Kiona Vineyards and Winery

Kiona Vineyards and Winery

Winemaking under the radar

With over 600 wineries in Washington, it's impossible to be familiar with all of them. It's interesting, though, that Kiona remains slightly under the radar since it produces 35,000 cases per year of high-quality wine, selling it locally, nationally and internationally. After 30+ years, it's probably time to learn a little bit more about this winery and its vineyards.

Scott Williams, Kiona grape grower and winemaker, recalls working on family alfalfa hay acreage near Richland when he was growing up. An uncle also farmed in Moses Lake. His dad, John Williams, was an engineer. John met Jim Holmes, a wine hobbyist, at work. Jim was from Vallejo where winemaking was more prevalent. He turned John on to wine and their ideas began to flow. According to Scott, the original plan was "grow grapes, make wine, get rich and quit the day jobs."

L-R: John, Ann, Scott Williams

They bought 86 acres of land on Red Mountain in 1972. "It was serendipity," says Scott. "Research was done and they knew grapes would grow here. They didn't know it would become one of the premier wine growing regions in the state." There was nothing there; the first few years were spent getting basics like water and power in. Ten acres were planted in 1975—Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. In 1976, Lemberger, Chenin Blanc, Merlot and more Cabernet were planted. Five-six years later, they planted more Cab, Merlot and some Sangiovese. In the early to mid 80s, they sold grapes to "almost every winery in existence—Preston, Leonetti, Woodward Canyon, Quilceda Creek," as well as making their own wine. "We still have an '83 Cab that is really good," says Scott.

Of the original 86 acres, 65 are now planted. Scott and his wife own 140 acres of hillside vineyards, plus 100 acres south of Kennewick in Wallula, and 40 acres of white grapes below Sagemoor Farms in Pasco. All total, the family owns about 300 acres. "We still have lots of opportunity to grow. We'll eventually plant it all, but it may take awhile. It's harder to sell wine than people think," laughs Scott. "In 1980 we made 500 cases of two varieties. Today we have 16-20 varietals and styles. We're currently about the 30^th largest winery in Washington. What that really tells you is how many small wineries there are here."

As research has been done, growers have found they can use much less water than was originally thought. "It's funny, because water is scarce out here," says Scott. "In the early years, we watered just enough to keep the vineyard alive. Now it's common to irrigate in a non-excessive way." 1980 was their first vintage, but 1983 produced their first significant quantities. In the early 90s, they produced about 10,000 cases. That increased to 20,000 in the mid 90s. They've increased production slightly every year from then on. "We haven't created explosive growth," explains Scott. "It's been steady, linear growth that has allowed us to control and maintain quality." They planted and produced the first commercial Lemberger in the US.

Scott in the barrel room

John and Jim convinced Scott to return to Kiona in 1984 after he'd attended school to study engineering. "I couldn't fathom making a living doing this. I had some reservations. My dad never did quit his day job, although he and Jim took early retirement. Together, we've worked through the learning process." Eventually Jim was bought out and Kiona became the Williams family business.

"Most people have occupations, not avocations. I'm lucky enough to be doing what I love which is the growing and winemaking. I'm not so crazy about the day-to-day business side of things and am hoping that my sons will eventually help me out." J.J., 22, just graduated from Gonzaga's business school and plans to get some real-world experience, then return to Kiona. His soon-to-be wife studied with him in Florence for a year and also loves wine. Tyler, 18, loves skiing but also has a well-developed food and wine palate. "I'd like to think my future role will be that of a figurehead," says Scott. His wife of 25 years, Vicky, sells wine and attends social functions with him. "She's the reason we have the Vivacious Vicky line of wines."

In 1983, a tasting room was opened in the basement of John and Ann's house at the vineyards. "The basement had its own charm," laughs Scott. "At the time, you could borrow money for a house, but not a winery. We knew we'd want to have a building for a tasting room and barrel storage, so we preserved this one spot. My parents had an architect friend who had always wanted to design a winery. He created the design around the functions we wanted. It gives you the feel of the vineyards, the mountain and it fits in with the dessert landscape. We started building in September of 2005 and opened to the public in April of 2007."

Tasting room, courtesy of Kiona Vineyards

Some wines are available in the tasting room only, like the Zinfandel, Sangiovese and Syrah. He's planting blending and Rhone grapes mid-hill and would like to experiment more with Petite Syrah, Viognier and Rousanne. 2008 is the first year they harvested any quantity of Mourvedre grapes.

Kiona Vineyards and Winery
44612 N Sunset Road
Benton City, WA 99320
509-588-6716
www.kionawine.com

"We have a loyal core of customers who buy our wines, but there's a whole new generation of people who don't know who we are," says Scott. "They're used to paying $30-50 for a bottle of wine and think ours may not be as good because our most expensive wine is around $35. It doesn't seem logical, but this is actually a difficult hurdle to overcome. We're very proud of our wines. They've been consistently high quality over the years and sometimes world class. We receive awards in every contest we enter. We want people to understand that we'll make wine comfortable for them—they can come to Kiona, have a nice time, enjoy the view and find a wine they like from the wide range we offer at a reasonable price."

Connie Adams/June 2009

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