What goes into our wine? Our grapes!

Red, White & Brew: Celebrating Local Collaboration

Fri, 04 Jul 2025 23:58:22 GMT

Grill-friendly reds, summer whites, and our latest collab brew⁠

At Côte Bonneville, the Fourth of July is about more than just fireworks and flags. It’s a time to celebrate the land, the people, and the craftsmanship that make Washington, and especially the Yakima Valley, so special. This year, as you fire up the grill and raise a glass, join us in celebrating with the Red, White, and Brew: a nod to our local ingredients, local partnerships, and local pride.

If you caught last year’s post , you’ll remember our deep dive into the similarities and differences between beer and wine fermentation. We love how continuous learning keeps our industry fresh and vibrant! This time around, we’re focusing not just on how it’s made, but where it comes from and the people who bring it to life. The ingredients in both our wines and our collaborative beer aren’t just American-grown—they’re Washington-grown, sourced and crafted in partnership with our local community:

Grapes from DuBrul Vineyard where sunshine, soil, and precision farming come together to produce world-class wines.
Hops from right down the road, grown by friends and fellow farmers who help make Yakima Valley the hop capital of the world.
Malted barley from the Palouse, where rolling hills of wheat and grain define the agricultural landscape.

All local. All from people we know. All part of celebrating the place we’re proud to call home. Together, we’re creating something more than just delicious beverages, we’re telling the story of this region, one bottle, one can, one glass at a time. It’s a true community effort, from grape vine and hop bine to glass, and from farm to table. So whether you're uncorking a bottle , cracking open a can , or simply enjoying a meal with loved ones, we hope you're raising a toast to everything that makes the Yakima Valley so special.

Happy Fourth of July from all of us at Côte Bonneville!

The Long Days of Summer: Good for Grapes, Great for Wine Lovers

Fri, 20 Jun 2025 19:38:56 GMT

Celebrating Summer

As the summer solstice approaches, we’re reminded that time and light are two of the most powerful elements in both the vineyard and at the table. The longest days of the year mean more sun in the sky—and for wine lovers, that’s worth celebrating.

In the vineyard, long daylight hours are critical to grape development. Here in the Yakima Valley, our northerly latitude means extended sun exposure during the growing season. Grapes benefit from this light, developing rich color, intense flavors, and balanced acidity thanks to the wide swings between warm days and cool nights. It’s one of the reasons DuBrul Vineyard is so distinctive—every extra hour of light helps our fruit achieve the complexity and structure that make Côte Bonneville wines stand out.

But it’s not just about what the sun does for the vines. Long days invite us to slow down, stretch out dinners, and spend more time with friends and family. Whether it’s an afternoon picnic, an al fresco dinner party, or a casual glass of rosé as the sun sets, these are the moments that make summer feel like a season of abundance.

Earth Day at DuBrul: Where Quality Meets Sustainability

Fri, 18 Apr 2025 16:43:55 GMT

Enjoy wines you can feel good about drinking

At Côte Bonneville, Earth Day is more than just a date on the calendar—it’s a reflection of how we live, farm, and think about the future every day. As a multigenerational family winery, we’re not just growing grapes for the next vintage—we’re cultivating a vineyard for the next generation. Long-term thinking is woven into every decision we make, from preserving soil health to investing in the tools that help us use water more wisely. Sustainability isn’t a separate program here—it’s the foundation of everything we do.

One of the most joyful reminders of that philosophy is our pheasant release program. We have released hundreds of baby pheasants into the vineyard as part of a broader commitment to increasing biodiversity. These beautiful birds bring balance to the ecosystem and a little extra life to the vines. The vineyard is our playground—not just for us, but for all the creatures that call DuBrul home. And when the vines are surrounded by a healthy, thriving environment, they respond in kind—with resilience, balance, and exceptional fruit.

New technologies are helping us take that stewardship even further. Our recently installed electronically controlled irrigation valves allow us to manage water with incredible precision, ensuring that each vine receives exactly what it needs—no more, no less. We’ve also made improvements to our pond to increase its water-holding capacity, ensuring we can store and use this precious resource wisely while maintaining a diverse habitat for birds, insects, and aquatic life. It’s just one more way we align quality with conservation.

