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Yakima River Winery History - The Whole Story
John and Louise Rauner quietly began making wine in the town of Prosser under the Yakima River label in 1977, the third winery bonded in eastern Washington. For the last 27 years, the Rauners have steadily gone about the task of perfecting the vinification and production of what they love: huge, concentrated, long-lived red wines. Along the way, they have piled up more regional, national and international awards for their Yakima River Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Port than most wine enthusiasts probably would guess have been awarded to the entire Washington wine industry. Their focused efforts have resulted in the production of wines which have led the industry to view Yakima River Winery as one of the world's elite red wine producers. None of this happened by chance as John Rauner is not the typical self-taught winemaker. Starting relatively late in life with educational stints at Columbia Basin College and US-Davis, John spent six years working under Germany's internationally renowned Helmut Becker in the Yakima Valley. Becker, widely credited throughout the state as the 'Father of the Washington Wine Industry', worked with John while consulting to the region's then-fledgling industry. Becker was the single driving force behind John's development as a winemaker, influencing his stylistic preferences and developing his enduring interest in German grapes like lemberger and riesling. Becker's influence is still evident in Yakima River wines as their focus on concentrated, rich fruit results from his teachings that a young wine must feature fruit else it will not have fruit after aging. His student's success is evident through the industry's regard for Rauner's talents as well as through Yakima River wines. John has consulted to numerous Washington wineries and vineyards during their formative years and was offered the head winemaking job in 1987 at on of the Napa Valley's premier Bordeaux-style houses. From a modest 1000-case initial release 27 years ago, Yakima River has grown to producing almost 5,000 cases of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and port from merlot grapes in 1996. John and Louise are the winery staff, combining a well-laid out production facility and a judicious use of capital equipment with occasional intern labor during crush. Consistent with their Valley neighbors, Yakima River is fairly high-tech in nature with temperature controlled fermentation tanks, computerized crusher and filtration equipment not usually associated with wineries this size. Due to their production efficiency and low cost of labor, the Rauners are increasing production another 30% of the next year or two. The result will be increased availability for some of the Northwest's finest wines.
All of Yakima River's grapes are grown in the Yakima Valley. All of the winery's grapes are purchased under total management contracts. At each property John chose the soil, supervises pruning, directs canopy management and checks moisture content throughout the growing season. The vineyards are all above 1000 feet in elevation and distributed along the valley between Benton City and Grandview with the grapes for the Reserve Cabernet and Reserve Merlot releases coming from vineyards on Red Mountain. John's focus is on the development of small berries that provide him with the concentrated fruit characteristics Yakima River's house style center on. Precisely timed, properly applied irrigation is the key to small berry development. First irrigation is typically in late May to early June. Most of the vineyards use drip irrigation techniques with soil moisture monitored by probes at the root level. A couple of the steeper hillside vineyards use row irrigation. Fruit yields for Yakima River growers, and the Valley in general, are high by the standards of Oregon and California. Merlot produces roughly 4 tons per acre in the Prosser area for the Rauners. The region's relatively young vineyards and fertile land (at least in viticultural terms) combine to produce higher quantities of fruit.
The Rauners have spent their 27 years in Prosser carefully refining an approach for the use of oak which artistically emphasizes the unique flavor and texture characteristics of each varietal. The winery’s program calls for 3 years of oak and 1 year of bottle aging before release for the regular Cabernet and Merlot bottlings with the Reserve wines receiving 3 years in oak and 1 year in the bottle. John sells all of his barrels after four years of use with the exception of those used in his Port program: this helps to minimize concern of bacterial infections in the winery and allows him to maintain a prominent oak character in the wines. Achieving complementary unity between fruit and oak relies upon matching the flavors of both as well as characteristic consistency from both vineyard and cooper. The Rauners began experimenting with various oaks and barrel styles in 1980, making the results of their experiments available to their best customers for evaluation during an annual July 4th tasting at the winery. The comments generated at these tastings have served to evolve Yakima River’s oak program to the pinnacle it achieved in 1992. He uses American, French and Hungarian oak from the same two French coopers, primarily Redoux’ California facility, because of their attention to total quality and delivery to his precise specifications. All Yakima River barrels are built from staves air-dried for 3 years and receive a medium-level toast. Yearly the winery introduces 50-70% new barrels for each varietal program, with the rest of the barrels being 2 years old. Reserve wines see an average of 3 years of oak while the regular releases get 30 months in barrels. In accordance with John’s plan for each variety, barrels are tailored for the individual qualities of vineyards and grapes. Merlot is aged in 70% Vogues and 30% American because the terrior creates flavors of brown spices (nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves) in the berries: Vogues extracts and accentuates these spices. Oak for the Cabernets is from the center of France as well as from Minnesota and Wisconsin. John especially likes what he calls the "coconut richness and brown spices" from Minnesota white oak. His devotion to Redoux is partially due to the fact that the cooper purchased a mill in Minnesota specifically for the production of white oak staves. Yakima River Cabernet Sauvignons are held in great esteem around the world (they annually win medals at the Tasters Guild, Beverage Tasting Institute, World Wine Championships, Amenti del Vino and numerous other competitions) and, along with the Port, are the winery’s flagship products. For us, the Merlot is equally noteworthy and is an excellent example of what Yakima River wines are all about.
