The Horse Heaven Hills AVA in Washington State has traditionally been a region known for its grape growing, but not for local wine production.
But the Andrews family — longtime Washington State farmers and founders of luxury wine brand Trothe — aims to change that and took what they believe is the first step toward doing so this week, when they announced the opening of the new Trothe winery in the Columbia Valley.
The new winemaking facility is the first of its kind in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA and will produce Trothe wines as well as provide custom crush services for other winemakers in the region.
The Washington State Wine Commission lists the eastern Washington State’s AVA that is wholly contained in the Columbia Valley as having its first vinifera plantings in 1972 at what is now Champoux Vineyard. It’s especially known for Cabernet Sauvignon, but none is produced in the AVA in which it is grown.
“Our family’s investment in this sophisticated winery is also an investment in the future of winemaking in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA and in the greater State of Washington,” Trothe proprietor Jeff Andrews said. “We’re excited to open our doors to vintners who share our vision for crafting luxury wines that are emblematic of their Washington roots.”
The new winery’s crush pad equipment allows for precise control of the destemming, sorting, and pressing processes, including Pellenc destemming technology, a WECO optical sorter, a Pellenc Smartpress as well as Pellenc Smartpumps and Ragazzini peristaltic must pumps.
The winery houses concrete tanks for fermentation and maturation.
The facility is at capacity for the 2022 vintage, but the Andrews family is accepting inquiries from interested winemakers beginning with the 2023 harvest season.
Learn more about custom crush opportunities by contacting Andrews at (509) 778-9028, or by e-mail at [email protected].
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