Bacchus Vineyard
Bacchus is one of six vineyards managed by Sagemoor Vineyards. It’s on the east side of the Columbia River, 15 miles north of Tri-Cities, WA. Bacchus is in the Columbia Valley AVA and has 180 acres planted to wine grapes. It’s also next door to Dionysus Vineyard.
In 1972 Bacchus was planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Riesling, and Chardonnay. Today, after 40+ years of experimentation and feedback from winery partners, Bacchus now grows Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cab Franc, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, and Chardonnay. We’re a leading source of old vine WA fruit with over 35 acres of the original 1972 Cabernet Sauvignon, and 16 acres of 1972 Sauvignon Blanc plantings.
Bacchus has a commanding view to the west overlooking the mighty Columbia River and the Rattlesnake Mountains. The sloping land’s elevation ranges from 550-900 feet, and soft rolling knolls keep Bacchus warm (not hot, not cool) with excellent air drainage.
Bacchus has a secure water source thanks to the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project. The vineyard has drip irrigation with sprinklers used for frost control, cooling, and occasional irrigation. Drip irrigation allows us to use Regulated Deficit Irrigation (RDI). With RDI and soil moisture monitoring we’re able to constantly fine tune and improve quality.
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White Bluffs, Was announced the designation of the historic area of the Columbia Valley featuring many of the oldest vineyards in Washington as the White Bluffs American Viticultural Area (AVA) in 2021. Vineyards in the new White Bluffs AVA are featured in many well-known Washington wines, and date back to 1972. Washington’s most known winery, Chateau St. Michelle, first bought grapes from Sagemoor Vineyards located in the new White Bluff AVA in 1974.
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The soils at Bacchus are varied, adding complexity to wine.
Royal fine sandy loam soil, 2-10% slope
Warden very fine sandy loam and silt loam, 0-15% slope
Ottmar-Schlomer complex 5-15% slope
Tauncal very fine sandy loam 2-5% slope
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Cabernet Sauvignon
Cab Franc
Chardonnay
Merlot
Riesling
Sauvignon Blanc
Syrah
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Dionysus Vineyard
Dionysus Vineyard is one of five vineyards managed by Sagemoor Vineyards. It’s on the east side of the Columbia River, 15 miles north of the Tri-Cities, WA. Dionysus is in the Columbia Valley AVA and has 150 acres of wine grapes plus 12 acres of apples. It’s also next door to Bacchus Vineyard.
In 1973 this vineyard was originally planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay Beaujolais, Zinfandel, Gewurztraminer, Trousseau Gris (Grey Riesling), Chardonnay and Semillon. After 40+ years of experimentation and feedback from our winery partners, Dionysus still grows Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, but the other varietals have been replaced by Riesling, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. Cabernet Sauvignon has become the remarkable flagship variety of this vineyard site.
Dionysus, Bacchus, and Sagemoor Vineyards share a commanding view to the west overlooking the mighty Columbia River and the Rattlesnake Mountains. Dionysus’s southwestern sloping land has elevation ranging from 600-900 feet. Soft rolling knolls provide a warm site (not hot, not cool) with excellent air drainage.
Dionysus has a secure water source thanks to the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project. The vineyard has drip irrigation, with sprinklers used for frost control, cooling, and occasional irrigation. Drip irrigation allows us to use Regulated Deficit Irrigation (RDI). With RDI and soil moisture monitoring we’re been able to constantly fine tune and improve quality.
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White Bluffs
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The soils at Dionysus are varied, adding complexity to any wines coming from this great site.
Royal fine sandy loam soil, 2-10% slope dominates blocks 14,16 and 18.
Sagehill very fine sandy loam with 10-15% slope blocks 11,12,13, and 19.
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Cabernet Sauvignon
Chardonnay
Merlot
Riesling
Petit Verdot
Semillon
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Many original plantings have never frozen back to the ground despite several killing winter freezes that Washington has experienced. Maybe the God of Wine really is watching over us…
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Gamache Vineyard
Gamache, acquired in 2016 from brothers Bob and Roger Gamache, is the newest addition to the Sagemoor Vineyards family. It sits up on the white bluffs overlooking Basin City to the east in the Columbia Valley AVA, with 180 acres of wine grapes.
The acquisition was a natural step for Sagemoor, as many of our winemaker clients also source grapes from Gamache, and all parties have always shared the same goal: Custom-grown grapes to fit varying winemaker styles.
When the Gamache brothers located the site in 1980, they asked the grandfather of Washington wine industry, Dr. Walter Clore, to walk the property. “There’s absolutely no reason you can’t grow good quality wine grapes here,” he declared. Deeming the land sufficiently blessed, the Gamaches moved forward. There were only about 10 bonded wineries in WA state at the time.
In 1982, Gamache planted 20 acres each of Semillon and Chenin Blanc. Riesling was 1983. These days Gamache still has the original Riesling, plus Chardonnay, Roussanne, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cab Franc, Syrah, and Malbec.
The highest elevation is 960 feet. A gentle, mile-long southwestern slope ends at elevation 840 feet. Bordering the east side of the vineyard is a 300 foot drop to the valley floor, towards Basin City.
Gamache gets water from the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project, a secure water source. Additionally, we have individual valves at each block so we can fine-tune as needed.
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White Bluffs
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Gamache soil is primarily Warden sandy loam, with a little Kennewick sandy loam. There’s caliche (a hardened natural cement of calcium carbonate) about 12 inches down in the northern part of the site. It does show itself in a couple of other smaller areas as well
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Cabernet Sauvignon
Cab Franc
Chardonnay
Malbec
Merlot
Pinot Gris
Riesling
Roussanne
Sauvignon Blanc
Syrah
Viognier
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he spring migration of sandhill cranes led the Gamache brothers to discover the vineyard sits right under a thermal. When the cranes come through, they play around in the air just above the vines. They circle around and float up up up, never using their wings. They go up as high as they want, and then scoop back down closer to land and ride the rising heat up again. It’s a fun sight to see.
