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“It’s about the place and the particular geological forces that shaped it over the millenia and that shape what’s in your wine glass today. And, of course, it’s about the extreme wine people who have nurtured it.”

-Mike Veseth

DuBrul Vineyard Cabernet
By Kerry Shiels 06 Jul, 2023
Even with great weather, there is variation and variability in any vineyard. One of the big sources of variability we see in the Yakima Valley is due to our large difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures. These dramatic temperature swings are so important for grape quality, but they do mean that we have to manage the microclimates within the different parts of the vine.
Estate grown wine with a sense of place
By Kerry Shiels 03 Feb, 2023
Consistency in the Vineyard helps create wines you can count on
By Kerry Shiels 24 Mar, 2022
It's incredible to think about now, but the beginnings of DuBrul Vineyard are not far removed from the beginnings of the modern Washington Wine Industry.
By Adrish Majumdar 09 Dec, 2020
The trip Hi, I'm Adrish Majumdar . I have been visiting Washington’s Yakima Valley wine region for many years, where I have enjoyed the wonderful hospitality of my good friend Kerry Shiels – head winemaker of the family-owned Côte Bonneville winery – and her parents, Kathy and Hugh. On a typical weekend trip, my exposure to the grape-growing and winemaking process is limited to a brief stroll through their DuBrul Vineyard. I taste the occasional grape, learn about the unique geology and terroir that make the site special, and then gratefully “taste” generous pours of the delicious finished products in the beautiful Train Station tasting room in downtown Sunnyside, named after the original purpose of the building. My last two trips were a little different. In October 2019 I spent two weeks helping out during harvest. This year, between COVID-19 quarantine and a shorter harvest season, I was only able to help out for a week. Still, over those three weeks, I gained a deeper appreciation for how every choice a winemaker and a vineyard manager make is connected to and driven by the winery’s vision. Côte Bonneville’s is to “make classically-styled [age-worthy] wines that best express our spectacular site.” That means showcasing the fruit and the terroir in all its glorious variability, vineyard block-to-vineyard block and vintage-to-vintage. In process terms, that means each block is micromanaged in the growing season, each grape cluster is carefully selected during harvest, and the fruit is left virtually untouched in the winemaking process after it is pressed. No filtering, no fining, minimal manipulation. My “internship” gave me an inside look at what that meant in practice. The internship experience My first assignment last year was picking. Hugh showed me how to select the best grape clusters: small berries, intense color and flavor, no sunburn, no raisining. I learned that the “short rows” I was assigned had some of the best fruit in the vineyard (no pressure!). Unlike on a brief vineyard tour, I now noticed how the fruit tasted different from one row to another, and indeed from one part of a row to another. (I also managed to slow down the real picking crew in the process!) My next assignment: sorting. Although the experienced picking crew had already done most of the culling, Kathy and I visually inspected and hand-sorted the grapes on a conveyor to remove the last remaining unworthy clusters before the grapes were crushed into fermenting bins. I noticed that the fruit from the short rows went into a separate bin. I made a mental note of Bin 5. Back at the winery, after yeast was added to the bins to start the fermentation, Kathy showed me how to do punchdowns . Through that process, I observed how the fruit in different bins progressed at different rates. Tasting the fermenting must and taking twice-daily temperature and brix (sugar) readings, I observed the day-to-day and bin-to-bin evolution and flavor variation. Bin 5, I decided, tasted better than the others. After about ten days, the fermented liquid was ready to be pressed off the skins into holding tanks. First, we pumped most of the liquid out of the fermenting bins. Then I helped dump the skins into a press (taking care to leave any seeds behind). The rest of this step was above my pay grade. The temperamental press was operated under Kathy’s watchful eye as it extracted the remaining liquid (about twenty-five percent). Again, the bins were handled differently. Some were blended together into one tank. Bin 5 was tanked separately. My all-too-short “internship” drew to a close soon after, and I missed the next steps in the process. Here the liquid undergoes malolactic fermentation – a chemistry term for a process that essentially softens some of the rougher edges of the wine – and is transferred from tanks to barrels (always French oak) to age for two years before bottling. I’m excited to return in 2021 to see how Bin 5 turned out! Fortuitously, I had the opportunity to spend time last year with another stellar winemaker and friend, Co Dinn, at his eponymous winery in downtown Sunnyside. I realized that while the basic steps may be the same, each winemaker’s approach is unique and contributes to the wonderful diversity of wines around the world. The takeaways Over the course of the two visits, I got a glimpse of how the Shiels’ choices in the vineyard and the winery translate to the quality and character of the wines they produce. I also learned that harvest at a small high-quality vineyard and winery is hard work! This may be a trivial insight for a farmer or anyone who has ever owned a small business, but the work was both physically and mentally taxing. I joked with Kerry and Kathy that eighty percent of winemaking appeared to involve cleaning stuff and moving stuff around (although “stuff” wasn’t the word I used). And when you’re making a quality product, obsessive attention to detail is a necessity, not a luxury. Experience, constant communication, and triple-checking your and others’ work become vital to preventing tired mental mistakes. Finally, and most importantly, I started to appreciate the combination of patience, preparation, and a certain resignation farmers must possess. I imagine this derives from the knowledge that farming involves a natural biological process, and try as one might to control every variable, it is ultimately subject to uncontrollable variations in weather, soil, water, nutrients, pests, and other factors. Add more recent sources of variability and financial pressure, like climate change, scarce and expensive labor, shifting consumer trends in what we eat, how it is grown, and how it is delivered, and, in 2020, COVID-19, and it requires a special kind of Zen to be a farmer these days. Though I don’t have the right temperament, I’m grateful for the people who do.
