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| Winery Information | ||
74 estate vineyard acres
Annual Production: Chardonnay, Viognier, Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Red Blends and Port |
Tasting Room Hours
10 to 5 pm, 7 days a week! VISA
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| A Family and its Vineyards | ||
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Once upon a time in the early life of a winemaker, dinnertime set the norm for wine as a beverage on at the family dinner table. Paul Portteus' father brought home a new appreciation of wine following his survival of France’s WWII Battle for Bastogne. From that point on, a jug of wine with the evening meal became as commonplace as plates, forks and food. Young Paul's early wine-related influences also included weekend visits to Uncle Howard's two-acre farm where he was given a chance to observe... and sample... his uncle's wine-making projects. It was not until age nineteen that a no-longer-so-young Paul Portteus pursued his first experience brewing… beer, that is. Motivated by the purchase of a houseboat and an enthusiasm for entertaining, Paul could see no reason that brewing beer would be any more difficult than making wine. Two years later, at age 21, Paul’s parents presented him a gift that would change his life... a suitcase of wine, containing 21 splits of various vintages of wines from California and France. Maybe it was the suitcase... maybe it was the timing, but Paul's next adventure -- a motorcycle tour of French and Spanish wine country regions -- an adventure that incited a passion for wine and winemaking that would last a lifetime. Yet another chapter in the winemaking story of Paul Portteus began when Paul married Marilyn. Both loved wine, but finding "drinkable wines" at a price they could afford as newlyweds was a challenge. What to do?
Paul and Marilyn began looking for a place to plant their own vineyard, a place they could live while making their own wine. At first, throughout 1978 and 1979, the couple began investigating Napa and Sonoma winegrowing regions. At the same time, they began reading and hearing about a fledgling wine industry in Washington State, specifically, in the Yakima Valley where at that time three out of the State's 13 wineries were located. What they learned about Washington was exciting... and promising. Their preliminary plans to locate a new vineyard and winery in California's Napa Valley were abandoned. The Portteus family bought a sunny, south-facing piece of sloping land on the Rattlesnake Hills of the Yakima Valley in 1981. (Continue at top of next column)
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Contrary to the advise of local experts -- that the best wine
grapes to grow in Washington were Johannesburg Riesling and Chenin
Blanc, Paul and Marilyn began planting their vineyards to Cabernet
Sauvignon and Chardonnay in 1982. Today, some
30 years later,
the Portteus Vineyards experiment -- growing
Portteus estate vineyards now spread across approximately 74 acres of the Rattlesnake Hills AVA. Varietals grown by Portteus include Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Merlot, in addition to the original 1981 plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. Portteus Vineyards currently sells about 20% of its harvest to other wineries, and sets aside the rest of its choice grapes for its own powerful estate bottled wines. "Our wines reflect the vintage variations of varietal wines from a single vineyard," Paul explains. "They always show rich, black fruit flavors and an elegant balance of soft tannins, fruit, oak and acids." Including Portteus Vineyards in a wine-country touring itinerary rewards the serious red-wine enthusiast. Portteus Vineyard is located high enough (1400' elevation) to be growing in ancient volcanic soils -- soils that were unaffected by the ice age Missoula floods and the sedimentary deposits common in nearby vineyards throughout the Yakima Valley. This distinct soil is a primary ingredient of the terroir that makes equally distinct Portteus wines. Building on the quality of its location, Portteus Vineyards began managing its vineyards sustainably about 10 years ago - nothing is sprayed on grape clusters, and the vineyards are certified "Salmon Safe" for its farming practices.
Big red wines are the specialty of this long-established winery. Portteus offers daily tastings year round.
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_____________________________________________________________________________ Mixed cases welcome, except on pre-release wine sales. _____________________________________________________________________________ How to order these and other Portteus wines:
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Copyright ©
2004 - 2011 Susan R. O'Hara. All rights reserved. |
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Cabernet
Sauvignon and Chardonnay in the Yakima Valley -- is an obvious
success; in fact, more red wines now are
produced in this region than white wines, Washington wineries now
number more than 650, and more than 98% of Washington's wine grapes are
grown east of the Cascade Mountains, including the Yakima Valley. Paul Portteus
himself also has become a success as a winemaker; he once earned the honor of being
named one of America’s Great Cabernet Producers by Wine Enthusiast
Magazine, and the Rattlesnake Hills, where the Portteus family planted
their vineyard in
1981, was authorized as an official American Viticultural Area in 2006.
