Fidelitas Wines

Harvest 2019: 30 Days in a Row and Counting...

I’ve been saying this since the first day we brought fruit in: 2019 is just a great year. Again, it’s a unique year in that we’re able to ripen fruit with lower than usual brix. The flavors that we’re finding out in the vineyard are just incredible, and we’ve been able to make the decision to follow a picking schedule based on tasting instead of waiting for certain sugar levels to show up.

We only have about 20 tons to go in the Fidelitas Estate Vineyard. We’re going to pick the remaining blocks between Saturday and Monday of this week. This is all Cabernet, and mostly our older blocks, 3a, 2, and 1, and then block 5 on the northern half of the vineyard. At that point, we’ll be about 80% done for Fidelitas, only still needing to bring in Cabernet from Blackwood Canyon Vineyard and The Canyons.

This is the first year I’ve had my son, Will, in the Cellar with us. It’s been just great having him and Mitch working together on the same shifts, and he’s learning everything from the floor up. He’s digging tanks, filling barrels, everything.

We haven’t taken a day off since September 3rd, so we’re working towards 30+ days in a row…and it’s great. Each day I’m writing pump over orders that take place at 6am and 1pm each day. Currently, it’s taking us about 4 hours to complete pump overs, so we basically do one round and then start all over again. Mitch, Will, and I sit down at 10am daily to taste through the wines in each of our fermentation vessels. This is invaluable for Will to start building his own database with his palate. It’s natural for Mitch and I and we’re able to make decisions based on a quick taste, and Will is learning quickly.

I generally consider Halloween my first day ‘off’ from Harvest. I remember looking forward to it when the kids were little, getting to go home and see their costumes and just spend time with the family. While I don’t have little ones at home anymore, I still think we’ll be on track for that Halloween day off, although still with plenty to do in the Cellar. Harvest keeps us busy, but it’s the best kind of busy.

winemaker in training, Will Hoppes, sporting a lovely blond wig

Vintage of the Decade?

The first white grapes were picked and pressed from Klipsun Vineyard, starting August 29th. Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon were all completed and to barrel, Ovium barrel, or concrete egg by September 5th. We got started on reds with our first pick of the year being Merlot from Quintessence Vineyard on September 4th. Now, all Merlot from Red Mountain is complete along with Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot, which will be completed by next week. I imagine we will be finished with fruit for Fidelitas by the end of the week of October 7th. Things move quickly on Red Mountain.

Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Block 75 Merlot in the Cellar

The quality level of this vintage is exceptional and reminds me of 2009 and to a certain extent, 1999. Both of those vintages turned out to be incredible years. We are consistently able to reach the flavors we are looking for at lower than normal Brix levels, leading to slightly lower alcohol levels and higher natural acids. My theory is that with more moderate summer temperatures, we had less days when the vines shut down to protect themselves from the heat. We were able to accumulate sugar at a more even pace and thus, a great year. It might be a bit premature to declare 2019 the vintage of the decade but it does show tremendous potential.

Clonal Cabernet from the Fidelitas Estate Vineyard

 

Harvest has Begun!

We're now heading in to the time of year where I barely see Charlie and am happy to get quick texts from him and pictures from Will. Harvest is underway! Here is what we're hearing from Charlie: "We picked our first reds on Wednesday: Merlot from Quintessence Vineyard. The fruite seems to have more, riper flavors this year but at lower Brix than normal. I believe it is from having nice warm weather but not having super hot days exceeding 100F during the growing season. All of the whites we have picked have been lower brix than normal but have had great flavors. Things are looking great so far!"

pick schedule looks easy to start

Sauvignon Blanc in Artz Vineyard 

out for the first pick: Klipsun Sauvignon Blanc early on August 29

first day of harvest...still smiling

the pick schedule is getting fuller...but he's still smiling!

Merlot in Quintessence Vineyard, consistently our first red block of the year

Quintessence Merlot coming in to the cellar

and then finding a rest spot to ferment in a Boutes tank

Preparing for Harvest 2019

On Monday, August 26th of this week I found myself needing to know what the latest number and flavors were on our Sauvignon Blanc block at Klipsun Vineyard on Red Mountain. With that thought in mind, I grabbed what I needed and headed out the door, into my truck for the drive to the vineyard. Once I arrived, I paused briefly and thought to myself: it’s good to be here getting to start anew with this next vintage. In other words, I am excited to get going with harvest this year. It also made me reflect on how long I have been doing this and how fortunate I have been to be able to do something that I am passionate about for this long.