A sunny day in DuBrul Vineyard, looking out over the Yakima Valley
By Kerry Shiels 18 May, 2020
Our weekly happy hours on Zoom have been really fun. It is so great connecting with people over wine! Seeing your photos from DuBrul Vineyard and Côte Bonneville as backgrounds is inspiring to us. We wanted to return the favor, and inspire your virtual meetings as well. Click on any of these images to download and transport yourself during your next Zoom. The first two are Mount Adams from DuBrul Vineyard. The third is an aerial view of the DuBrul. The fourth is looking out over the Yakima Valley from DuBrul. In the second row, there is a picture of the Train Station tasting room, followed by images from the Côte Bonneville Estate, built by Napoleon DuBrul. The first is the house, as depicted on the Chardonnay label, followed by the Carriage House and an arbor in the yard. See you Wednesday!
Rosé and Riesling tasting notes being written
By Kerry Shiels 27 Feb, 2020
Encapsulating a place, growing season, and a wine in a paragraph or two is always a balancing act. We get fruit from the same vines each year. Winemaking philosophy and approach doesn't change. Consistency is one of our goals. With so many similarities, it's challenging to describe the constant qualities that define a wine and also the distinctive nuances of the singular vintage. I send my drafts out to a few trusted advisors for feedback. And this time, I've decided (again) that my friend Megan writes better tasting notes than I ever could. Take a look. Let us know what you think in the comments below! 2019 Cab Franc Rosé Kerry: Elegant and classy, the 2019 Cab Franc Rosé expresses notes of raspberry, nectarine, tangerine, and ruby red grapefruit. Fresh nasturtium floral notes heighten the sense of summer conveyed by the pale pink hue. Bright acidity highlights lighter summer dishes, especially citrus chicken salad. Perfect for solo sipping, or sharing with friends, you’ll want to make sure you have some on hand for the whole season. A case is a good way to go! Megan: Debonair and swanky, the 2019 Cab Franc Rosé articulates notes of raspberry, nectarine, tangerine, and ruby red grapefruit. Innovative nasturtium floral notes inflame the consciousness of summer conveyed by the pale pink hue. Phosphorescent acidity highlights lighter summer dishes, chiefly citrus chicken salad. Quintessential for unchaperoned sipping, or rationed out with friends, you’ll want to make sure you have some on hand for the unabridged season. A case is a admirable way to go! 2019 Riesling Kerry: Kathy is super excited about the 2019 Riesling! Always intensely aromatic, this year bursts with lemon, lime, and honeysuckle when you pour it into a glass. Bartlett pear and white peach dance on the palate, with racy acidity and just a touch of sweetness. Fresh and vibrant, it pairs well with everything from breakfast to dessert. Get some before Mom drinks it all! Megan: Kathy is splendidly electrified about the 2019 Riesling! Eternally intensely piquant, this year fractures with lemon, lime, and honeysuckle when you cascade it into a glass. Bartlett pear and white peach pirouette on the palate, with risqué acidity and just a graze of sweetness. Newfangled and coruscating, it pairs well with everything from breakfast to dessert. Get some before Mom drinks it all!
By Kerry Shiels 02 Jan, 2020
At some point last summer, it hit me. We were in 2019 and I came home in 2009. 10 years. With the new decade, it seems like everyone is reflecting, so it's relevant to share. We've had massive growth and changes, and so many great things have happened. It's really rather remarkable, and also exciting to think what's coming next. Looking back to the big milestones and changes: In 2010, we released the first vintage of rosé. Up to that point, we only bottled Côte, Carriage House, and Chardonnay consistently. We've grown a lot with Riesling, Syrah, and the Train Station wines as well! Expanding the range of wines brings technical challenges, but I do believe that having this many wines keeps us focused and constantly learning. And, now we have more choices for winemaker dinners, taco pairings, and Tuesday nights. The Train Station tasting room is open! 10 years ago, you had to make an appointment, come to the production facility, and taste standing up on the concrete floor by the tanks. It's so much easier to just drop in the Train Station, it's a more convenient location, and GPS will even give you the right directions (not always the case at the production winery!) Wine clubs to help you to get the wines you want. Especially now that everything is customizable so you have choice with every shipment. We watch the weather, so those of you in Florida, Texas, and New York don't have to. Emails, the blog, and social media make it so much easier for you to stay engaged with what's happening in the vineyard and the winery. We love that you love following along with the process! New things coming up: More food and wine pairings. So many of you are saying you enjoy the recipes that get sent with the club shipments, so we're doing more of them! Have a favorite of your own that you'd like to share? We'd love that too. A new wine! Cabernet Franc, the red version, not just rosé. You asked, and the vineyard listened! In 2018, there was enough wine to keep a few barrels separate and we'll bottle it this summer. It will be in the club shipments this fall. Club appreciation events. Making wine is fun, sharing it with you is awesome. So we want to do more to say thanks for being awesome! Have an idea of something you'd like to see? Let us know in the comments. Some things that never change: Our mission of growing grapes with unique flavors and structures is constant. We continue to improve our viticultural practices for even better fruit every year. Our vision of world class wines that express the spectacular site. So many different wines, but they are all distinctive and have their own personality. Our commitment to excellence by paying attention to details to ensure quality in everything that we do. Knowledge that you, our customers, enable us to keep going. Thank you. We look forward to the new decade, and sharing more wine and time with you 🥂
By Kerry Shiels 26 Jun, 2019
Summer in the Yakima Valley is awesome. Kerry talks about just a few reasons why
By Kerry Shiels 29 May, 2019
Riesling for days! My report on the amazing people, places, and wines on the Mosel River Cruise this May.
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