Responsible resource management is part of our daily rhythm at DuBrul. No-till farming preserves soil structure and reduces erosion. Cover crops of native plants build biodiversity. And everything we do in the vineyard is guided by the belief that great wine is only possible when the vineyard is in balance. We are fortunate to farm a site as special as DuBrul—and we take seriously the responsibility of protecting it for decades to come.

This Earth Day, we invite you to raise a glass of wine that reflects more than just fantastic flavors—it also reflects values. At Côte Bonneville, we’re proud to make wines that express a world-class vineyard, and also honor the land from which they come. Drink something you can feel good about drinking—today and every day.

Upgrades for Quality and Sustainability

Sat, 05 Apr 2025 23:05:55 GMT

Precision and Sustainability: Technology Upgrades in DuBrul Vineyard!

At DuBrul Vineyard, we are committed to growing the highest quality grapes while being responsible stewards of our land. In the Yakima Valley’s dry climate, water is one of our most valuable resources, and managing it effectively is essential for both wine quality and sustainability. By integrating cutting-edge tools—like our new electronically controlled irrigation valves—we ensure each vine receives exactly the right amount of water at the right time. These thoughtful practices allow us to optimize vine health, enhance grape quality, and preserve natural resources for future generations.

Precision irrigation is one of the ways we consistently produce world-class wines. Vines thrive when they experience the right amount of stress at the right moment in their growing cycle. Our new valves give us precise control over water distribution—not just by vineyard block, but even within rows—accounting for variations in soil, grape variety, and microclimate. This level of detail prevents overwatering, which can dilute flavors, and avoids underwatering, which can stress the vines at critical times. With this technology, we support balanced vine growth and achieve the concentrated fruit flavors and structure that define our wines.

In addition to improving quality, innovations like these help us farm more sustainably. Water conservation is critical not just for our vineyard, but for the long-term health of the broader agricultural community. At DuBrul, sustainability means no-till farming to protect soil structure, increasing biodiversity, managing our water carefully, and continually improving soil health. It’s a holistic approach that benefits the vineyard ecosystem and enhances the resilience of our vines.

Sustainability in viticulture is about more than conserving resources—it’s about enriching the land and fostering a thriving environment. Thoughtful water management helps reduce runoff, improve soil microbiology, and support biodiversity throughout the vineyard. By maintaining the delicate balance between vine vigor and water availability, we grow grapes that truly express the unique terroir of DuBrul Vineyard. The result is wines that are elegant, complex, and deeply rooted in this special place.

At Côte Bonneville, we believe that great wines start in the vineyard. By embracing innovation and prioritizing sustainability, we are investing in the long-term health of our vines, the beauty of our wines, and the well-being of our environment. Our commitment to precision and stewardship allows us to craft wines that tell the story of our land—wines that honor both tradition and forward-thinking farming.

Why Winemaker Kerry Likes Brewing Beer Too

Tue, 02 Jul 2024 16:37:49 GMT

The saying goes “it takes a lot of beer to make wine.”

After a long day in the cellar, many people in wine production enjoy a crisp, refreshing lager or a hoppy IPA. At first glance, wine and beer may seem similar – both are fermented beverages that have been crafted for thousands of years.

However, a closer look reveals that wine and beer production involve very different approaches. Wine is essentially an extension of grape growing and a method to process and store food that would otherwise spoil. It is fermented once a year, during the grape harvest, and its simplicity showcases the nuances of ingredients, place, and growing conditions.

In contrast, grain is much more storable than grapes, allowing beer to be made year-round with seasonal ingredients added for extra flavor and variation. Because grains are stable, they can travel, enabling a brewery in Sunnyside to use malt from Germany and hops from New Zealand in the same beer. Thus, the recipe is crucial in beer-making.

While often overlooked, these differences provide a wonderful education in fermentation science. For instance, a fundamental difference lies in the source of fermentable sugars. Grapes come to the winery with sugar. Grain must be malted, milled, and then heated with water to allow enzymes to convert starches to sugar, forming wort. The chemistries measured, the makeup of juice and wort, clarification methods, production timing and schedules, and packaging considerations all differ significantly.

