Klipsun Vineyards

Sometimes life goes according to plan and sometimes it offers up opportunities unsuspected. As a young woman in Britain, Patricia Gelles probably didn’t expect to marry an American scientist. Even less expected that they would own a vineyard. The first led to the second and today we have one of the most celebrated vineyards in the state and, according to Wine & Spirits Magazine in 2003, one of the top 25 in the world.

Photo: David and Patricia Gelles, courtesy of Klipsun

David Gelles took a research job that brought them to Eastern Washington in 1974. They began meeting the locals, two of whom were John Williams and Jim Holmes, co-owners of Kiona Vineyards (the Williams family still owns Kiona and Jim Holmes went on to start Ciel du Cheval Vineyards across the street). In 1975, David and Patricia helped Jim and John plant the Kiona vineyard.

In 1981, Jim called to say that there was property available next to Kiona. "He called because we’d helped plant Kiona. We had no agricultural background, but it seemed like fun. It was a black hole for the longest time," recalls Patricia. They purchased the land in 1982, but didn’t plant until 1984. Small issues like water and wells kept cropping up. "We planted only varietals that we would want to drink," says Patricia. "We never planned to make wine ourselves, but if we had to, at least we’d like what we had!"

"Andre Tchelistcheff, who worked at Beaulieu Vineyards and was a consultant with Chateau Ste. Michelle, said the best red wine was Kiona’s, so we planted our Cabernet right next to theirs," laughs Patricia. They purchased 240 acres and planted 80. "Some of the land isn’t plantable. We’ve now planted 120 acres total, but some of the land is too rocky to plant. We have about 30 acres we could still plant, but it’s on a slope. They planted Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon at first.

Year 2 came along and Patricia realized she was going to have to sell the grapes. "At the time, there weren’t that many vineyards around. Rob Griffin (Barnard Griffin) was our first client. Quilceda Creek was second; they’d already been buying from Kiona. Seven Hills came in early as well.

In 1996, the winter was cold and froze the Chardonnay right to the ground. "We pulled it all out," says Patricia. "The weather had begun to change and it’s become too hot on Red Mountain to grow Chardonnay. We replaced it with Syrah. We’re now primarily reds. We’ve added an acre of Nebbiolo and have two acres of Malbec. I love having whites because I like the taste, but I can’t get as much money for them. We still have our Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. L’Ecole buys the largest amount of our white grapes, followed by DeLille."

Klipsun’s location is the key to the success of the grapes, along with their emphasis on quality over quantity. It’s another of life’s surprises: it’s 20 years down the road before all the results are in. In 1984, no one knew Red Mountain would become the hotbed of great grapes. "Our fruit adds a nice component to wines," says Patricia. They have always had a waiting list and rarely lose a customer. "That could change next year," she says. "I need to raise our prices and that may cause some people to drop out. We try to cut back, but with minimum wage, diesel prices and other things going up, it’s impossible. It’s interesting because there’s only about $4-5 dollars worth of fruit in a bottle of wine. It’s not the most expensive part of making wine, which seems surprising."

Photo: Vineyards in October 2007, courtesy of Klipsun

New winemakers and those who haven’t used Klipsun grapes may have an opportunity to come in. But Patricia does safeguard her grapes’ reputation. "I’m fortunate in that I don’t have to sell to just anyone. I want to taste what a winemaker has done. If they’re brand new, I want to talk with them or their consultant. Ben Smith of Cadence Winery is a great example. He was a Boeing engineer. I didn’t know him, but he came out and talked with me. He was very serious. I liked that."

Klipsun has 13-14 employees. Their vineyard manager also handles HR, accounting and does some sampling for customers. They produce approximately 300 tons of grapes annually. "We don’t make the decision when to pick; we leave that to the winemaker. We ask for 24 hours notice so we can get bins into the vineyard. We pick by hand and can do a maximum of 20 tons per day. The pickers start at the crack of dawn and they’re done by noon. Bins are picked up by tractors and taken to be weighed. Then they’re shipped out—as close as Bookwalter in Richland and as far away as Carlton, Oregon."

Photo: View from the vineyards

They rhythm of the vineyard slows after grapes are picked. "By August, the vines are starting to harden off with sap going down. We put on a slow-release fertilizer and water deeply. In November, vines are really dormant until pruning which is end of February, early March. Grapes are sold and prices set by May. Winemakers start coming over in July."

Klipsun is an important vineyard. They’ll continue on as is, producing amazing grapes that will be part of award-winning wines. Sometimes life’s surprises lead to very good outcomes.

Connie Adams/October 2009

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