Hello and happy new year! We hope you had a wonderful holiday season and are now enjoying the slower pace that January often brings. We’ve had a chance to reflect on the past year, as well as look forward to what’s ahead for 2023…
2022 was a big year for planting and replacing vines across our estate vineyards in four AVAs.
On the Royal Slope, we planted Chenin Blanc, Vermentino, Nebbiolo and Sangiovese next to our Scarline vineyard and grafted Cab Sauv to Grenache Blanc at Corfu Crossing directly below the Roussanne block.
In the Columbia Valley at Conner Lee, which we farm in partnership with the Merkle family, we replaced a small block of Chardonnay with a new planting of Chenin Blanc.
On the Wahluke Slope at Desert Wind vineyard, which we also farm in partnership with the Merkles, we planted Sauvignon Blanc on an east-west axis to lengthen the season and delay ripening.
Lastly, we decided to dip our toes into the famed Rocks District of Milton-Freewater (“The Rocks”) with the Merkle family. In the spring, we planted four vineyard sites with Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, Cinsault, Carignan, Roussanne, Marsanne, Grenache Blanc, Viognier and Cabernet Franc.
We are very excited about the additions and improvements at all locations this past year and have great demand for the grapes they will produce. Look forward to seeing some new Gård wines from these plantings and Matías Kúsulas, our viticulturist and head winemaker, providing more details on the reasoning behind the variety and clone selections, as well row orientation, and the effect on the wine because of these decisions.
What’s Ahead for 2023…
New Wines
Continuing to focus on our estate-farmed vineyards, we’ll soon be releasing a new vintage of our Cab Collection vineyard-designate Cabernets, as well as our first vintage of our Syrah Collection, vineyard-designate Syrahs from five different vineyards we farm. We look forward to showcasing the uniqueness provided by the vineyards in these series! More to come for 2023 includes a new vintage of many favorites including Albariño, the release of our first ever Muscadelle and first ever Tempranillo, as well as three special Conner Lee vineyard-designate wines – Merlot, Cab Sauv, and Cab Franc.
Among many new wines you’ll see coming up this year and next from winemaker Matías, we’ll be bottling an orange wine soon that we call Tigre – the name inspired by the beautiful color of this Pinot Gris that had extended skin contact time resulting in the extraction of color. This wine club exclusive wine will likely release in 2024, stay tuned! We are also bottling our first “Franc Blanc” (Cabernet Franc made as a white wine due to no skin contact). We love to experiment, as you can probably tell.
New Vines
We will be planting Verdejo (an uncommon, light-bodied white wine that grows almost exclusively in Spain) this next spring and possibly a few other varieties on the Royal Slope. We will also be replacing some Merlot at Desert Wind vineyard with Chardonnay that will be planted on an east-west axis.
More Music, Events & Fun
Gård tasting rooms continue to pack their calendars with fantastic live music talent and have a variety of other events coming up this year to pique your interest. Look at our event calendars for paint nights, trivia, comedy, wine pairings, wine dinners at Public House, and much more! Sign up for our email newsletter and follow us on Facebook or Instagram to stay informed.
As we launch into 2023, we want to thank you for your support. We are grateful for the opportunity to connect with many Gård fans at tasting rooms, Public House and other events, and hope to see you this year!
Skål!
Josh & Lisa
Proprietors
Gård Vintners/Lawrence Vineyards