Riverview Vineyard

Chenin Blanc - 1.93 acres

9 rows of Chenin Blanc, planted in 2016 with the first harvest being in 2018. Chenin Blanc is an extremely versatile grape. It's more acidic than other wine varietals and is highly aromatic, lending itself to a range of winemaking techniques. Chenin Blanc originated in the Anjou region of the Loire Valley of France, where the grape is also called pineau de la loire. It is likely to be an offspring of savagnin, a white grape from the Jura region of France. Today, it is predominantly grown in New Word wine regions like South Africa, the United States, and Australia. In Washington State, roughly 250 tons of Chenin Blanc are harvested each year.

At Fielding Hills, we have been producing Chenin Blanc since 2016. We create a wine that is bright green-yellow in color with a bouquet of citrus and ripe passion fruit and lingering notes of lemon crème brûlée. Due to the complexity and texture, its a great wine to experiment with food pairings. We recommend trying it with Thai food or spicier fair.

Chardonnay - 2.15 acres

10 rows of Chardonnay, planted in 2016 with the first harvest in 2018. We produce a 100% Chardonnay from these vines.

Chardonnay is one of the world's most popular grapes. It lends itself to a wide range of styles from Blanc de Blancs to heavily oaked wines. In Washington State, Chardonnay is one of the top 5 most planted varietals with over 28,000 tons harvested each year. The largest area of concentration for these plantings is in the Yakima Valley AVA, Horse Heaven Hills AVA, and Wahluke Slope AVA.

We chose to plant Chardonnay because of its wide popularity as well as its ability to be "made in the winery," meaning the ability of the winemaker to influence the resulting wine. We work to create a Chardonnay that is deeply textured and full-bodied. Typically this means aging the wine in a combination of oak tank, stainless steel, and (vintage-dependent) concrete egg.

Roussanne - 0.63 acres

3 rows of Roussanne, planted in 2016 with the first harvest in 2018. We produce a 100% Roussanne from this block.

Roussanne is a relatively unique grape in Washington State with limited plantings. It is most widely found in Southern France, where is mainly used as a blending grape. We decided to plant Roussanne because the resulting wine has moderate acidity and body. It is extremely approachable with flavors of Meyer lemon, brioche, and Asian pear and can stand up to fattier foods well. In the tasting room, we typically introduce this wine as "a red wine drinkers, white wine." because it complex and layered with flavor.

Appellation: Wahluke Slope

Elevation: 490-510ft
Slope: 0-5%
Aspect: Gentle South Facing
Soil: Burbank Loamy Fine Sand
Planted Acres: 5
Varietals: Chardonnay (38(95))- 2.15 acres, Chenin Blanc (04)- 1.93 acres, Roussanne (TCVS A)-0.64 acres
Year Planted: Spring 2016
Farmed: Conventionally
Trellising: Bilateral Cordon VSP
Vine Spacing: 6x8ft