Quilceda Creek Vintners - Production

Production

The current winery facility at Quilceda Creek was built in 2003 and opened on January 1, 2004. Located on 6.5 acres (2.6 ha) in the town of Snohomish, the winery has 3,000 square feet (280 m2) of space for fermentation and barrel aging. The winery has access to another 1,300 square feet (120 m2) of storage space off-site. The small winery facility is open to the public by appointment only.

The wines produced by Quilceda Creek Vintners are sourced from vineyards in eastern Washington. As of 2007, the winery used grapes from the Champoux and Palengat Vineyards near Alderdale in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA, and from the Taptiel, Klipsun, Ciel du Cheval, and Galitzine Vineyards near Benton City in the Red Mountain AVA. The grapes are harvested by hand, and transported 200 miles (320 km) overnight by truck to the winery.

Quilceda Creek regularly produces four wines: their signature Cabernet Sauvignon, a single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon made with grapes from the Galitzine Vineyard, a varietal Merlot, and a wine called simply "Red Wine" made from grapes that do not meet the quality standards sought for the signature Cabernet Sauvignon. The Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of grapes from both the Red Mountain AVA and the Horse Heaven Hills AVA, and as such carries the broader Columbia Valley AVA designation. The winery blends small amounts of Merlot and Cabernet Franc into their signature Cabernet Sauvignon, in amounts that vary from vintage to vintage. In 2004, the Cabernet Sauvignon contained 3% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc, whereas in 2005 the wine contained 3% Merlot, but no Cabernet Franc.