Winemakers measure their time in the industry by how many vintages that they have worked harvest. Since harvest is when a big chunk of winemaking takes place, it only seems appropriate that our year starts around September 1st. This year is no exception with our first grapes coming in the door, tomorrow, August 29th. We will be bringing in both Klipsun and Artz Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc. 

This year will be my 32nd vintage in Washington. I specify Washington because I worked a couple of short crush stints in California while I was going to school at UC Davis. At that time, classes did not start until the first part of October, so I was able to get some short experiences in while attending school. I guess this is technically my 34th vintage.

I have a very vivid recollection of my first work experience in the fall of 1986 in California. I was a Lab Technician on 2nd shift at Buena Vista Winery in the Carneros AVA. I rented a room in Sonoma and worked every day for about six weeks. My basic duties were taking tank readings and doing analysis on both juice and wine samples. Jill Davis was the Winemaker and one of the few woman winemakers at that time. Her Assistant Winemaker was David Rosenthal. My boss was Mary Hall-Brown. It was a grea experience and a pleasure working with the great team at Buena Vista. 

I also had the opportunity to meet and have some interaction with the legendary winemaker André Tchelistcheff, who was then working as a consultant for Buena Vista.  At the time I did not really know who André was, but later realized the significant role he played in post-Prohibition American winemaking. I worked again with Andre in the early 1990s when he consulted for Chateau Ste. Michelle and I was the Assistant Winemaker to Mike Januik. André Tchelistcheff was the considered the “Dean of American Winemaking” and had a huge influence on creating the style for California winemaking after Prohibition. He also had a huge influence on winemaking here in Washington with his many years of consulting for Chateau Ste. Michelle.

2019 will be the 20th vintage for Fidélitas – my family-owned winery. Thinking of my history in the industry, I have to say that twenty years with my own label is hard to fathom. Nevertheless, it is here, and I honestly believe we have yet to make our best wines. Am I happy with the wines we have made so far? Yes! Very happy, but I still think the best is yet to come!

Cheers to our 20th!

Charlie

 

Summer Vineyard Update

My dad and I were checking in on the Estate Vineyard last night after we had heard some rumors about veraison starting at some of our neighbors' places.  It's fun to see how much things have changed since Staff Vineyard Tours which took place only 2 weeks ago where we didn't see any signs of color change.  Here are some pictures from yesterday of Block 1 Estate Cabernet:

Things are changing quickly but compared to previous years I'd estimate we're still a week or two behind.  We had a late bud break due to the intense winter weather, but things quickly caught up with a warm spring and lots of letftover moisture in the soils - canopies on Red Mountain were growing like crazy keeping the vineyard crews busy. 

Ciel du Cheval Cab Franc

So far the summer has been quite moderate.  We've had a few days reach into the 100's but most days are sitting around the mid 90's with little rain, most of it coming in spurts from thunderstorms.  We also haven't had many smoky days compared to the previous years (knock on wood) which has allowed for maximum sun exposure and vineyard crews the ability to work in normal conditions.  The prevailing winds on Red Mountain aid in keeping the smoke from sitting over the hillside.

View of the controlled burn on Rattlesnake Mountain used to combat the Cold Creek fires

My early take on the vintage is that it's been mellow, which is great.  Not too hot (although we had a warm spring which was looking like 2015 but cooled off) and not too cold - no extreme weather to speak of.  The crop looks great so far and I'm excited to be back on Red Mountain for Fidelitas' 20th harvest which is just around the corner!  It's such benefit to be here where the soils drain so well, and we're able to fine tune our irrigation to account for wet winters because there's so little rain during the growing season.  + we constantly get weather forecasts that resemble this - you couldn't dream of more perfect grape growing weather!

And sunsets like this:

Cheers!