By learning the art of brewing, Kerry gains a fresh perspective on fermentation and broadens her technical expertise. The freedom and flexibility of beer recipes foster her creativity and inspire new ways of thinking. Brewing in collaboration with Varietal Beer Co. is fun and allows her to share this experience with others. This new perspective keeps her winemaking fresh, enabling her to innovate while continuing to produce classic wines.

Enjoy the latest project, an Italian Pilner, and celebrate the 4th with the Red, White, and Brew bundle available for a limited time!

Long, warm summer days create perfect conditions for exceptional and expressive wines.

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 20:33:30 GMT

The best way to make wine is with one foot in the vineyard.

Terroir is a concept cherished by wine lovers. While it literally means "soil," geographical positioning is also a crucial element that makes a vineyard unique and special. At DuBrul Vineyard, various aspects and elevations create distinct microclimates, ideal for the diverse range of grapes we grow. However, one constant across the vineyard is its latitude. Long, sunny days are vital in producing wines that are not only high in quality but also truly expressive of their terroir.

The Yakima Valley lies at a northerly latitude, similar to Bordeaux and Burgundy, providing us with nearly 16 hours of daylight during the peak of summer. Sunlight is essential for photosynthesis, the process that converts the sun’s energy into energy for the plants to grow green leaves and delicious grapes.

Extended daylight hours and predominantly clear skies ensure the vines have plenty of healthy leaves, which act as solar panels for the grapes. The energy gathered by these "solar panels" builds sugars, flavors, balancing acidity, and impressive tannin structure, all contributing to the balance and complexity of our wines.

Our meticulous care and dedication to expressing this distinctive place extends from the vineyard to the winemaking process, where we transform these grapes into world-class wines that reflect their origin. From sustainable vineyard practices to innovative winemaking techniques, everything we do is focused on showcasing this special vineyard. We love sharing the essence of this place with you through our wines!

What goes into our wine? Our grapes!

Thu, 06 Jul 2023 17:55:43 GMT

To get the best wine, each grape cluster needs perfect growing conditions

Long warm days, cool nights, and cloudless blue skies - sounds like everything the grapes need! If only it were that simple!

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.

Think about going outside first thing in the morning - the sun is shining, but it's still a little chilly and you may want a light jacket with your sunglasses and morning coffee. But by midafternoon, the jacket is off, your sleeves are rolled up, and there are ice cubes in your water glass as you look for the shade. Then, when the sun goes down, it's time to bundle up again as the cool breeze blows night air against your skin.

The grapes experience the same thing, but they can't change their outfits. This is where canopy management comes in. On the morning side of the vines, we remove leaves for more light exposure, which gives great flavor development for the resulting wines. On the afternoon side, we encourage more leaf growth to protect the grapes from sunburn and overheating. At night, the vines will rest and get ready for another day of growing distinctive fruit.

We spend our summer obsessing over water, nutrients, sun, and shade, so you can spend your summer enjoying the wines!

Celebrating love with wines you always love

Fri, 03 Feb 2023 18:28:26 GMT

Consistency in the Vineyard helps create wines you can count on

Imagine yourself in less than 2 weeks time. It's Valentine's Day. You have a great evening planned and need a special bottle to match. You're in your cellar or wine fridge, looking at bottles, and are filled with questions: what wine always overdelivers? What's the perfect pairings? How do I show my person I love them? Then you see the Côte Bonneville capsule and are filled with that elation of knowing you've found it! You pull out that one and have a lovely and memorable night.

Now, rewind a few years. It's summer. Hugh is standing in DuBrul Vineyard on a warm sunny day, trying to make sure the grapes will be able to deliver you to that moment in your cellar and make sure you have a wonderful time. Just how does he that?!?

Consistent quality is hard, especially with the vagaries of Mother Nature. The devil is in the details, and that's the secret to DuBrul Vineyard's 30 years of success. Obviously the site itself (and its characteristics of soil, aspect, and elevation) are the starting point - you can't grow world class grapes without a spectacular site. But grapes don't grow themselves.

