Ryan Johnson
That cleverness can lie as deep below Ryan ’ s farmer work ethic as water below the northern peak of the Red Mountain AVA . His serious approach and dedication have earned him the local moniker of the “ Hermit on the Hill .” Dedication has its rewards . Ryan has worked this particular AVA for the last 20 years and is arguably one of the region ’ s experts . The last seven years have offered him the chance to envision an even tastier , more authentic , creative expression .
WeatherEye may be tiny in comparison to other wineries in the area , but the neighbors are good . Tuscany ’ s Marchese Antinori ( yes , the landowners of Gonzaga University ’ s Italian campus ) planted grapes a little lower on that southwest slope about 20 years ago for their Col Solare project . Longshadow ’ s range of Bordeaux wines source much of their fruit from Red Mountain . DeLille , Fidelitas , Kiona , Corliss , Avennia , and Quilceda Creek all grow or buy fruit for their acclaimed wines from this exclusive neighborhood . The soils , aspect , and context of a grapevine here resemble some of the most difficult places to grow grapes in the world . The struggle gives them character , identity , and “ voice ” in the words of the Marchese .
About the same time Robert Mondavi was teaming up with Baron Rothschild in Napa Valley , Jim Holmes and John Williams of Kiona teamed up with the Geddes family to head up the Red Mountain AVA proposal . Williams says , “ I knew if the sagebrush could get so tall , there was enough [ nutrient ] to grow great grapes .” His farmer intuition was correct . Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in Washington State , on average , bring their farm $ 3,000- $ 4,000 for a single ton . Some growers in the older , established parts of Yakima Valley or the well-tended vineyards of Walla Walla get paid $ 6,000- $ 8,000 for a ton . Last year , Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon fetched as much as $ 17,000 a ton . That figure speaks to wineries ’ confidence that they can make remarkable wine deserving that investment .
Despite the name , there ’ s nothing red about the soils or the mountain itself . The term makes reference to a Native American name for the sunset ’ s color over the mountain ’ s upper altitude grasslands . The grasses love
WeatherEye Graciano
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