Preview of the Summer Preview Tasting

For the team at Fidelitas, July and August are the calm before the storm.  At the winery we have bottling, racking, and barrel-sample tasting, but nothing compared to the long and now looming days of harvest.  In the tasting rooms we have a few parties to throw and summer traffic brought upon by the warmer weather, but still relatively mellow compared to Fall club release.  In anticipation my dad and I have been gradually going through and popping open some of these upcoming releases and comparing notes with other winemakers to see how things are progressing and have been pleasantly surprised with the balance and age-worthiness of these wines coming off the extremely hot '14 and '15 vintages.

Optu & Magna members make sure to make your Preview Tasting reservations so you get the chance to taste all of these before they're gone -- I'll see you there!

Note, the "Club" flag indicates which wines we expect to be club exclusive releases

 

2016 The Canyons Vineyard Malbec

Late July Release | 96 cases | $50

Good news! You won't have to wait til the fall to get some killer Malbec.  Some not so good news, is that we only made 4 barrels worth so it won't be in the tasting room long.  Compared to our "Red Mountain" and "Quintessence" releases, the Canyons reminds me most of the high-elevation Argentenian Malbecs that I've worked with which aren't as fruit forward as Washington and have more pronounced spicy and sweeter-pyrazine roasted pepper characteristics.  All 96 cases are sourced from a single block on the edge of the Canyon that runs through the middle of the vineyard - we bottled this micro-climate to share with you.  This is the second-edition, we made an initial lot of 96 cases in 2014.

The Canyons Vineyard, Block 11 Malbec - Harvest 2018

 

2018 Quintessence Sauvignon Blanc

September | 88 cases | $50

This is our third edition of Quintessence Sauvignon Blanc.  It's no surprise that Sauv Blanc excels in the same growing regions around the world as Cabernet Sauvignon.  We decided to add one to the lineup in 2016 and model it after other world-class Cabernet houses which took their palates and winemaking techniques from Cabernet and apply them to making the best single varietal Sauv Blanc possible.  Since 2016 we've used the Vicard Ovonum barrels which because of their unique shape gives better lees mixing and adds specific texture to the wine that we love.  So much so that we decided to leave the juice in barrel all Summer turning it into a September instead of April release.  For our SB lovers out there thanks for your patience! Some good news, we've doubled the production this year (we bought another egg) and we promise the wait will be worth it.

Charlie with his freshly picked bins of 2018 Quintessence Sauv Blanc

 

2016 Estate Vineyard Cabernet

September | 232 cases | $80

Winemaking and grapegrowing can be the ultimate test of patience.  A wise winemaker that I used to work for who's family had been in the wine business for 100+ years, used to think in matters of decades and generations vs. quarters and vintages.  There's something about being at the mercy of mother nature year after year, and having a product that you pour your heart and soul into that people may not end up enjoying for another 10+ years down the line that gives you a whole other level of patience.  As a young winemaker I try to keep this same mentality when looking at our Estate.  For those of you keeping track at home, we planted in 2008, made our first Estate Cab bottling in 2012.  Each vintage since then we to try to keep our heads down and make the best wine possible, and each year when we go through and taste through the barrel samples our patience is rewarded as these young vines mature and create wines with more depth and complexity than the year prior. For the 2016 vintage we've used our same blend of Clones 2 and Clone 6 from the 2008 planting with 100% of the different lots fermented in oak vessels, another signature of the Estate Cab: 50% 2 Ton Open Top Oak Tank, 40% 500L Roller Barrel, and 10% 500L Upright Barrel.  The combination of the growing site, the specific clones we've selected, and oak fermentation techniques give the Estate Cab a rich and silky tannin structure that sets it apart from the rest of our lineup.

Charlie overlooking the Estate at the 2019 Red Mountain Cab Summit. Red Mountain sunsets seem to last forever because there's nothing West but the Yakima Valley to block the sun and is an important factor to why we consistently get vintages with the most sunlight and heat compared to other growing areas in WA.