Sagemoor Vineyard
Sagemoor is the namesake property of the five vineyards in the Sagemoor group. It’s on the east side of the Columbia River, 15 miles north of Tri-Cities, WA. Sagemoor is in the Columbia Valley AVA and has 180 acres planted to wine grapes. It’s also the next door to Bacchus and Dionysus vineyards.
The original partners of Sagemoor pioneered the early Washington wine industry. Alec Bayless, Albert Ravenholt, Winslow Wright, and Syd Abrams were visionaries that shaped the direction and development of Sagemoor Vineyard, as well as the WA wine industry as a whole in its crucial formative years
Today, after 40+ years of experimentation and feedback from winery partners, Sagemoor grows Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Barbera, Malbec, Sangiovese, and Grenache for reds. Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Roussane, and Chardonnay for white.
We have 10 acres of 1972 Cabernet plantings, a great source for “old vine” Washington Cab.
Sagemoor has a stunning view to the southwest overlooking the mighty Columbia River and the Rattlesnake Mountains. The southwestern sloping land with elevation ranging from 400-860 feet provides ideal conditions for both grapes and tree fruit.
Sagemoor has a secure water source thanks to the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project. Originally, Sagemoor was irrigated with overhead sprinklers which was most useful for frost protection as well as irrigation. Since those early days, we’ve converted to drip irrigation, with sprinklers used for frost control, cooling, and occasional irrigation. Drip irrigation allows us to use Regulated Deficit Irrigation (RDI). With RDI and soil moisture monitoring we’re able to constantly fine tune and improve quality.
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White Bluffs
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Sagemoor’s soils for grape growing are comprised mostly of:
Quincy loamy fine sand 0-15% slope
Sagehill very fine sandy loam 2-10% slope
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Barbera
Cabernet Sauvignon
Chardonnay
Grenache
Malbec
Merlot
Roussanne
Sauvignon Blanc
Sangiovese
Syrah
Viognier
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The original partners, having little idea what would grow well, established a “mother block” to test different varietals. Pinot Noir, Muscatel Ottonel, Muscat Blanc… All manner of plantings passed through the history of this vineyard.
Weinbau Vineyard
Pride moment: In 2005, Weinbau’s Miguel Rodriguez was honored with the Erick Hanson Memorial Grower of the Year Award. Especially sweet for us, as the late Erick Hanson was our GM at Sagemoor Farms. (Oh, hey, Sagemoor Vineyard’s Servando Rodriguez—who is also Miguel’s younger brother— earned the award in 2012.)
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. Over the last 35+ years with experimentation, and feedback from our winery partners, we’ve altered Weinbau’s focus a bit. We still have some original Riesling and Chard vines from that 1981 planting, but we also now grow Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Malbec, Mourvedre, Merlot, Carmenere, Grenache, and Cabernet Franc. Incidentally, Weinbau has one of the largest Cab Franc crops in Washington.
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. In 2009, Weinbau expanded by 100 acres. The expansion’s plantings use innovative row orientation and block layout to minimize direct afternoon sunlight, decrease sunburn potential, and coax more even ripening.
Weinbau receives water from the Columbia Basin Irrigation Project, a secure water source. Weinbau has drip irrigation which allows us to use Regulated Deficit Irrigation (RDI). With RDI and soil moisture monitoring we’re able to constantly fine tune and improve quality.
Several individuals have been responsible for the success of Weinbau, but none so much as Vineyard Manager Miguel Rodriguez. Miguel started at Sagemoor as a teenager in 1979, and a few years later at the young age of 23 he began taking care of Weinbau. He raised his family on this land. He’s grown the acreage from 260 to the 460. His love, care, and understanding of the vineyard’s quirks and needs are evident in any conversation he has. Weinbau’s original client list of one winery has grown to over 50 happy winemakers under Miguel’s management. We dare say the Washington wine industry as a whole is better for having him. Cheers to you, Miguel.
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Wahluke Slope
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Weinbau is a warm site with excellent air drainage, and soil is dominated by Kennewick silt loam with 2-5% slope. The consistency of soil type shows up in vine growth and subsequently in the wines.
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Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Franc
Carmenere
Chardonnay
Grenache
Malbec
Merlot
Mourvedre
Syrah
Riesling
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When we first acquired Weinbau’s new parcel of land, we dug over 100 holes to deepen our knowledge of the soil types and changes below ground. The experiment informed what we would plant there.
Southwind Vineyard
Southwind Vineyard was acquired in 2021, marking Sagemoor’s entry into Walla Walla Valley. Located just west of Milton-Freewater, on the Oregon side of the Walla Walla Valley, Southwind Vineyard includes over 300 acres, with 70 acres of developed acreage. Several of the Northwest’s top wineries have featured the vineyard in premium wines, including Dusted Valley, Cadaretta, Domaine Serene and Devison.
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Walla Walla
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Weinbau is a warm site with excellent air drainage, and soil is dominated by Kennewick silt loam with 2-5% slope. The consistency of soil type shows up in vine growth and subsequently in the wines.
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Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Franc
Carmenere
Chardonnay
Grenache
Malbec
Merlot
Mourvedre
Syrah
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When we first acquired Weinbau’s new parcel of land, we dug over 100 holes to deepen our knowledge of the soil types and changes below ground. The experiment informed what we would plant there.