Off to Naches Heights and Wilridge Vineyard
On our last trip to the region, we spent the morning shooting sunrise at Wilridge, and we were here to catch some of that again. It is a stunning place to shoot! The bedrock here is andesite from a million-year-old lava flow. Most of this region is covered in basalt and volcanic soil, and much of the lower part of the valley has Missoula flood deposits. Naches Heights is home to the longest andesite flow in the world, giving the AVA its distinctive geology.
We enjoyed the sunrise and snapped photos of the vineyards and two tasting rooms. Yes, two. Paul doesn’t just make wine. He also makes spirits. Do you remember how we mentioned reusing the grape skins for Piquette as a lower-alcohol beverage? Well, you can also go the other way. Grape skins are used to make grappa and marc, and Paul makes those for his line of spirits! He also makes fruit brandies in a region blessed with abundant orchards. He has a tasting room for wine and one for the spirits (as per Washington Law, they cannot be in the same building.)
There is another sustainable benefit here: it allows his team a task during the off-season for wine so that he can keep them employed and busy most of the year.
Paul joined us at the vineyard for an interview to talk about biodynamics here at Wilridge and his history with changing beverage laws here in Washington State.
He headed off on his electric bike to the Winery and gave us directions on how to drive there. The property is really set up for walking and hiking.
The Winery is in a recycled fruit processing barn. When we arrived, Paul introduced us to Lenora, his winemaker, and Lauren, who does most of the handy work around the Winery. It had been a late night processing fruit for them, and they were getting a deservedly later start today than usual.
The Winery is compact, located in a fruit-packing barn walking distance from the vineyard. Tanks are downstairs, fruit bins and bottling upstairs, the thick heavy beams solid under the weight of all the harvested fruit. They had picked up almost everything a few days before our arrival, so the place was bursting at the seams.
Paul led us upstairs and around back, where he had his still. He pulled the still apart and poured a couple of small glasses of grappa for us to taste. I had not anticipated the beautiful aromatics!
After our conversation with Paul, we realized how much more b-roll we needed in the vineyard. Paul gave us directions for the best views from the Winery, and we took the back way, the shortcut coming in behind the vineyard.
The views are stunning, with the parts of Cowiche Canyon trails running through the property. The pale grasses are set into a blaze here and there by the vivid red sumac in the fall and the mustard yellow rabbit brush. Then, of course, the green of agriculture dots the land, especially in the Canyon itself, where the Cowiche Creek runs.
This is a great place to hike, and there is rock climbing nearby. Paul suggests climbing first, THEN visiting the tasting room! LOL.
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