 

2016 Red Mountain Cabernet

September | 626 cases | $55

We've produced a Clone 8 (dubbed the Washington clone, chances are if you have a "Columbia Valley Cab" you're drinking Clone 8) dominant Red Mountain Cabernet since 2010 with the same vision in mind, take those famous "traditional Red Mountain Cabernet characteristics" and put them in a bottle.  It's hard to explain exactly what we mean by this but I think we did a mighty fine job in those original 2010 tasting notes: "Fidelitas releases the 2010 Red Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon as it’s first varietal Red Mountain Cabernet using a blend of top vineyards from Red Mountain. The nose offers rich aromas of dark cherry, black currant, vanilla and a dusty herbal quality, rising from a deep hued ruby tone. The lively palate extends additional notes of black raspberry, clove, black licorice and a very subtle gamey quality, all settled within present yet balanced tannins and a lengthy finish." We now a few site specific cabernets with their own unique characteristics like Ciel du Cheval or Quintessence, but with this wine we're taking different vineyards and qualities of different barrels that we like and in a sense making a blend of cabernets.  I think this the perfect bottle to share with friends to introduce them to Red Mountain because it 100% Cab, which the AVA has become most known for, is delicious no matter how long you decide to cellar it, and has a definite sense of place.

"Red Mountain vs. the World" tasting at RM Cab Summit, 2019 comparing Red Mountain to other world-class Cabernet growing regions.

 

2016 Montis Red Wine

September | 336 cases | $50

Montis, Latin for mountain, is an exciting new product named for the Mountain that we call home and the source of a bunch of different growing partners for this bottling.  In 2016 with the warm Spring and heavy fruit set, we had more high-quality fruit come into the winery than expected.  We've listened in the tasting room for years now and realized that we have tons of members who like blends best and wanted to share a club-exclusive version with y'all.  Plus, our winemaking team saw a creative opportunity to create a blend without varietal or vineyard limitations to go along with all of the different single varietal, single vineyard bottlings that we've become known for.  Here's what we came up with:

Vineyard breakdown: 53% Quintessence Vineyard, 18% Ciel du Cheval Vineyard, 14% Red Mountain Vineyard, 8% Red Heaven Vineyard, 3% Kiona Vineyard, 2% Shaw Vineyard, 2% Blackwood Canyon Vineyard.

Varietal breakdown: 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 6% Malbec.

 

2016 Old Vines Merlot

September | 142 cases | $60

Our Old Vines Merlot was first dreamt up in 2015 when we were able to get access to the Kiona Estate 1975 Merlot planting.  In 2016 we've ran back the same blend of original Merlot plantings at Kiona and Ciel du Cheval, the founding partners of Red Mountain.  To me, this wine is the most Old World in style and is much less fruit driven than our Red Mountain Merlot for example.  Instead of bright red strawberry and bing cherry we get dried fig, rose, dark chocolate, and scorched earth balanced with a lovely front-palate acidity.  Charlie has known since the early 90's that Washington was a world-class Merlot growing region and we believe this wine would stand up to some of the famous right-bank Bordeaux houses (someone want to arrange this tasting for us? We'll bring the Old Vines).  This wine was a fan favorite of the 2018 July Preview Tasting, so make sure to order some ahead of its release to get a bottle of Red Mountain history.

Kiona '75 Merlot, Harvest 2018

 

November is Ciel du Cheval Month

The famous Ciel du Cheval Barn, Harvest 2018

 

Ciel du Cheval is one of the most well-known vineyards in the state of Washington and has been a staple of our lineup since the 2006 Ciel du Cheval Cab which was our first 100% single vineyard Cab from Red Mountain.  Since 2006, as our relationship with Jim Holmes developed and we were able to get access to more fruit, and in 2012 Ciel du Cheval became a staple of our lineup with us releasing 5 different vineyard designate bottlings.  It's amazing that a single vineyard is able to produce such exceptional fruit quality that these varietlas which are usually blending components are able to be complext enought to stand on their own.  When we first introduced the Cab in 2006 we were sourcing from all over the Columbia Valley and the Ciel du Cheval bottling, which was our only Red Mountain wine at the time, stuck out as the most concentrated and tannic one in the bunch.  Our love for wines like this lead us into sourcing more Red Mountain fruit each vintage to where now the role of Ciel du Cheval has shifted a little.  In a sense it's now the elder statesmen of our lineup showing more subtle old-vine complexity and elegance where you have to go searching for these nuances especially when compared to vineyards like Quintessence, Fidelitas Estate, and Blackwood which are anything but subtle - we've had to adjust our winemaking techniques and barrel selectionsa accordingly to accentuate these "CDC" characteristics.  Keep that in mind when tasting through the gamut of Ciel du Cheval wines at the Preview Tastings and see if you can pick out those similarities.

