Barnard Griffin winery

Barnard Griffin is a small, quality winery operated by a husband-and-wife team located in rural Richland, Washington.

Rob Griffin has been involved in the Washington wince scene since 1977. He and his wife Deborah Barnard have been making wines under their own label since 1983.

Winemaker Griffin has a master’s degree in viniculture and enology from the University of California at Davis. He came to southcentral Washington in 1977 to serve as the first winemaker for Preston Winery located a few miles north of Pasco. He met with quick success, with his 1977 Chardonnay winning Best of Show at the Seattle Enological Society’s Northwest Wine Festival.

Barnard Griffin Wines Started in 1983

He and his wife began making wines under their own label six years later, with their first bottlings consisting of a total of 400 cases of Chardonnay, Fumé Blanc and Riesling. Griffin went on to become winemaker and general manager at Hogue Cellars in Prosser, before the couple went full-time with their winery. They have been at their present facility at 878 Tulip Lane in Richland, Washington, since 1996.

Barnard Griffin has used colorful tulips on its label since 1983, and bottles lines of White Tulip and Red Tulip wines in addition to their white and red reserve lines. The winery’s production is more than 75,000 cases a year.

Winery Wins Many Awards

The number of awards the winery has won attests to the quality of their wines. Many of their awards come from California wine festivals, making the wins particularly sweet because California is better known for its wines than Washington. In early 2009 alone, Barnard Griffin wines have won at wine festivals in Riverside, Monterey and San Francisco. For the fourth consecutive year, Barnard Griffin won a gold or better for its Rose of Sangiovese at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.

Barnard Griffin was named the Pacific Northwest Winery of the Year by Wine Press Northwest in the spring of 2006.

Wine Grapes Come From Throughout Mid-Columbia

The grapes for Barnard Griffin wines came from throughout the Mid-Columbia region, from the Wahluke Slope to the north to the nearby Red Mountain vineyards.

The on-site tasting room is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The tasting room also houses a small art gallery, where glass works by Deborah Barnard are on display. There is a fee to taste wines which is refunded when purchases are made. The winery also has a small wine bar/eatery and offers live music on weekends.

How to Find Barnard Griffin Winery

Barnard Griffin is one of three wineries on Tulip Lane. It is the middle one, bounded on the north by Tagaris Winery and on the south by J. Bookwalter Wines.

Take the Queensgate Road exit off of Interstate I-182, which runs from Interstate I-82 in the west, past Richland and on to. From Queensgate turn onto Columbia Park Trail, then left onto Windmill Road, and finally right on Tulip Lane. Watch for the winery signs on Columbia Park Trail.

A visit to Reininger Winery, Walla Walla

Reininger Winery

Reininger Winery, located in rural Walla Walla, Washington is an award-winning winery that is truly a family affair as siblings and spouses are involved.

The winery, located west of Walla Walla on Old Highway 12, was started in 1997 by Chuck Reininger, a former mountain-climbing guide from Puget Sound, and his wife Tracy. Reininger was familiar with Walla Walla and its wineries, as he used to help with the crush at Waterbrook, another Walla Walla winery. Plus Tracy Tucker was from Walla Walla, so a few years later it was natural that her brothers and their wives, Jay and Cyndi Tucker, and Kelly and Anne Tucker joined the operation. Terry and Ronnie Tucker have since joined the operation.

Reininger’s First Winery Located at Historic Airport

Like many fledgling Walla Walla wineries, Reininger’s first winery was located in the industrial complex at the Walla Walla Regional Airport. The airport served as an Army Air Corps training airfield during World War II. The buildings that housed the Army air base are still in use today by restaurants, aviation businesses and more than 20 wineries.

An old Army entertainment center served as the winery’s first home from 1997 to 2003 when it moved to its present location which involved renovating two old potato sheds into  a winery, complete with tasting room.

Reininger Winery Adds Second Label

In 2004, Reininger added another label, Helix. While Reininger label wines are made from grapes grown in the Walla Walla Valley, Helix uses grapes grown in vineyards located in the larger Columbia Valley. The name of this label also links back to Tucker family history, since their grandparents had a farm in Helix, Oregon, which is near Pendleton.

Just as the parent label does, Helix’s line up of wines is heavy on reds, such as Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. Both Reininger and Helix bottlings are limited to a few hundred cases of each wine. Bottlings range from 303 cases of the 2009 Helix Rose to 805 cases of the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon.

Reininger Wines Win Numerous Awards

Chuck Reininger says on his website his goal is to create premium red wines, and the awards his wines have won prove he’s achieved his goal. The 2007 Reininger Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley was a gold medal winner at the 2011 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition which lays claim to being the largest competition of American wines. The 2011 competition involved more than 5,000 wines created by wineries in 23 states. Syrah under both labels have won accolades from Wine Spectator magazine.

More evidence of the popularity of Reininger and Helix wines is shown through the winery’s wine club: it’s full up, but wine aficionados can ask to be wait-listed for an opening. A note on the winery’s website explains, “We have reached the tipping point where we can no longer assure new members consistent access to our most popular wines unless we limit and control the size of our wine club.”

Reininger Winery Located in Rural Walla Walla

Reininger is located at 5858 West Old Highway 12 just west of Walla Walla.  The tasting room is open daily.