Single vineyard designated wines from the region’s most elevated vineyard...
Sip Magazine Platinum Award
The Highest Altitude Vineyard in the Northwest
Where Altitude Leads to Intensity...
High altitude means warm, sunny days for grapes to flourish, followed by cold nights that slow down their ripening
Bear Barton Vineyards is located in the Northwest tip of the Columbia Valley AVA at altitudes ranging between 3,100 - 3,300 feet. The sloping terrain with a south/southeast orientation allows for a long and steady growing season above the cloud layer that cools the site.
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Each premium vinifera wine grapes grown in the Vineyard are set at specific altitudes and are cultivated over the sloping landscape. This process helps produce the purest expression of each wine.
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The high-altitude climate, with its low rainfall, sandy loam soil with rocks at the surface and clay below, lack of organic elements in the ground, forces our vines to work hard for hydration and nutrients.
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Bear Barton Vineyards also benefits from a high degree of daytime/night time temperature variations, which provides a cool environment and makes for excellent aromatic characteristics - vivid intense flavors in our grapes.
Our Grapes
Grüner Veltliner is a white wine grape variety grown primarily in Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. The leaves of the grape vine are five-lobed with bunches that are long but compact, and deep green grapes that ripen in mid-late October in the Northern Hemisphere
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Zweigelt is richly colored red grape variety with a deep, bright core of spiced cherry and raspberry flavors. Zweigelt combines an intense berry fruitiness with an appealing acidic tartness that makes for a bracing and refreshing wine. Zweigelt wines are light bodied, contain very few tannins, and have a fairly high acidity. All these aspects combine to make for a wine that can be enjoyed at room temperature or slightly chilled. In terms of specific flavors, drinkers of Zweigelt can expect notes of berry-based fruit such as cherry, blackcurrant, and raspberries. Additional flavors include cinnamon, pepper, and floral notes.
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Agria is a dark-skinned red grape variety from Hungary. The Agria grape has deep pigmented flesh , it is most commonly used as a color-enhancing component in blended wines with its bright red juice and high tannins in the skins. Agria can be used in a variety of wine making styles. Agria needs 1600-1900 GDD to ripen.
About Us - Winemaking Team
Ray Sandidge
Winemaker
Self-taught in many ways and tutored by some of the world’s best Winemakers in others, Ray Sandidge is considered one of the top Winemakers in the Pacific Northwest. 30+ years of internationally and nationally acclaimed results back up this humble fact. It is obvious Ray loves his work. He respects the marriage between vineyard and the art of wine making.
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Ray has produced wines rated 90 points or higher on more than 50 occasions in the Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast magazines not to mention countless Best of Show, Best of Class, Double Gold, Gold, Silver and Bronze medals in competitions such as the San Francisco International Wine Competition, Jerry D. Mead International Wine Competition, and the Seattle Wine Awards.
Jerry & Jean Bookwalter
Wine Consultants
Jerry Bookwalter, After graduating from UC-Davis in 1963, Jerry spent 13 years farming in California’s San Joaquin Valley before moving his family in 1976 to the Tri-Cities in Washington State.
Once there, he firmly stamped the Bookwalter name on the state’s nascent wine industry. From 1976 through 1982, Jerry helped manage the plantings of three iconic vineyards – Sagemoor Bacchus and Dionysus.
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He eventually became vineyard manager of the famed Conner Lee Vineyard which remains the largest source of grapes for J. Bookwalter wines. And in 1982, Jerry and Jean leveraged their vineyard connections and industry knowledge to start J. Bookwalter Winery.
We all are overwhelmed with the passing of Jerry this week on August 21, 2023.
Bear Barton Vineyard was created with his vision and expertise. Jerry will be forever in our hearts and in our wine.
God Bless Your Jerry - Our Friend
Gregg & Lauren Bear-Barton
Dreamers
"Our approach at Bear Barton Vineyards is to procure the very best fruit possible from the most elevated vineyard in Washington and then with minimal intervention, allow mother nature to perform her magic."
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"Our wine making style emphasizes elegance and balance while maintaining the concentration and complex characteristics of wines from these esteemed grapes."
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“Cool nights contribute to long ripening periods that help to improve fruit quality. We also get great airflow through the vineyard, which helps to reduce disease.”
Vineyard Management
Roger Nichols
Roger brings a unique skill set to the vineyard. During his years in the vineyard Roger has gained insight into the personality of the mountain and the varying needs of the vines. The weather, the soil nutrients and irrigation needs are different from top to bottom.
Roger has implemented predatory biodiversity to prevent pests and to treat plant pathogens. This organic approach fits nicely into other stewardship efforts on the land. Because there are no dangerous chemicals in use anywhere on the property, the Monarch butterflies thrive and the threatened Sage Grouse has found a sanctuary.
Roger is pioneering techniques involving microscopy to accurately quantify pathogen threat levels and respond accordingly. His is a "hands-on" approach, responsible not only for day-to-day operations but doing the labor, from pruning in March, to post-harvest operations in November.
Roger is passionate that nothing beats personally working with the vines and touching the leaves. From the soil to the sun and everything between.
"Great Wine Is Made In The Vineyard"
Sustainability
Environmental Stewardship
- Our vineyard is third party certified sustainable under the Washington Wine Industry Foundation, and Sustainability in Practice (SIP) programs.
- Our care goes beyond the planted vines — of the 42 acres that make up the Estate, less than 5% of the property is planted to vines. The majority of our land is left as open space for native plants and animals to flourish.
- The Estate is home to eagles and owls that provide a safe nesting place for creatures that provide natural pest management in the vineyards.
- We work closely with resource agencies throughout Washington to ensure stream restoration and endangered species protection.
- The Vineyard on the Estate uses drip irrigation, and we’ve installed weather stations to promote responsible water use and help us more accurately determine when we need to irrigate