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Wines produced by Bonair Winery Chardonnay Cabernet Sauvignon Riesling Cabernet Franc Merlot Pinot Noir
Bung Dog Red Chardonnay: The Bonair Estate has 9 acres of Chardonnay. We make two levels of Chardonnay differentiated by the amount of oak and the selection of the grapes and the barrels. The Estate Bottled Rattlesnake Hills (Reserve) Chardonnay is the top of the line. It is barrel-fermented and usually about 2/3 new French oak from the forest of Vosges - the barrel preferred by the makers of White Burgundies like Meursault and Montrachet. The grapes come from our original vines planted in 1980. This wine is packaged in a punted dead leaf green burgundy bottle and sealed with a natural cork. The mid level is the Yakima Valley Chardonnay. It is approximately 1/3 new French oak and more fruit forward. It is a nice food wine, but soft enough for sipping. It is packaged in a flat bottomed dead leaf green burgundy bottle with a twin top cork. Cabernet Sauvignon: the Bonair Estate has eight acres of Cabernet Sauvignon. The Morrison Vineyard has four acres and the Château Puryear Vineyard has four acres. The Morrison Vineyard Rattlesnake Hills Estate Bottled Cabernet Sauvignon is aged 22 months and the best selected French oak barrels from the vineyard for that vintage. The Morrison Vineyard is at the north end of Bonair Road at 1200 feet elevation. It was planted in 1968 and is the oldest vineyard in the Rattlesnake Hills. Production is limited to about 200 cases per year. This is our darkest, most complex, tannic cab. It is very Bordeaux-like in character. It has deep color and complex hints of leather and tobacco. We have used this vineyard since 1987 and purchased it in 2002. It is packaged in punted claret bottles and finished with natural cork. Our least expensive is the Yakima Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine is a blend of new and used American and French oak barrels. It consistently wins high rankings because of its high quality to price ratio. It is probably the best bargain in Washington State Cabs and compares favorably to wines costing $20 to $30. Riesling: The Morrison Vineyard has two acres of Riesling and the Chateau Puryear Vineyard has about five acres. The Yakima Valley Riesling has aromas of juicy fruit and kumquat. Finished between six and seven percent residual sugar, it is very popular with everyone. It is bottled in a champagne green hock bottle and competitively priced. Weather permitting, we save a vineyard for Rattlesnake Hills Riesling Ice Wine. Historically, it is about 42o at harvest and finished to about 18% residual sugar. It is packaged in Bellisima 375 liter bottles. Bung Dog Red: This is what we do with our excess production. Wines that do not go into other wines that are more expensive, go into Bung Dog. It is primarily Pinot Noir with some Cabernet Franc, Malbec, or Petit Verdot. It is always non-vintage and value price to sell out as fast as possible. Generally, it is out by late summer and gone by Christmas. Depending on production, there is a waiting list to buy this wine. 750ml bottles. Merlot: We have two acres of Merlot planted in the Château Puryear Vineyard. Our top of the line is the Rattlesnake Hills Estate Bottled Merlot. This is done in premium packaging. If there is any left, it goes to the Yakima Valley Merlot (Best buy from Wine and Spirits Magazine.) If necessary, we buy grapes for the Yakima Valley Merlot to meet sales projections. It is not sold through the tasting room. Malbec: Malbec seems to be an up and coming grape particularly here in the Rattlesnake Hills. We have one acre planted which produces about three tons of fruit which translates into fewer than 200 cases. It is barrel aged 22 months in 225 liter Centre France oak casks. It is bottled in a premium package as Bonair Estate Bottled Rattlesnake Hills Malbec. Pinot Noir: No one considers the Yakima Valley as Pinot Noir country, but there are many areas in the Yakima Valley that should be planted to Pinot, not Cabernet Sauvignon. We have about three acres of Pinot Noir planted on north slopes to reduce the amount of heat the vines receive. This results in an elegant Pinot Noir that we don't have to pick because it is going to rain all next week. We wait until it is ripe. We select our best fermenter bins and oak age them 22 months in 228 liter Burgundy barrels. The Bonair Estate Bottled Rattlesnake Hills Pinot Noir is packaged in a push-up smoke Burgundy bottle. Cabernet Franc: Cabernet Franc is another of those specialty grapes that does extremely well in the Rattlesnake Hills. We have two acres of Cabernet Franc in the Châteaux Puryear Vineyard. It is aged separately in 225 liter American and French oak barrels, then blended for the final flavor profile. We also add about 20% Cabernet Sauvignon to deepen the color and cut the wildly fruity character of the Cabernet Franc. It is bottled in a punted champagne green Bordeaux bottle and finished with a twin-top cork under the Bonair Estate Bottled Rattlesnake Hills Cabernet Franc label. Gewürztraminer: The Château Puryear Vineyard has a one acre block of Gewürztraminer. Some of the grapes are sold to other wineries, but in alternate years we make two wines from these grapes. By adding brandy we make the Yakima Valley Gewürztraminer Port, a very nice fruit forward desert wine. It can be enjoyed with white chocolate or cheesecake or in the summer do as the Portuguese do, mix it 50-50 with seltzer, add a twist of lemon and enjoy a refreshing carbonated drink. We also make an Alsatian-style dry Gewürztraminer labeled as Yakima Valley Dry Gewürztraminer. This wine was rated 90 by the Wine Enthusiast. Touriga: We are one of the few wineries with a producing block of Touriga Nacional, the official Portuguese port grape. We also have two rows of Tinta Çao and Tinta Madera, two minor port varieties to make the blend traditional. Our Port is hard to distinguish from those made in Portugal. It is packaged in 750 ml bottles and finished with a traditional cork from Portugal and labeled as Yakima Valley Touriga Port.. Sunset: This is our answer to white zinfandel, but once you've tried Sunset, you will never Zin again. It is 96% Riesling and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon. Do not consider it a Blush wine, since that is a trademarked word for crumby California crap from the San Joaquin Valley with natural grape color added. It is bottled in 750 ml. flint claret bottles with 3.5% residual sugar and labeled as Yakima Valley Sunset.. Bonnie Bonair: Although this wine is 100% Pinot Noir, we do not mention it on the label because it is not done in a tradition Pinot Noir style. It is cold fermented in stainless steel and aged in stainless through the winter and bottled the next spring with 2.5% residual sugar. It is bottled in a 750 ml flint claret bottle and labeled Yakima Valley Bonnie Bonair. The flint bottle screams chill me and it is served ice cold with Pasta, pork, or BBQ. Not all wines are available at all times. To see what is currently available, you will need to go to the 'Order Wine' page. (You do not have to complete the order to look at the page). Since we produce 20 different wines, we do not expect our distributors to carry all twenty. Some wines are only sold via distributor and not sold through the winery. |
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