WEINBAU VINEYARD
Wahluke Slope
Weinbau Vineyard is one of five vineyards managed by Sagemoor Vineyards. It’s in the excellent Wahluke Slope AVA, 12 miles east of the town of Mattawa WA, with 460 acres of wine grapes. In 1981 Weinbau was planted to Riesling, Chardonnay, and Gewurztraminer. They still have some original Riesling and Chard vines from that 1981 planting, and we at Forgeron are lucky enough to utilize the old-vine Chardonnay in our flagship bottling. Weinbau has a view of the Rattlesnake Mountains to the south, and the Saddle Mountains to the north. The land slopes gently south, with elevation ranging from 710-950 feet.
GRAPE STATS
VARIETALS SOURCED: Chardonnay
CLONES: Prosser Clone #15
ROOTSTOCK: Own rooted
WHY WE LOVE IT
Weinbau in the Wahluke Slope is famous for it’s old-vine Chardonnay and is marvelously farmed by the Sagemoor group, making it the perfect source to base of classic Forgeron Cellars Chardonnay on. Each and every year, the Chardonnay from Weinbau blows us away.
VINEYARD STATS
OUR WEINBAU VINEYARD WINES
TOTAL NUMBER OF ACRES: 460
ACRES SOURCED: 3
POSITIONING: South sloping
EXPOSURE: 2-5% slope
ELEVATION: 710'-950'
SOIL TYPE: Kennewick silt loam
TRELLISING: Vertical Shoot Positioning (VSP)
IRRIGATED: Yes
FARMED BY: Miguel Rodriguez
YEAR PLANTED: 1981
SUSTAINABILITY: Sustainably farmed, Integrated Pest Management, Vine Wise Management
CHARDONNAY
Weinbau is one of the oldest Chardonnay vineyards in Washington State and has long provided he backbone of the Forgeron Cellars Chardonnay. The old vine influence provides added depth and complexity, which is rare for this varietal in our state.
Cody Janett, Winemaker