Hugh has spent over 30 years in these vines. He knows in February and March how many buds to leave as potential for next year. Then, throughout the growing season, it's meticulous attention to all the details. How many shoots on each plant? How many clusters on each shoot? How much water does each plant need? Do they need nutrients? Is there any pressure from pests or diseases they need protection from? Managing this on a vine by vine basis is how he ensures that the grapes continue to be some of the most sought after by winemakers around the state.

Stay tuned for part two of this story - how Kerry takes these grapes and crafts the wines that you know and love. And make sure you're ready for the holiday - get your bottles today so you know you're prepared .

30 Years of DuBrul Vineyard

Kerry@cotebonneville.com (Kerry Shiels) — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 16:53:07 GMT

2022 brings a milestone for DuBrul Vineyard!

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.

In 1976, Walter Clore published his ambitious Wine Project, a study called "Ten Years of Grape Variety Responses and Wine-making Trials in Central Washington." This was proof that high-quality premium wines could be made from Eastern Washington vineyards. Three years later, just 16 wineries were producing a total of 1 million gallons of wine. This changed quickly - in 1990, 7 million gallons of wine were produced by 92 wineries.

Hugh and Kathy planted DuBrul Vineyard in 1992, amid this atmosphere of a nascent industry in explosive growth. When they purchased the property, there were some grapes already in production, along with a struggling apple orchard. Our Riesling vines from the early 1980s are some of the oldest in the state.

The first few decades were spent in close partnership with WSU participating in research to learn how to optimize the unique conditions in DuBrul, as well as the Yakima Valley and Eastern Washington in general. Early studies on irrigation looked at changing from overhead sprinklers to drip irrigation. This in turn allowed efforts to fine-tune water usage.

Decades of work have helped us be leaders in sustainability and resource management in addition to leaders in wine quality. Our commitment to research and discovery continues. In addition to irrigation, we've studied canopy management, crop loads, pest management, weather profiling, and mitigation from wildfires near and far.

This spirit of discovery and commitment to quality led to the founding of Côte Bonneville in 2001 to showcase this spectacular site with classic traditional age-worthy styles of wine. We still only vinify about a quarter of the grapes ourselves, but this small production allows us to maintain the attention to detail that both DuBrul Vineyard and Côte Bonneville are known for.

Harvest Lessons from Wine Country

Wed, 09 Dec 2020 18:19:09 GMT

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.

Virtually here

Kerry@cotebonneville.com (Kerry Shiels) — Mon, 18 May 2020 15:51:16 GMT

Looking for a change of scenery in your Zoom meetings? You found it!

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!

Writing Tasting Notes

Thu, 27 Feb 2020 15:28:38 GMT

Or, how to get splendidly electrifying descriptions of wine

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!

A New Decade

Kerry@cotebonneville.com (Kerry Shiels) — Thu, 02 Jan 2020 17:21:48 GMT

Reflections and contemplation

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 ��

Sunlight held together by water

Wed, 26 Jun 2019 02:03:23 GMT

Long days of summer sun make for good times and good wines

Wine grapes are smart. They thrive in great places to live, with beautiful hillsides and nice weather. The Yakima Valley is no exception! It’s an amazing place to enjoy the long days of summer. With our northerly latitude, official sunlight hours right now stretch from 5 am to 9 pm. Including the time to enjoy the sunset, and you are easily outside until 10 pm.

This is the best time of year to enjoy the outdoors; hiking, biking, and country drives with wine tasting during the day. When the sun goes down, it cools off for BBQs, bon fires and smores. Clear skies mean you can actually see the stars for quality stargazing.

It’s similar for the vines – long days mean they bask in the sun, soaking it up for photosynthesis and energy. At this point in the season, the grapes are pea sized, green, and hard, and yet, flavors of the eventual wines are already being determined by the amount of sunlight that they get. As the summer progresses the light will be important for developing color, flavors, and tannin structure.

