First vines, new wines

In the soils of Southwest Washington, eight wine makers are developing unique blends and a reputation for the region.

With those, at least four others are setting up shop in response to growing interest in locally crafted wines some say could lead to economic opportunities in Southwest Washington’s rural areas.

“I’d like to see a system built in the county that makes it sexier than trailer courts and mansions. The rural areas could create an economic base in the wine industry,” said Jeff Waddell, owner of Battle Ground-based East Fork Vineyards, which will open a Ridgefield retail location in September. “We’re on this ridge with volcanic ash and alluvial soils and we’re able to pull out very unique flavors.”

He and a handful of other wine makers make up the Wine Alliance of Clark County, which is working toward designation for Clark County as an American Viticultural Area. The region had the opportunity to piggyback on the Willamette Valley AVA in the early 1980s, but local winemakers declined, expecting to accomplish the feat on their own before long.

Clark County’s first winery may have been Salishan Vineyards, which Joan Wolverton ran for about 40 years. She retired and ended the winery’s activity with her retirement about two years ago, Waddell said.

Wolverton blazed the trail for the county’s current boutique-style wineries, he said.

“We know our wine intimately,” said Dan Andersen, manager of Ridgefield-based Three Brothers Vineyard and Winery. “We know what’s in each barrel because we are the ones who have made it.”

Now those wine makers are edging closer to establishing an AVA, partially due to the collaboration and support they give each other through the wine alliance.

“We all help each other along the way, like share croppers in the Midwest,” Waddell said. “We’re usually at each other’s crushes getting dirty and helping each other. … We critique each other to help produce quality crafted wine.”

Regional push

The West Coast’s first grape vines were planted at Fort Vancouver in 1825. But there wasn’t much impetus for growing grapes in Clark County until recent years, when fans of regional microbrew beers developed a taste for local wines.

“The young 20- to 30-year-old crowd was really drinking up the local microbrews, and 37 percent of that crowd is changing from beer to wine,” Waddell said.

But it takes a great amount of time and even more cash to get into the wine business. With the cost of obtaining and developing land for a vineyard, there’s the cost of obtaining, permitting and preparing a commercial space. Plus, there is the cost of supplies, such as oak barrels at $1,000 each and tanks, pumps and filters.

“The list goes on of things that cost thousands of dollars each,” Andersen said. “The end product is far more important than how fast we can get it to market.”

Each bottle of wine requires about six to 12 months and $4.50 in overhead to produce, Waddell said. A vineyard or winery can also make money by hosting events such as concerts and private parties.

“If your product’s priced right, you should have almost a 500 percent return and get your pay back in about five years,” Waddell said.

Some soils along the East Fork of the Lewis and Columbia rivers are ideal for producing grapes because they resemble soils in wine-famous regions of France, Andersen said.

“The soils make the grapes struggle,” he said. “That concentrates the sugars and the flavors in the grape because it makes the plant work hard.”

When his retail wine shop East Fork Cellars opens, Waddell hopes to target the “under $20 a bottle crowd” along with “wine snobs,” offering world-class blends and the option for customers to blend their own wines on the spot.

“The customers may not be snobs,” Waddell said. “They don’t want to be intimidated when they go to a winery. The WACC philosophy is, ‘If it tastes good, drink it.’ ”

Waddell said success with winemaking is similar to success in any business.

“Most people get into this and want the romantic side and overextend themselves,” he said. “The idea is to make good wine, sell it and provide a tasting room. You get returns on investment, and then you build out and improve the atmosphere.”

Washington State wine by the numbers

9: Major American Viticultural Areas

350: Wine grape growers

540: Wineries (up from 101 in 1997)

19,000: Full-time equivalent jobs

$579 million: Annual wine-related wages paid

$3 billion: Annual state economic impact

1825: When Washington’s first wine grapes were planted at Fort Vancouver by Hudson’s Bay Co. They may have been the first planted on the West Coast.

Source: Washington Wine Commission, 2006 data

Charity Thompson can be reached at cthompson@vbjusa.com.

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