Wines & Winery

The winemaking facility is housed in a 9600 sq. ft. subterranean structure.  The facility has been in full production since the 2002 harvest.

Visitors are Welcome!
Tasting Room Hours - 7 days a week 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Private tastings are also available by appointment.

OUR WINES

My winemaking philosophy is simple... gentle and minimal handling at each step in the winemaking process. We pick fruit at its optimal maturity level to express the true flavors of the grape and site. When tasting grapes I am looking for expressive varietal flavors, full lignification of the seeds, and the absence of any "green" or underripe flavor characteristics in the grapes. We then gently crush and de-stem into small fermentors, and, if nature allows, we let the fruit sit on its skins for 3-5 days prior to inoculating with yeast in order to extract color and enhance the wines flavor and mouthfeel.

After innoculating with select yeast, each bin is gently hand-punched up to 3 times daily to submerge the cap and further extract color and flavor compounds. I use a combination of different yeasts to provide complexity. Every lot is kept separate during this process so we can evaluate the wine on its own, and make blending decisions based on the quality of those wines. When fermentation is complete, we then separate the "free run" juice from the pressed juice. The free run juice is drained to a mixture of 100% new French and American oak barrels, where the wines will spend the next 18-24 months depending on the lot. The press is drained to all used cooperage and will make up the base of the Basel Cellars Claret.

In the future, we plan on focusing our portfolio on Estate grown grapes from our two vineyards, Pheasant Run and Double River Ranch, both of which are located in the Walla Walla Valley. The vineyards are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Tempranillo and Semillion. Cabernet Franc from Chelle den Pleasant Vineyard, located on the south slope of the Rattlesnake Ridge in the Yakima Valley.