Sitting on the patio with wine in hand is probably my favorite spot to contemplate the magic of everything from photosynthesis, to good friends to drink with, to just how much happier we all are when the sun in shining!

Mosel River Cruise!

Wed, 29 May 2019 22:20:56 GMT

Thoughts on Riesling

Of course the Mosel River Cruise was a blast! We spent time in vineyards, wineries, castles, forests, quaint villages, and sailing the spectacularly picturesque rivers, making new friends and reconnecting with old ones.

First, and best, the people. I know our club members are great. And yet, I was still impressed by how much they made every day more fun, interesting, educational, and just better. Plus, they were kind enough to keep me in line and make sure I didn't get left behind somewhere along the way! Thank you to everyone who joined on this adventure. You made the trip memorable! ��

There were other winemakers on board, who I am now so grateful to call my friends. Ryan Clifford from Willamette Valley Vineyards is a fantastic human being AND a walking selfie stick (see photo on the left). Matt Benson and Angie Reat, owners of Love and Squalor , had me falling off my chair laughing the entire time. Andrew Bandy-Smith of Antiquum Farm has a philosopher's heart, a nose for old and interesting bottles, and a penchant to share. Thank you, Andrew, for finding the most interesting and delicious wines of the trip! Plus, their wine club members are great too!

All of us gave talks, shared perspectives and experiences, and brought wine from home. Tasting Northwest wines in that context, side by side with German examples was supremely interesting! When we started making our Riesling, we did the tastings, studied the chemistry, and developed our style following German inspiration. And we got some of it totally right! And yet, it also showed what makes wine fun - the sense of place. In the Mosel, Spätlese means late harvest and the wines are fairly sweet. In Washington, it's an early to normal harvest decision, similar to Eroica or Poet's Leap. Even though the Côte Bonneville Riesling has residual sugar, it's not nearly as much as the average Mosel Riesling picked at the same ripeness level. I love the different expressions of regions and vineyard sites - these are what make Riesling, and all wines, so fascinating.

On the topic of sweet or dry wines, one of my favorite parts of the journey was listening to my fellow travelers talk about the wines. Many started off saying they didn't drink a lot of Riesling, or that they like dry Riesling. As the days went on, it was so much fun to see the discovery of the range of the grape! Sometimes you want dry, mineral, precise wines. Sometimes, a little sweetness and richness is just the ticket. Some days, when you're sailing all afternoon, it's fun to try them all! The beauty of low alcohol is that you can sip all afternoon and be feeling great :)

The reds from the the Willamette were bigger and richer than the reds from Germany. I tried a few local reds, but mostly stuck to the exceptional whites, and the wines from Oregon that were all delicious.

The vineyards were incredible. Superlative everything. Running through them in the mornings (hill repeats, anyone?) was a serious highlight for me. I'll spare you the details about how challenging these slopes and plots are to farm and suffice it to say, it made me appreciate our own vineyard. (I brought a bottle back from the steepest vineyard in Europe, so there's plenty of company with more reasonably sloped sites!) Complete respect for the people who farm here. It's hard work!

The castles and towns along the way were postcard perfect. The history, fascinating. Food, delicious. I highly recommend a visit. Sailing on Uniworld was a great way to go! And if you want help planning your trip, or want to hear about others, Brad Cilley from Northwest Travel is the mastermind who put this together. Thank you, Brad. It was unforgettable!

See you on the next trip!

Washington Wine Month

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 21:32:02 GMT

Because Washington is the most exciting place for winemaking right now.

It is exciting that in March, people celebrate Washington Wines! When my parents planted DuBrul Vineyard in 1992, it was at the beginning of the explosive growth of vineyards in the state. When they started the winery in 2001, it was the same. Soon after, wineries were popping up at a rate of two per week! It makes some sense then, that when I started representing the wines on the East Coast I was often asked what side of the Potomac our grapes grow on.

It’s amazing how far we as an industry have come, and so quickly. Like all things, starting well helps. Walter Clore’s work with varieties and clones means we started with good plant material for the region. In 1982, the legislature earmarked a bottle tax for research money. This commitment to research has enable seminal work in areas like water management, grapevine physiology, pest and disease control, phenolic extraction during fermentation, microbiology, and more. Today, the WSU Wine Science Center houses the viticulture and enology program to train the next generation of grape growers, winemakers, and scientists.