More info on Ciel du Cheval:

• Fidelitas Blog: Micro-Blocks of Ciel du Cheval
• Ciel du Cheval Vineyard Website
• Ciel du Cheval Everyvine.com Page
• Red Mountain Timeline from Kiona's Website
• Great Northwest Wine: Washington's great vineyards: Ciel du Cheval Vineyard
• Read up on our previous Ciel du Cheval releases​

2016 Ciel du Cheval Cabernet

November | 384 cases | $75

100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Aging: 75% New French Oak

Oak Fermentation: 32% 500L Roller Barrel, 18% 500L Upright Barrel

 

2016 Ciel du Cheval Red Wine

November | 290 cases | $65

50% Merlot, 33% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Petit Verdot, 8% Cabernet Franc

Aging: 67% New French Oak, 8% New American Oak

Fermentation: 8% 500L Roller Barrel

 

2016 Ciel du Cheval Merlot

November | 143 cases | $60

100% Merlot

Aging: 50% New French Oak, 17% New American Oak

Fermentation: 17% 500L Roller Barrel

 

2016 Ciel du Cheval Cabernet Franc

November | 140 cases | $60

100% Cabernet Franc

Aging: 66% New French Oak

 

2016 Ciel du Cheval Petit Verdot

November | 96 cases | $55

100% Petit Verdot

Aging: 50% New French Oak, 25% New American Oak

Fermentation: 50% 500L Roller Barrel, 25% 500L Upright Barrel

Featuring our 2016 CDC Cab vs. some of our neighbors, Red Mountain Cab Summit 2019

 

2018 Red Mountain Optu White

November | 350 cases | $35

We've yet to put together the final blend for our 2018 Optu White but we're extremely pleased with how the barrel samples are progressing.  If the 2018 Red Mountain Semillon is any indication than it's going to be an excellent vintage for whties.  We can tell you that it'll be the classic ~60/40 Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon Bordeaux Blanc style blend and will be released just in time for Holiday celebrations.

Happy New Year!

Dear Friends of Fidelitas:

2018 proved to be a banner year for Fidelitas. We recently completed our 19th vintage in Washington and have had a retail presence on Red Mountain now since May of 2007. Our first planting of the Fidelitas Estate Vineyard took place in 2008 and the future continues to look great for us.

In 2018 we released a few new products that proved to be highly sought after by you, our friends.  Specifically, we released our Old Vines Merlot and our Quintessence Malbec. In the future, we will continue to offer these products along with a wide range of wines from what I believe to then finest AVA in Washington that being Red Mountain.

Looking forward to 2019, and the release of the 2016 vintage reds, we will introduce three more new wines. A new red blend that we will call Montis is a Red Mountain specific blend of mostly Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot with a tiny bit of Malbec. We realize the popularity of blends and will add this blend to the Optu Red Wine and Ciel du Cheval Red Wine. This is a very exciting wine from some of my favorite vineyards, with great concentration and layers of flavor.  We will also offer two new wines from Quintessence Vineyard: a varietal Merlot and a clonal specific Cabernet Sauvignon (ENTAV 169) in very limited quantities. These new vineyard specific wines show what an outstanding vineyard site Quintessence is.

We continue to try and find ways that we can continue to improve the wines that we make for Fidelitas. Continuous improvement is a constant theme for our winemaking team made up of me, as well as Hillary Sjolund and Mitch Venohr. Areas that we are looking at include fermentation vessel size and shape, as well as the use of more wood during primary fermentation. We also continue to look at fermentation itself and how we can up our game and take our wines to new heights.

The Estate Vineyard from Fidelitas continues to progress with time. We now have nearly 12 acres of vineyard planted to five different red varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petite Verdot, Malbec, and Cabernet Franc.  Although we were able to get a small crop off our new planting in 2017, from the second leaf, 2018 was our first sizeable crop. Every single block was kept separate during fermentation and we are evaluating the wines as they continue to age. Clonal Cabernet Sauvignon is big theme for our Estate Vineyard with six different clones planted. We are very happy with what we are seeing so far and how we will mesh these wines in to our current lineup. Many thanks to Dick Boushey and his entire team who farm this property on a daily basis. We could not ask for a better partner.

