 Located in the Rattlesnake Hills Appellation 5201 Highland Drive Phone: 509-829-6970 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 1444 Email: winery@portteus.com Zillah, WA 98953 Website: www.portteus.com |
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| Winery Information | ||
74 estate vineyard acres
Annual Production: Chardonnay, Viognier, Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Red Blends and Port |
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| A Family and Their Vineyards | ||
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Once upon a time in the life of a winemaker, dinnertime set the norm for wine as a beverage at the Portteus-family dinner table. Paul Portteus' father brought home a new appreciation of wine following his survival of France’s WWII Battle for Bastogne. From that point on, a jug of wine with the evening meal became as commonplace as plates, forks and food. Young Paul was influenced at an early age when weekend visits to Uncle Howard's two-acre farm gave him a chance to observe, and sample, his uncle's beer- and wine-making processes. It was not until age nineteen that a no-longer-so-young Paul Portteus pursued his first experience brewing… beer, that is. Motivated by the purchase of a houseboat and an enthusiasm for entertaining, Paul could see no reason that brewing beer would be any more difficult than making wine. Two years later, at age 21, Paul’s parents presented him a gift that would change their son's life... a suitcase of wine, containing 21 splits of various vintages from California and France. Maybe it was the suitcase, maybe it was the timing, but Paul's next adventure -- a motorcycle tour of French and Spanish wine country regions -- would incite a passion for wine and winemaking that would last a lifetime. Yet another chapter in the winemaking story of Paul Portteus opened when Paul married Marilyn. Both loved wine, but their financial capabilities as a newlywed couple were limited. Finding "drinkable wines" at a price they could afford was a challenge. What to do? Paul and Marilyn began looking for a place to plant their own vineyard, a place they could live while making their own wine. Throughout 1978 and 1979, the couple began investigating Napa and Sonoma winegrowing regions. At the same time, they began reading about a fledgling wine industry in Washington State, focusing on the Yakima Valley where three out of the State's 13 wineries were located. What they read was exciting and promising. Their preliminary plan to locate their new vineyards and winery in California's Napa Valley was abandoned, and in 1981, the Portteus family bought a sunny, south-facing piece of sloping land on the Rattlesnake Hills of the Yakima Valley. Contrary to the advise of local experts (that the best wine grapes to grow in Washington were Johannesburg Riesling and Chenin Blanc), Paul and Marilyn began planting their vineyards to Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. |
Today, more than 27 years later,
the Portteus Vineyards experiment growing
 Cabernet
Sauvignon and Chardonnay is an obvious success; 98% of Washington's wine
grapes are grown east of the Cascade Mountains and more red wines are
produced there than whites. The number of Washington wineries now
totals more than 500, and Paul Portteus has earned the honor of being
named one of America’s Great Cabernet Producers by Wine Enthusiast
Magazine. The Rattlesnake Hills, chosen by the Portteus family in
1981, received its appellation status in 2006.Portteus estate vineyards now spread across approximately 74 acres of the Rattlesnake Hills AVA. Varietals grown by Portteus now include Zinfandel, Sangiovese, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Merlot, in addition to the original 1981 plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. Portteus Vineyards currently sells about 50% of its harvest to other wineries, and sets aside choice grapes for its own powerful, estate bottled wines. "Our wines reflect the vintage variations of varietal wines from a single vineyard," Paul explains. "They always show rich, black fruit flavors and an elegant balance of soft tannins, fruit, oak and acids." Including Portteus Vineyards in a wine country tour rewards the serious red-wine enthusiast. Portteus vineyard is one of only a handful of vineyards located high enough (1400' elevation) to be growing in ancient volcanic soils that were unaffected by the ice age Missoula floods and sedimentary deposits common in all other vineyards throughout the Yakima Valley. This distinct soil is a primary ingredient of the terroir that makes Portteus wines equally distinct.
Big red wines are the specialty of this long-established winery. Portteus offers daily tastings year round in an area set aside for that purpose inside the winery's
bottling and production room. You can visit the barrel room once a
year at the Annual Rattlesnake Hills Spring Barrel Tasting Event.
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Featured Portteus Wines
Portteus Single-Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons Produced from 20 + year old vines, aged in American Oak barrels for 22 months. Impeccably balanced with hints of dark chocolate, black currant, licorice and mint. Recently released but only 30 cases left! 2004 "Old Vine" Cabernet Sauvignon Other Portteus Vineyards Wines "A Chardonnay for red wine drinkers" Classic barrel fermented White Burgundy style. Creamy vanilla flavors up front followed by light Bartlett pear fruit flavors. Only 60 cases left! ____________________________________________________________ Mixed cases welcome, except on pre-release wine sales. ___________________________________________________________ To order these and other Portteus wines:
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2004 - 2008 Susan R. O'Hara. All rights reserved. |
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