All the research can only help optimize the potential, and in this, we are truly blessed. Eastern Washington, specifically the Yakima Valley, is an incredible place for wine grapes. Rocky soils and low precipitation create small berries and small clusters for intense fruit, dry air is great for disease control and sustainable farming, southern slopes give optimal exposure, and northerly latitude makes for long warm days with cool nights for balanced ripeness.

The people bring the pioneering spirit of the American West. In the Yakima Valley alone, over 40 grape varieties are grown. The diversity of grapes is just one example of the staggering range of wine styles, philosophies, and growing conditions that happily coexist here. Really, where else can you find world class Riesling and Cabernet in the same region, let alone the same vineyard? DuBrul really is a special place, with all the microclimates, aspects, and elevations.

Add the all together and you get a dynamic, innovative wine growing region that is making great wines now, with potential to get even better. That’s worth raising a glass of Washington wine to.

International Women's Day

Fri, 08 Mar 2019 16:12:26 GMT

Celebrating women in wine

International Women’s Day is a big thing in Italy. Everyone gives little yellow flowers they call mimosas. It’s a lovely day of appreciation and acknowledgement. When I moved back to the US, I missed this, so I’m taking up the mantle of celebrating women in wine this week.

I am lucky to have always had strong intelligent women in my life as mentors and friends. Joyce runs the science program where I made my first wine in 7th grade. Joyce introduced me to Sara, with whom I did enology work in high school and college. Both these women are friends with Kay, who was one of the influences that led me to UC Davis.

The early focus on science put me on the path to my engineering degree from Northwestern, and to my lifelong habit of seeking out amazing mentors. My sophomore year of college, Lynn helped me publish a research paper, and pushed me to present the work at a pediatric radiology conference. She set me up for a lifetime of success in public speaking with this act!

After college, when I was at Fiat, there were not many women in engineering, or the factory I worked in. Thankfully, my boss Paolo was incredibly supportive. When I expressed frustration at the inappropriate images of women all over the place, he cleaned things up. I wasn’t the most popular person that week, but I am forever grateful for the men who realized it was the right thing to do. I thank my male mentors as well; they have also been instrumental in my life. Fittingly, perhaps, it was a woman, a corporate change agent at CNH, who helped me see that my way forward was not engineering, but wine.

There are so many amazing individuals in the wine industry, and the women are no exception! Katy, Samantha, Kenza, Julie, Jeanette, and Dorian helped me learn through my harvest experiences. Hildegarde, Linda, and Sue were great teachers at Davis, and it was fun with Marty, Jenny, Beatriz, and Beth. It was an honor to be interviewed by Ester for my first Wine Spectator appearance, with a photo taken by Lisa. I love the photos that Andrea takes now. We get to sell fruit to Marie again, and I’m looking forward to her DuBrul Chardonnay! Our vineyard crew is entirely female, and they are awesome. Michelle is at the top of my list to call when I have viticultural questions.

I’ve decided that selling wine is the most challenging area for women in wine. In the vineyard and winery, you work with a team over time. You can build trust the same way anyone can. Somms have to prove themselves to a new set of customers every night. Those like Cara, Deb, and Lindsay do so with enthusiasm and grace every night - it’s amazing.

Most of all, my mom not only had the vision and courage to start Côte Bonneville, but she continues to motivate and inspire me every day. So on International Women’s Day, do your part. Thank a female somm. Drink wine made by a woman. Mentor someone. Hug your mom. Then do it again tomorrow.

Farming in a Winter Wonderland

Tue, 19 Feb 2019 18:00:47 GMT

Terroir is important in the winter as well

Winter is upon us! We’ve gotten a lot of snow this year, which means that right now, the vineyard is white and beautiful. It’s been good to pull out the snow shoes and the dogs love it. We are thankful that with so much precipitation, there will be plentiful water for the growing season.

