In the 1940s, Jeff Andrews' great-grandfather arrived in the area where the Andrews Family Vineyards stand. Today, aside from row after row of grapevines, only a few buildings break the horizon line. There are a couple of farmsteads and the family's wine production facilities. It remains a very uninhabited part of eastern Washington, rising between the Yakima and Columbia rivers.
It was all sagebrush and arid desert back in those days. Shortly after Andrews' great-grandfather George Smith had broken the ground and planted dry-land wheat, the US military seized his land.
It was soon after America had entered into World War II. His farm and most of the area in the high, rolling hills above the Yakima river were used as a bombing range by the US Navy throughout the war.
WHERE CABERNET IS KING
Today, much of the former bombing range is known as the Horse Heaven Hills AVA, one of Washington state's most significant wine-growing regions. These hot, windswept hills produce much of the state's most outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon, often including fruit from Andrews Family Vineyards.
Ray McKee has made wine for almost 30 vintages in Washington state. He knows Washington's vineyards and AVAs as well as anyone making wine here. His decision to partner with Jeff Andrews' vision for Trothe was an easy one. Having made wine at Chateau Ste Michelle for nearly 10 years, I've known for a long time that the quality of fruit produced by the Andrews family is at the highest levels in the state. It's about the Horse Heaven Hills, certainly, but it's this site. It's what they've got going on here specifically.
While they grow 26 varieties, a select group of Washington winemakers have come to the Andrews family year after year for their Cabernet.
So Andrews and McKee decided that instead of selling off all their choicest blocks of fruit, they would keep much of it for the Trothe wines.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 2023 من Decanter.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 2023 من Decanter.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
A Resource for the World? - Argentina is unique in the genetic diversity preserved in much of its vine material. With climate change and disease posing increasing threats worldwide, Catena Zapata winery is asking what lessons can be learned to protect vineyards within and beyond the nation's borders
Argentina is unique in the genetic diversity preserved in much of its vine material. With climate change and disease posing increasing threats worldwide, Catena Zapata winery is asking what lessons can be learned to protect vineyards within and beyond the nation’s borders
Great Cabernets of South America
Other varieties may hog the limelight across South America, but the world’s most popular grape for red wines has played a critical role in the continent's wine heritage. We trace Cabernet Sauvignon’s story here, and recommend 16 benchmark wines to try
PROVENCE by train and bike
With rail links to Paris, Nice, Marseilles and beyond, a vast network of cycle paths and quiet roads, and a plethora of historic wine estates, Provence is an ideal destination for an eco-friendly, car-free and carefree) holiday
IN THE MIX
These days most of the world’s vineyards are planted to just a single variety, but what happens when multiple varieties are planted, harvested and blended together?
Malvasia A BUYER'S GUIDE
If ever a grape was hard to pin down, it'd be Malvasia. Indeed it’s not even a single grape variety. In all of its many varied, and often completely unrelated guises, it has been the mainstay of popular wine styles across the centuries. Our expert takes a closer look...
RIBERA ADOPTS THE NEW OLD WAYS
It’s not so much a new direction for winemakers in Ribera del Duero, but a growing recognition that traditional methods and wine styles set aside by the previous generation can now provide a way ahead to revitalise the region
Roussanne around the world
Up for a challenge? For winemakers as much as wine drinkers, getting a handle on a mercurial grape such as Roussanne isn't easy. But wherever it's grown, when the balance is right, it truly repays the effort
Napa Cabernet 2021
There's a lot of excitement about this vintage, in which conditions were relatively calm and temperatures stable through summer. Ongoing drought reduced yields but intensified flavours, but it means quantities are down and you may need to act fast to secure top wines. Our Napa correspondent selects 60 great wines from more than 500 that he tasted, with many very high scores
10 reason to discover Uruguay
Squeezed between Brazil and Argentina on the Atlantic coast, Uruguay has mostly flown under the tourist radar - until now. Once dubbed 'the Switzerland of the Americas', it's a welcoming country that has much to offer the travelling wine lover
Leo Erazo
The old vines and special terroir of Itata, southern Chile, have beena source of inspiration for this intrepid winemaker. The 2023 fires were a setback, but his commitment to this ancient wine land is undiminished