I cannot say enough about how great our staff is at Fidelitas. The people that interface with you as customers on a daily basis see this and share it with me whenever I have a chance to talk with you at our tasting rooms or many events.  I feel very blessed to have such a great team lead by Jess Zander.

I would like to simple say thank you to each and every customer that continue be so supportive of Fidelitas.  Needless to say, we could not exist without your Faithful, Loyal & True support.

Happy New Year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

5 Things We Are Grateful For

1 – Our Members

Fidelitas fans made this year one to remember.  We launched a brand-new way for our members to buy Fidelitas wines; allowing the Club to select from our newest releases and create their own, unique allocation.  Through the loyalty and dedication of our Club, we have now (nearly!) sold out of every wine we released in 2018.  These faithful, loyal, and true members push us to keep ‘making our best wine yet’ as we look for new ways to surprise and delight them in vintages to come.

Magna Dinner, Red Mountain, July 2018

Summer in the City, Seattle, August 2018

2 – Charlie

Charlie is what makes our jobs easy.  Obviously, he makes amazing wines, and that is the best part.  But he’s also just an amazing guy to work for and work with.

This year, Charlie was awarded 2018 Vintner of the Year by his peers at the Auction of Washington Wines.  This recognition gave credit to the 30+ harvests he has committed to making wine in Washington.  Charlie’s effort and dedication, along with that of his peers, is what continues to advance the Washington wine industry.

Charlie Hoppes, Honorary Vintner, and Marshall Edwards, Honorary Grower, at the Auction of Washington Wines, August 2018

Skye, Jess, Will, Charlie, and Michelle at the AWW Picnic and Barrel Auction, August 2018

 

3 – Red Mountain

We call this tiny AVA home.  At just 4,040 acres, with nearly every plant-able acre now under vine, this is a really special place.  Charlie often remarks that there are only a few growing regions in the world where you can stand in one spot and see the whole AVA, block by block.  The unique terroir, devoted growers, and outstanding neighboring wineries, have established Red Mountain as one of the most premium wine producing regions in the world.

Fidelitas Estate Vineyard on Red Mountain, September 2018

Estate Vineyard Dinner, September 2018

4 – Team Fidelitas

We’d be nowhere without our staff!  On a very personal level, I am so grateful to have such a dedicated, positive, and all around great team representing Fidelitas every day.  They tell our story and share the wines with our customers, sweep the floors, pack boxes, haul wine, make dinner reservations, throw parties, and SO MUCH MORE.

Team Fidelitas Staff Vineyard Tours, July 2018

Team Fidelitas at the Mariners, June 2018

Team Fidelitas of the Future: Charlie and Brynn, January 2018

5 – Wine

Seems simple enough.  As a winery, you make wine, you pour wine, you sell wine.  But our wines were somehow extra special this year and I am thankful for that. 

10 of the 19 wines we released in 2018 were sold exclusively to our members in Club allocations, meaning they never even made it into the tasting rooms.  We had exceptional releases such as varietal Malbec from Quintessence Vineyard, intense Cabernet from Blackwood Canyon Vineyard, old vine Merlot from some of the oldest blocks on Red Mountain, found in Kiona and Ciel du Cheval Vineyards, and of course our own Fidelitas Estate Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.

Washington wine is growing.  Red Mountain wine is growing.  But, Charlie’s longstanding relationships with growers allows us to select fruit from specific blocks to make exceptional wines for our members, and this is what sets Fidelitas’ wines apart.

Fidelitas 2018 Releases, start to finish!

Harvest Over The Years: He Said/She Said

I got a text from Charlie at 6:15 this morning with picutres of him doing pump overs.  At that hour, I'm still dragging and dealing with the kids.  Charlie's picture, however, showed him smiling, looking at the soon to be wine, while it's still dark outside.  Is he a little bit insane?  Maybe.  But I'm starting to realize that is what harvest is all about.

Here are some memories of harvest over the years from both Charlie and his wife, Terri.  Raising 4 kids and being a small business owner is no joke.  Throw in some 14 hour work days, 6 days per week, and that's just fun for the whole family.

What were some of your first impressions those first few harvests, starting in 1988?