We are also grateful for the spectacular site that DuBrul Vineyard is planted on. Rocky hillsides are the perfect situation with winter snow. You want the right amount of water in the soil in the spring, when vines are growing quickly. With all the rocks in DuBrul, the snowmelt won’t stick around for long. The vines will pick up some of this moisture, but not too much. The rest will flow as groundwater down the valley.

The other advantage to being high on the hill is that cold air, like water, flows downhill. Extreme cold temperatures can harm the buds that hold the next season’s growth. Low spots hold the cold air longer, putting the vines at greater risk for cold damage. DuBrul is high on the hill. There are no spots where cold air is trapped, there is good air drainage to keep everything moving.

So many important details of the vineyard are encapsulated in the location, playing into the importance of terroir. While the word literally means soil, it’s not just the soil profile and geologic makeup that matter, but also the aspect, elevation, air drainage, and microclimate. Great terroir grows consistently great fruit. In Washington, higher elevation vineyards mean rockier soils, better air drainage, and protection from winter frost. These things all play into the consistent high quality wines that DuBrul Vineyard is known for.

Red Wine and Chocolate

Kerry@cotebonneville.com (Kerry Shiels) — Fri, 01 Feb 2019 16:48:20 GMT

Skip the flowers, bring on the flavor!

As with any food and wine pairing, what makes this work is finding complementary flavors and textures. Rich soft wines enhance creamy chocolate. Fruity or floral flavors in the cocoa bring out the nuances in the grape. Toasty oak aging adds chocolate, coffee, and spice notes to the wine. Both have heart healthy antioxidants.

DuBrul reds have a lot of cherry in them so this year, we are putting together pairings with local farmers / chocolatiers Chukar Cherries. Also based in the Yakima Valley, Chukar Cherries transforms locally grown fruit into authentic Northwest specialties. As with perfect flavor pairings, we believe that family owned business working together creates something magical. That's something to celebrate all year, not just in February!

Let's Have Dinner!

Kerry@cotebonneville.com (Kerry Shiels) — Mon, 14 Jan 2019 01:41:09 GMT

Sharing the evening is fun :)

I love Winemaker Dinners. The menu is created with the intent that each dish is served with a specific wine. Pairings are always changing, based on chef’s ideas and inspiration, the season, and the wines selected. It ensures a fantastic culinary experience!

But the reason I find them really special is they are an occasion to bring people together around food and wine. Strangers at the beginning of the evening end up dining in shared conversation. DuBrul Vineyard and Côte Bonneville are topics and also springboards for discussion on viticulture, enology, travel, language, science, culture, and literature, among other things. Every dinner, the guests who come bring questions, insights, and camaraderie that are fresh and engaging.

Sharing these experiences with interesting people is a privilege as a winemaker. I’m looking forward to a plethora of great evenings around the Pacific Northwest in the next few months. I can’t wait to see who will be there!

Playing Santa Claus

Kerry@cotebonneville.com (Kerry Shiels) — Mon, 17 Dec 2018 17:51:14 GMT

Spreading happiness in the form of wine

Last time I had a chance to post, it was about the joys of harvest. Making wine is fun! It smells great! It tastes great! You feel great working hard to accomplish a goal! You look great, getting strong and fit after all those punchdowns! The sunsets are great from the winery! You know what else is great? Sharing this magical beverage with others.

It is so special to be able to make something and then hear how much people enjoy it. Honestly, most winemakers don’t get to send out wine and talk to customers. Marketing departments and sales teams usually hear the good stuff, like "it is an incredible wine. I am so thankful you still have it in your library. A bottle is going to my 85 year old dad for christmas who is obsessing about this wine!”* At larger wineries, winemakers don’t pack up the bottles and send them to you, your friends, clients, and family. Most of them probably wouldn’t want to. I love that our winery is small because I get to do that. I feel like Santa Claus, sending treats to all the good boys and girls**.

Making wine is great. Making people happy is even better. So what do I want for Christmas? To spread more cheer. To be Santa. Head over to the webstore, shoot me an email, or give me a call, and let me make the holidays brighter for the people on your list.

