PRESS HIGHLIGHTS
Jancis Robinson
“It’s Washington’s most unusual vineyard. But it wouldn’t be going too far to call WeatherEye one of the world’s most distinctive viticultural efforts. Although planting started as recently as 2016, WeatherEye is already changing the future of Washington wine.”
Wine Enthusiast
“By far the most ambitious higher-elevation project underway in Washington is a new series of plantings atop Red Mountain, called WeatherEye Vineyard. Over the last 14 years, investor Cam Myhrvold purchased 360 acres on the mountain’s upper reaches, which includes acreage on the previously unfarmed north side.
For the project, Myhrvold has partnered with highly regarded grower Ryan Johnson, who has 19 vintages of experience on the mountain. He’s worked at prestigious sites like Ciel du Cheval and Force Majeure, and is now partner and vineyard manager for WeatherEye.”
Robert Parker Wine Advocate
“Located at the top of Red Mountain on both north- and south-facing slopes (part of the vineyard lies outside the appellation), just under 40 acres are planted to Rhône, Bordeaux and Spanish varieties. The vineyard has been divided into 70 “micro blocks” with different trellising systems (much of the vineyard is head-trained), and vine densities range from 300 to 4,000+ vines per acre. The dry, windy climate allows the vineyard to be farmed using low-intervention techniques, along with targeted irrigation. Wide diurnal shifts and basalt soils help grapes retain acidity, crucial for wine balance in Washington.”
Northwest Wine Report
“Even when WeatherEye Vineyards was just a whisper in the Washington wine industry, the potential was clear. Legendary grower Ryan Johnson, who has over 20 years of experience farming on Red Mountain, was working on a semi-secret site atop the mountain, with the project backed by former Microsoft hand Cam Myhrvold. It was a project that by its very definition would be reaching for new heights in the state.”
Robb Report
“[Ryan] Johnson, one of the state’s most respected viticulturists, spent more than a year on the mountaintop studying its soils (a lot of fractured basalt lava covered by the barest coat of windblown soil) and minutely varied aspects, to decide what to plant where.Interlaced among the isolated blocks of vines are natives he spared (pungent sage) and botanicals he has planted (lavender), hoping they’ll help capture a wild savoriness in the wine. Add in higher levels of acidity and lower levels of sugar from the cooler temperatures at this elevation, along with intensity and power from thick, wind-buffeted skins, and WeatherEye wines have the potential to age.”
Why Washington’s Best Winemakers Are Getting Grapes From the New WeatherEye Vineyard
Vinography
“Some of the first wines made from WeatherEye Vineyard are easily among the best wines I’ve ever tasted from Washington State. They possess a vibrancy of fruit, an intensity of perfume, a stony, volcanic depth that is frankly, breathtaking. And wouldn’t you know it, but some are scented with notes of sage and wild desert herbs. No one can have a handle yet on what this site might be capable of from a winemaking perspective—it’s too soon.”
Northwest Wine Report
“Put hand selected clones in nano-planted blocks at higher elevation on Red Mountain, often at high density and sometimes with northern aspects. Use this and a variety of trellising techniques to achieve longer hang times and wines with more intensity, freshness, and non-fruit characteristics. Farm it all with a maniacal level of attention and try and make wines that elevate the notion of what is possible in Washington.”
WeatherEye Vineyards will change the way Washington makes wine
Jancis Robinson
“It took only sixty years for Grenache to earn some respect in Washington State. For six decades, its reputation in the Columbia Valley was amenable but dull, a backup at best to Syrah’s baritone in GSM cover bands. In the field it was prone to vigour and heavy yields, and unable to face down Washington’s winter cold snaps. And for what? Early versions seemed juicy, monochromatic, unsophisticated, unable to accede to the power and complexity it was capable of.”
Post Alley | Seattle
“The WeatherEye sites are planted entirely above the Missoula flood plain (over 1200 feet) atop Red Mountain…Cameron Myhrvold purchased the land almost 20 years ago and encouraged and supported the notion that grapes could thrive in such a windy, rather desolate, high elevation location.”
Decanter
“The Liminal brand makes wine from one vineyard, WeatherEye, which sits at the very top of Red Mountain. ‘I think Grenache works in Washington in many ways,’ says Peterson. Some people are making pleasant, lighter-coloured, fruit-driven wines to be enjoyed in the shorter term. In much of the Yakima Valley, the rich soils and more moderate temperatures encourage this style.’”
Paul G’s Wine Guide
“The vineyard crosses the top of Red Mountain, starting above the Force Majeure vineyard and climbing from 950 to 1410 feet of elevation. After reaching the top of Red Mountain it continues down the steep north face, overlooking the Yakima river and the Hanford Reach. That part is out of the Red Mountain AVA, which is why some WeatherEye wines bear the Columbia Valley appellation.”
Alcohol Professor
“Strong wind conditions call for extra viticultural management. WeatherEye is a vineyard project in Washington’s Red Mountain from former Microsoft exec Cam Myhrvold and viticulturalist Ryan Johnson. There, inspired by high altitude wines from the Rhône Valley in France, Johnson and his team grow mourvedre grapes on a steep, north-facing slope that is planted with meticulous canopy management—individual stone huts have been built over the vines. They resemble burial relics from an ancient civilization, or perhaps an alien invasion of some sort, but these odd little structures ensure the grapes don’t get ravaged by the wind.”
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