
Although cutting and clearing solid rock from a steep hillside is difficult work Andy & Bill believed that the eventual payoff would be worth every morsel of their effort. The two became inspired by the discovery of distinct climatic conditions that exist only in the treacherous terrain at the limits of their property near the water's edge, and expert analysis confirmed that these zones would be absolutely perfect to grow high quality warm-climate wine grapes like Cabernet Sauvignon. While the highest elevations of the Den Hoed estate sit at just under 1400 feet from sea level and experience regular summer temperatures in excess of 105 degrees Fahrenheit, the lower elevations dip down to around 400 feet from sea level and are insulated by the river's cold waters that chill surrounding air temperatures by as much as 10-20 degrees. Because grape vines shut down photosynthesis and cease the ripening of their fruit during the times of day when temperatures exceed 95 degrees Fahrenheit, Bill & Andy believed that taking advantage of the river's unique moderating effect would have a significant advantage for grape growing by allowing vines to ripen their fruit more consistently and completely than would be otherwise possible. They carved out and planted staggered vineyard blocks lovingly dubbed "The Benches" which were designed specifically to prioritize degree day accumulation, and as a result now grow some of Washington State's most captivating and complex Cabernet.
The true beauty of the Wallula Vineyard comes not only from its ability to achieve otherwise unobtainable levels of phenolic development in its fruit, but also that it is an incredible aesthetic marvel. When asked about his inspiration for planting so many unique and unconventional blocks - some of which are so tiny they do not even contain a dozen individual vines - Bill Den Hoed explained that to him this vineyard was more about art than economics. Bill revealed that he and his family set out to use the Wallula Vineyard as a medium to paint the desolate and weather-beaten hillside with their own brush, doing so in a way that would embrace the uniqueness of the landscape rather than just pragmatically work around its challenges. Through 20 years of backbreaking work the Den Hoed family has shaped intimidating sheer cliffs into feats of agricultural magic; achieving beauty and functionality in viticulture that to our knowledge has no equal on earth.
The Wallula Vineyard truly produces some of the greatest Cabernet Sauvignon in Washington, which is easily evidenced by the fact that its fruit ends up in some of the state's very best wines. Legendary wineries like Quelceda Creek and Long Shadows proudly advertise the Wallula Vineyard as one of their marquee fruit sources, and many other producers of all shapes and sizes regularly clamour to get their hands on some of these coveted grapes. The Den Hoed brothers also bottle wine from their prized vineyard under their own label, Den Hoed Wine Estates, which was originally established to give prospective fruit buyers a taste of the quality and complexity that the brother's fruit could achieve once bottled. The Den Hoed "Andreas" Cabernet Sauvignon, named after Andy & Bill's father, is a yearly bottling that showcases the Wallula Vineyard's incredible depth of fruit, captivating structure, and distinctly gravely basaltic minerality derived from the ancient rock its vines are planted in. It is simply a world class wine from a world class vineyard site.
Visiting the Wallula Lake Vineyard guided by Bill Den Hoed himself was one of the biggest highlights of our 2019 Washington wine exploration trip, and we look forward to continuing to follow the wines of this magnificent vineyard for many years to come. Our biggest thanks and appreciation to Bill and the whole Den Hoed team for allowing us to tour and photograph this amazing place.