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Home / Washington Business - January/February 2004 / Kiona Blazed the Way to Open Washington’s Red Mountain Vineyards and Wineries |
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Kiona Blazed the Way to Open Washington’s Red Mountain Vineyards and Wineries |
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Written On: January/February 2004 |
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Written By: Story and photos by Daniel Brunell |
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Above Benton City, Kiona’s colorful vineyards shine under the fall’s bright mid-morning sun. In this serene setting rivaling that of California’s Napa Valley, winemaker Scott Williams and his crew are hard at work on this year’ crop. They are busy picking, crushing, mashing, stirring, filtering and putting what will become vintage wines in oak barrels to age. In a race against “Jack Frost,” he moves with boundless energy keeping a keen eye on the calendar, weather reports and towards even the most minuscule detail with the crop.
“This year’s crop looks pretty good. It was a little hot though… but that’s okay,” Williams said as he examines his grape rows being worked by a giant picking machine.
Meanwhile, his parents, Kiona’s owners John and Ann Williams, greet customers in their tasting room which is the lower floor of their home overlooking the winding lower Yakima River Valley. In between visitors, they process orders from wine connoisseurs from around the world.
Kiona Helped Blaze Trail for Washington Wines
Wineries like Kiona are producing high quality, award-winning premium wines. The Williams family continues to receive accolades from the austere wine community. The first recognition came from Wine Spectator magazine (one of the industry’s most prominent publications) when they rated Kiona’s 1999 vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon a 92 out of a possible 100. This same vintage was later named one of the top 100 wines of the year by Wine Spectator.
Kiona’s success is not unique. It helped blaze the trail for the Washington wine industry’s rapid expansion over the past 25 years. Today, our state is the second largest wine producer in the nation and one of the most productive areas in the world. The state’s 240 wineries, 300 wine grape growers, and 29,000 vineyard acres makes wine a $2.4 billion industry for the state’s economy. Wine is also the fourth largest agricultural product in Washington and rapidly closing in on the top three.
“Quality and value of Washington wines over other leading regions is exceptional,” said Stacie Jacob of the Washington. Wine Commission. “Wine critics continue to rank Washington wines top, and blind taste tests prove Washington wines do compete globally for quality.”
In this year’s vintage, more then 15 Washington state wines have averaged a score of 90 or better in publications such as Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, Wine Advocate, Wine & Spirits, and International Wine Cellars. Recognition in the press has also been followed by success at festivals, taste tests, and competitions world wide.
Kiona is Yakama Indian Name for Benton City Area
Kiona pioneered Red Mountain area which was named by the Yakama Tribe centuries ago. Its once arid brown hills are now covered with lush rows of grapevine resembling those of France’s Bordeaux region. The grapes grown in this area are highly valued for their acute flavor and are desired by top winemakers throughout the Northwest.
Today, there are at least 10 wineries in the Red Mountain area with more vineyards on the way. With the same spirit which they opened the Red Mountain area, the Williams continually experiment with their viticulture and enology (study of wines and winemaking) techniques. Kiona is always hunting for its distinct voice in the highly competitive wine industry.
Kiona’ roots are humble. John Williams and his former partner Jim Holmes started the business in 1972 when they acquired 86 raw acres of parched land on Red Mountain. Saddling the eastern edge of the Yakima Valley and the Columbia Basin, their land had no power, water, roads or irrigation. It once was open range for grazing cattle.
They drilled through 500 feet of solid rock for water, brought in electricity from three miles away and built a road to their new oasis. In 1975, they planted their first acreage, expanding it to 30 acres the next year. By 1980, Kiona was crushing enough grapes for 1,200 gallons of premium wine and in 2002; they produced 25,000 cases of premium wine in more then a dozen varieties.
Kiona’s Success Is No Fluke
This success is no fluke or the result of one lucky batch. Today, most of Kiona’s wines regularly win awards at competitions, fairs, and blind taste tests around the world. “We have gotten a lot of attention for our wines. We have a very good reputation in this industry for making consistently high quality wine for a good price,” Scott said.
Kiona is building upon this success. For example, the Williams recently released their 2000 red wines and 2002 white wines which are impressing wine pundits, industry writers and competitors alike.
The praises also come from tourist on the winery circuit in Yakima, Columbia and Walla Walla River valleys. With the success of Washington wines in national and international competitions, many people are now traveling to our state exclusively to visit our wineries and buy fine wines.
“We sell roughly 10 to15 percent of our wines out of our tasting room to people stopping by for a visit,” said Scott.
This increase in tourism is generating new revenues for a struggling agriculture belt in our state. This new revenue source helps communities like Walla Walla, the Tri- Cities and Yakima weather tough economic times.
Yet with all of this momentum, Scott Williams remains calm. “We have let our wines speak for themselves and we are very excited for what is happening to our winery,” Scott concluded. “We believe the future of our industry is very bright.”
Even with all the long hours, risk and hard work that come with operating a family business, Scott, John and Ann enjoy every minute of it. After all, their hard work and sacrifice is paying off and they are faring very well in the highly competitive wine industry. The Williams family and their Kiona winery is enjoying much deserved attention from the international wine community these days.
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