Andrew Will Winery has always had a focus on creating wines with a sense of place. Since the first vintage in 1989, Chris Camarda has been labeling his wines with the vineyard name on the front label to establish a sense of place from the different vineyards across Washington State. We believe that each vineyard that we work with has unique attributes that set them apart from each other.
Andrew Will Winery’s estate vineyard, Two Blondes, is located in Zillah Washington, just outside of Yakima.
The vineyard is named for Chris Camarda’s late wife, Annie, who was a 6’2” blonde, and their partner in the vineyard, Bill Fleckenstein’s wife, Melody, who is also blonde.
The 30 acre vineyard was planted in 2000 and is located in the Yakima Valley AVA. It is planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec.
The vineyard manager is Chris Hoon. Renowned viticulturist Dr. Daniel Roberts was a consultant in the early years on the planning and installation of the vineyard.
Two Blondes is the coolest site of the four vineyards we work with. A particular focus for owner Chris Camarda is clonal selections that best fit the growing conditions.
The soils are a complex mix of Harwood - Burke - Wiehl series. They are silty loams formed in a silty loess eolian mantle over a lime-silica-cemented durpan.
Each vine supports 8 positions with approximately 16-18 clusters per vine.
Champoux (pronounced “shampoo”) Vineyard is set back five miles from the Columbia River in the Horse Heaven Hills.
The 175 acre vineyard was first planted in 1972 and Block 1, the oldest section, provides the Cabernet Sauvignon for Andrew Will’s Sorella.
Paul Champoux, for whom the vineyard is named, retired in 2014 as an owner and vineyard manager. Dan Nickolaus replaces him as vineyard manager.
The vineyard is owned and run by a consortium of partners which includes Andrew Will. Other partners include Quilceda Creek, Woodward Canyon, and Powers.
The soil is sandy loamy (Warden-Schano-Esquatzel).
Tannins are noteworthy in the wines from this vineyard.
The area is differentiated from other parts of Washington by the wind from the Columbia River Gorge, which never seems to stop.
Ciel du Cheval Vineyard was first planted in 1975 and there are currently 102 acres under cultivation.
Andrew Will has been sourcing fruit from this Red Mountain vineyard since its first vintage in 1989.
It was the Andrew Will Ciel du Cheval Merlot that garnered the attention of critics and reviewers in the winery’s earliest years.
When the great Spokane Flood formed the Red Mountain region, the Scooteney Channel backed up leaving deposits of gravel and huge stones.
The high calcium carbonate content of the soil, according to vineyard owner Jim Holmes, is the key to the high quality of the fruit.
On average, this vineyard gets 2950 heat units per year making it the warmest site we work with. It is the Ciel du Cheval Merlot which is the first fruit to be harvested at crush.