CHARLIE: It’s always been intense. My first few vintages were crazy, super busy at a big place like Langguth. I was thrown in to the mix quickly, running the crush pad before I really knew what I was doing.  That’s Mike Januik’s fault…it was really overwhelming and exhausting.  12-14 hours per day with just Sundays off.  After the first few years, I was much more comfortable.  Especially being at Ste. Michelle, where the staff works like a machine to make it all happen.

Harvest this year seems like a constant juggling act. I’m thinking about 10 days out while Mitch is trying to figure out where we are putting the grapes that are coming in tomorrow.  Hillary is constantly focused on the day to day…getting each wine through fermentation. On any given day, we’re doing 70 lots at a time.  Pump overs started at 6 today, and at 9:30 he’s still going.  We’ll start this all again at about 2:30 this afternoon.

I’m looking at the new guys and they really don’t know what they are getting in to.  Not only is in physically exhausting, but mentally.  But, they all come out with a greater appreciation.  And I think it gets in to their blood.  Some of the guys are turning around to do southern hemisphere harvest too.

TERRI: Was it intense?  Yes!  You put your life on hold during harvest.  Not only is he gone physically but also mentally, but yet he was always there if we needed him to be.  We felt like he was here and were his priority. Intensity for me was the worry of his long-distance commutes throughout different harvests - from Walla Walla, Mattawa, Wenatchee, etc.  Once I heard him come through the door my prayers were answered - driving with so much fatigue isn’t the best!

Langguth/Saddle Mountain in 1988

Did you ever think that Charlie was insane for making a career shift from Boeing? 

TERRI: Never - even if fall can be bittersweet each year. My wish to experience a fall foliage trip in New England with Charlie someday will just have to be a trip to the vineyards!

What are some traditions at home or in the cellar surrounding harvest?

CHARLIE: I always work on my birthday but we always managed to have a party when I came home at night.  My birthday and harvest have always been closely related for me.

At the cellar, we’re playing Shakira every morning.  This started for me at Three Rivers in 2000 with Holly Turner after she had worked harvest in Mendoza.  We’re able to do it with Spotify now…which we definitely weren’t doing in 2000.  Nowadays, the cellar crew is requesting it to start the day.

I also try to help the crew out during harvest.  Sometimes we’ll do a big bbq for lunch or even go out to breakfast, just to break the monotony.  Many years, we’ll also host a lunch for the vineyard crew once the grapes are off the vines.

TERRI: I always remember when our family was young that Halloween was a big deal because Dad was finally home! Harvest was ending, and we would be normal again.

Are there any times Charlie fell asleep at the dinner table after working in the cellar all day?  Any other dirt on him?

TERRI: No - no funny story to share about falling asleep.  He was just always trying to stay awake once he gets home!  And then always waking in middle of the night for a while thinking.  He is never able to really rest until end of harvest.

Is there anything you both like to do as you finish up the harvest season? 

TERRI: It’s hard to unwind at the end of harvest, especially when you are working many, many weeks with no days off.  We just enjoy the time to rest and catch our breath!  We’re always looking forward to holidays with family and can’t wait for a new grandbaby coming into our world in a few weeks!

CHARLIE: Just take the time to slow down.  You know, in some ways Terri is the one who has really put in all the work.  She takes over and raises the family, which is not easy, during fall especially. 

This year, we are just really looking forward to meeting our new grandbaby.

 

 

 

Cheers, Charlie!

This week, we are celebrating Charlie as the Auction of Washington Wines’ 2018 Honorary Vintner.  And, in the midst of our excitement and party planning and wine coordination, Charlie is keeping on as his steady self, preparing for another harvest in Washington…his 31st to be exact.

I recently celebrated my 10-year anniversary with Charlie and Fidelitas.  It was so exciting for me.  It was the longest job I had ever held, and I know that there is limitless growth and opportunity working with Charlie.  However, I now realize that my decade is nothing in comparison to his three in Washington.  And if I feel so inspired by my 10 years, there have to be so many others out there who have been influenced and taught by Charlie over the years. 

