Over centuries the west wind carried ash from the Cascade volcanoes, depositing it on our rugged basalt promontory.  From the east, a sequence of cataclysmic floods burst from Glacial Lake Missoula, bearing rocks frozen in chunks of glacial ice as well as shellfish from the lake bottom.  These floods scoured across northern Idaho and eastern Washington, and then raged through the Columbia River Gorge, leaving behind a wide variety of soil components.

  Hugh and Kathy Shiels planted the steep rocky south-facing slopes of the DuBrul Vineyard in 1992.  We grow six varietals:  Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Chardonnay, and Riesling.  We continue to sell grapes to other wineries while reserving portions of different blocks for our own wines.  

  The ladies of our vineyard crew shape each vine to provide optimal exposure to sunlight.  Low vigor soils combined with our deficit irrigation regimen produce small berries, small clusters, and low yields from our vines.    

  Our winemaking team transforms the intensely flavored, bright vibrant fruit into wines that are distinctive and powerful, yet soft and approachable.  Our wines express the site, its soils, and our efforts to concentrate the essence of our terroir.