It is quite the achievement to produce widely acclaimed Big Red Wines in a region renowned for them. John and Louise Rauner have developed Yakima River Winery into one of the top producers of Bordeaux and Rhone-styled wines in the Yakima Valley through their singular dedication to realizing the style for Big Red Wine which they first envisioned 20 years ago. Today they enjoy the reality of producing wines which epitomize their fruit and are recognized by consumers, producers and even wine writers as being among the best the world has to offer. Fortunately, we have the opportunity to enjoy this reality as well.
Northwest Wine Update - 1997 |
The big red wines of the world, made from grapes traditional to the Bordeaux and Rhone regions of France, occupy the attention of most of the world's wine enthusiasts. The world's great producers of these wines seem to be the focus of the industry as well. One great cabernet or merlot will get a winery more trade journal front covers than a lifetime of making great pinot noir or riesling. So be it. The Napa Valley has joined the great regions of France on the list of preferred sources for these wines. However, with each passing year the wines of the Yakima Valley continue to demonstrate that the Appellation clearly belongs as part of this group. When the day arrives that Yakima Valley is recognized as America's finest source of Big Red Wine, it will be due in no small part to the outstanding wines made by a husband-and-wife team in a nondescript building located on the north bank of the Yakima River.
John's style for Yakima River reds stresses two fundamental components: managed fruit
development and a ridged cooperage program. The Yakima Valley's terrior is unique
in its ability to support the design of wines in the vineyard. It's arid climate, wide
daily temperature swings and volcanic soils allow the viticulturist to precisely control
plant development and berry maturity through the judicious application of water. While
Yakima River has no commercially producing estate vineyards (the small experimental plot
is currently planted to petite verdot), practically all of John's growers have been with
him since the beginning of Yakima River. Most of the ones that no longer supply Yakima
River have become wineries themselves.
John's approach to winemaking centers on maximum color extraction and minimal handling.
Both cabernet and merlot spend, on average, 14 days on their lees. Washington state wines are typically very high in potassium which is less soluble in wine at room temperature than other elements: thus, storage in refrigerated stainless steel is necessary to stabilize the reds as well as the whites by precipitating some of the potassium out of the solution. John does a very light fining with bentonite for reds in the barrel as well as a light "polish" filtration before bottling to further improve appearance. He uses forced air instead of pumps to rack the wines as well as transport them to the bottling area. Cabernet and merlot are racked three times during the first year in oak and once during the second year. Sulfites are not used either in the vineyard or at the crush.
Vineyards from Prosser to Benton City source fruit for the Merlot, including an occasional lot from vineyards on Red Mountain. The regular release is a blend containing 5% cabernet franc and 5% cabernet sauvignon which is fermented at about 82 degrees F. The wine features extremely rich, dense blackberry and black cherry fruit along with sweet oak and a luxurious feel on the palate. For us the wine’s seamless blend of balanced oak and fruit at such a high level of concentration is most impressive. This is where John’s extended efforts to identify specific oaks complementary to his fruit have been rewarded. Oak serves to enhance fruit, lengthening its flavors on the palate as well as contributing to the wine’s very firm structure. All of these combine to ensure that the wine maintains its balance and complexity as it opens with time. While we do not have extensive history with Yakima River Merlot’s aging potential, a summary of comments by various writes suggests that the wines tend to open significantly with 4-5 years of bottle age and generally begin to peak within 8 years of vintage. Their exceptional balance and intensity suggest perhaps 12 years of average useful life with the potential for 15+ years of service in years like 1994. The regular Merlot is released after 30 months in oak and 12 more months in bottle.