Here is a bit of what Team Fidelitas had to say about Charlie:

I first met Charlie while working for Bob and Roger Gamache.  I had recently completed my degree at WSU, and was eager to start my winemaking career.  Charlie was always supportive and encouraging, and now 12 years later we are getting ready to start our 9th harvest together.  Along the way I have had an amazing opportunity to not only learn about wine and winemaking, but more importantly how to be a good husband, father, and member of the community.   I will always be thankful for all that he has shared with me.  - Mitch Venohr, Associate Winemaker

There is so much to say about Charlie as a person and not just his talent as a winemaker. Having the blessing of knowing and working for him for almost eight years has given me a perspective from behind the scene as to his character; who he is on the inside.  I have observed Charlie’s kindness to others, his friendly easy-going nature always respectful to a situation and people around him.  He is so very generous of his time and knowledge for others and he has a funny bone that comes out with wit and ease.  He also lives his life with integrity, true to his beliefs inside and out before family, friends, and coworkers. It is my honor to work for this compassionate man.  - Kathleen Batchelder, Team Fidelitas

I met Charlie in 2010, sitting across a picnic table at a little restaurant in Benton City, where I boldly convinced him that I could build a laboratory in his new winery. From that moment on, Charlie has supported all of my crazy mad scientist experimentation and winemaking ideas. He understands my passion for learning and lends me the platform to develop new techniques that drive our winemaking style. I often get an eye roll and a laugh when I tell him, "I have an idea" and lead him to the white board in my office. Then he says, "ok, lets try it...."  - Hillary Sjolund, Associate Winemaker

From hearing Charlie's drive to make 'the best wine yet', to traveling to various wine regions together for education, and learning how connected he is throughout the industry, or sharing beautiful bottles of wine over great meals, every experience with Charlie is awe-inspiring. I feel so honored to be a part of his Fidelitas family. Some of my favorite memories are from spending time with Charlie during harvest on Red Mountain last year, drinking our morning coffee, and listening to him talk about all of the careful and meticulous processes that he puts into each wine we make. Charlie's passion, paired with his overwhelming kindness and humbleness is inspirational for us all.  - Michelle Marsh, Fidelitas DTC Manager

It's been a pleasure working with Charlie over the years, he has showed me time and time again, how meaningful and supportive the wine industry can be. His kindness and generosity reflect in every aspect of his business. It's also eye opening to work for someone who constantly has nice things to say about his peers, he is always positive and shows us daily that we can't do our jobs without the support of everyone who works in the wine industry. It all starts from the ground up!  Charlie has also taught me how to enjoy wine and champagne (to never get a house palate) and to always stop and enjoy the simple things in life! His general passion for a nice bottle of wine, sharing a meal with family and friends over great conversation is what it's all about!  - Chelsea Larson, Fidelitas Red Mountain Tasting Room Manager

When I first met Charlie he had been named Winemaker of the Year by Seattle Magazine just one year prior. Now, 5 years later, he has been named Honorary Vintner by The Auction of Washington Wines. In these past few years working with him I have learned that there is no one more deserving of these amazing titles than Charlie himself. I'm lucky enough to witness his profound love for Washington wine, Fidelitas, and his family. It's been an honor to say I've learned from Charlie and because of him, there is no other industry I would rather work in.  - Skye Dissette, Fidelitas Club Concierge

I thank my dad, Charlie, for laying out the path for me and the many second generation Washington winemakers.  His work ethic, thousands of hours spent in the vineyard and winery, determination to never cut corners, commitment to making the best wines in the world, and relentless joy for wine-making are incredibly inspiring.  Here's to another 30 years of making wine in our home state!  - Will Hoppes, Fidelitas Woodinville Tasting Room Manager, Charlie’s kid, and second generation Fidelitas

My own personal story began more than 10 years ago, when my interview with him consisted of driving around Red Mountain vineyard sites in his dusty pickup.  Listening to him that afternoon, I saw his passion for making wine in Washington state and knew instantly that I had so much to learn.  Since then, he has become a part of my family, a baby-whisperer for my girls, a mentor, and someone I look forward to awesome new ventures with.  I used to dread when he called me during harvest or blending because I knew he was going to ask about making some crazy wine.  But now I see that it is all a part of the amazing experience of working with Charlie.  There is no recipe, no consistency…just something we call modern craft winemaking that promises to still produce ‘our best wine yet’.