Wine & Spirits - December 2020 - 12

(continued from p. 8)

with the winery management and owners, addressing grievances and
improving farming systems and workflow.
"They're just not used to communicating at this level," says Collins.
"Culturally they're trained to deal with a boss and not question anything. When we started asking them how we could improve their lives,
I think it blew their minds a little; we broke down a lot of barriers."
Once this work had been completed, Lonborg's next task was to
find a certifying body willing to consider a work force that wasn't in
the hundreds. They opened talks with the Equitable Farm Initiative
(EFI), an organization accustomed to dealing with large operations.
"We reminded them that the majority of farms on the planet are small."
says Lonborg." It kind of got them thinking differently. In the end, they
created a pilot program just for us." In July of this year Tablas Creek
successfully completed its trial, and became the world's first certified-
Regenerative Organic wine property.
It's not likely to be the last. Several growers have reached out to
Tablas Creek and to the Alliance to inquire about certification-wineries such as Radio-Coteau, Frog's Leap, Sea Smoke and Villa Creek
in California, and Troon Vineyards and Hope Well Wines in Oregon.
Vanya Cullen in Margaret River has inquired, as have representatives
of Cullen's importer, Old Bridge Cellars, on behalf of its other wineries who are in step with the practices.
All of these properties are organic; some are biodynamic. Most are

VITICULTURIST JORDY LONBORG
MAINTAINS THE HIVES AT TABLAS CREEK

already partway down the path of Regenerative Organic certification;
indeed, Collins points out that it wasn't wine that got them to the table,
it was sheep. "At the time, I think we were the only purveyors of biodynamically raised lamb in the world," he says. "It got us in the door."
Eric Sussman of Radio-Coteau says he can't wait to get started.
"Regenerative Organic farming falls in line with what we do," he says,
"along with biodynamics and non-interventionist winemaking, with
goals of transparency and intention. We're small fish, but these practices are at the core of our values, and our mission." ■

Two New AVAs for Washington State
In October 2020, the TTB approved two new sub-appellations within the sprawling 12-million-acre Columbia Valley.
ROYAL SLOPE AVA

Like Red Mountain, Candy Mountain largely faces south. Its soils are composed of windblown sand and
CANDY MOUNTAIN AVA
loess, very free-draining, an easy environment to grow vines, says Marty Clubb of L'Ecole No 41. For several
vintages now, Clubb has been purchasing fruit from Candy Mountain Vineyard, for years the region's only
operation; the fruit has typically gone into L'Ecole's Columbia Valley appellation bottlings. "There's not a lot
you can point to yet," says Clubb, "aside from the fact that it's very much like Red Mountain, with a similar wind flow, similar soil structure, rainfall, heat
units...it all comes down to however it's managed to take it to the upper tier." -P.J.C.

WINE & SPIRITS

DECEMBER 2020

ROYAL SLOPE AVA PHOTO COURTESY OF STILLWATER CREEK
VINEYARD; CANDY MOUNTAIN AVA COURTESY OF SETH KITZKE

North of the Wahluke Slope by about 15 miles, the Royal Slope rises up the Frenchman Hills, a set
of rolling anticline hills running east-west more or less in the center of the Columbia Valley. Much of the
vineyard activity is at higher elevations-upwards of 1,500 feet, according to Mike Januik, who's been
working with fruit from Stillwater Creek Vineyard for more than 20 years. That elevation lies above the land
affected by the Missoula Floods, and the soils are quite different than in surrounding areas. "There's a lot
less windblown material," he says, "lots of fractured basalt, with much of it on the surface."
Looking east from the observation platform at Stillwater Creek, the Royal Slope runs to the horizon in a
single, fairly uniform south-facing slant, well-situated to maximize sunlight exposure and wind drainage.
Despite the northern latitude, it's not a place that succumbs to frost or freezes. "Cold air just slides down the
vineyard into the valley," says Januik.
The situation nearly assures exceptional color and good flavors, he says. "Early on, my wife was cleaning
out a tank of Stillwater Creek syrah and she asked me, 'Do you think it's possible for a wine to have too
much color?' I told her that's not something I'm going to worry about."
The entire appellation encompasses more than 150,000 acres, with 13 vineyards covering only 1,900
acres-so there's plenty of room to grow.
Southeast of the Royal Slope by about 50 miles as the crow flies is Candy Mountain, Washington's smallest
appellation at 815 acres (with 110 planted). If you've been to Red Mountain, outside of Benton City, then it's
likely that you've seen Candy Mountain: It's the grooved hill rising like a reptile's back on the appellation's
southeast border. Without it, Red Mountain would seem to have no end.

Wine & Spirits - December 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - December 2020