Happy Holidays!

* Thank you, Leslie! We love this :)

*Even if you’re over 21, you can still be a kid at heart.

Why I love harvest ❤️

Kerry@cotebonneville.com (Kerry Shiels) — Fri, 07 Sep 2018 17:57:36 GMT

2018 harvest is here!

Harvest is so many things all at once - exhilarating, tactile, aromatic, rewarding, and exhausting! We’ve worked all year to grow these exceptional grapes; some come to Côte Bonneville, others go around the state to Owen Roe, Betz, DeLille, Rasa, Va Piano, Pursued by Bear, Kevin White Winery, and more. Picking is the culmination of the growing season; a job well done for our vineyard team. All our winemakers make their own picking decisions; some prefer to pick earlier, some like wait. I taste the grapes in each set of rows repeatedly, watching chemistry and evaluating flavors. Wine grapes are so flavorful and sweet on the vines!

The end of the growing season transitions into the beginning of the winemaking process. This is where the sensory overload really kicks in! Starting batches of yeast, monitoring the heat of each fermentor, tasting ferments multiple times per day, and all the other myriad of details that are measured in sensory inputs as much as by a thermometer or hydrometer. The changes each day are amazing to watch.

One of the best parts about Côte Bonneville is the opportunity to do all this! I love the vineyard, the cellar work, the decision making, and the variety. So few winemakers get to make Riesling, Chardonnay, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet, and Cab Franc. To be part of every step of the process for all these wines is really a special thing. Cheers to another memorable vintage!

Raising Pheasant Chicks

Kerry@cotebonneville.com (Kerry Shiels) — Wed, 22 Aug 2018 23:31:38 GMT

But why? is the question we keep getting. Because we care and we can!

Pheasants used to be common in the area. With changes in the type of crops on the valley floor, there isn’t as much habitat and the population is smaller. In 2005, we put it a pond and established a wildlife habitat belt. We planted grasses and shrubs to provide food and shelter for pheasants. The quail and rabbits love it. However, pheasants haven’t moved in by themselves, so when the opportunity to raise the birds presented itself, we took it!

We get the babies at one day old. Following the protocols of Pheasants Forever, 98 of our first 100 chicks lived to be 6 weeks old, when they were released in the vineyard.

Increasing biodiversity is important for healthy ecosystems. We have long been planting plants to act as hosts for beneficial insects, stabilize stream banks, and encourage wildlife. It’s fun and rewarding to watch these beautiful creatures grow and thrive as a result of our good stewardship of the land!

Sunshine and wine :)

Kerry@cotebonneville.com (Kerry Shiels) — Mon, 25 Jun 2018 16:07:17 GMT

Loving the long days of summer!

We are blessed in the Yakima Valley to have so much sunshine in the summer. It’s good for the soul, and also the grapes! This time of year, the sun rises around 5 am and sets at 9 pm, about the same as the classic growing regions of France and Germany. These long sunny days help the grapes develop with bright acidity and ripe fruit flavors. We manage the canopy so that every cluster gets dappled sunlight for optimal color and tannin. Good vineyard management at this time of year has a huge impact on the final wines.

I love that as a winegrower, I get to live the season with the vines. It’s a special thing to be able to be present in each step along the way. Cheers to lots of lovely long evenings with a glass of excellent wine on the deck! �� ☀️

Drinking Wine with Dad on Father's Day

Kerry@cotebonneville.com (Kerry Shiels) — Thu, 07 Jun 2018 22:22:10 GMT

We enjoy wines from around the world

My dad is impossible to shop for. Thank goodness for wine as a gift! I often get asked what we drink when we're not drinking Côte Bonneville. Our wines are so focused on a sense of place, that we find it most interesting to find other estate wineries, or vineyard designated wines from around the world. On Father's Day, my dad loves to start with a grower Champagne. We'll probably also enjoy a bottle of perfectly aged Côte Bonneville; maybe this year, I'll pull out one from 2008, which I made just for him ;) If my mom has her way, we'll finish with a lovely German Riesling. We'd love to hear what you're drinking with your dads as well!