Trailblazing Women Winemakers of Washington: A New Era in the Columbia Gorge AVA

In the 40 mile stretch from East to West on the Washington side of the Columbia River, winemakers are fortunate to have an abundance of grape varieties at their fingertips. Microclimates and volcanic soils, all contribute to the diversity in this area, making the Columbia Gorge AVA a very special place, and one that continues to grow in popularity.

Here, a group of winemakers are making waves and building their own brands, some without tasting rooms, left to peddle their wine through pop-ups and word of mouth, or honing their skills working under the umbrella of other well-known wineries in the region.

Teddi Fuller / LUSHINGTON WINES
A one-woman show, from farming the grapes to making the wine and designing the labels, Teddi gave birth to Lushington in 2021.
Working as the assistant winemaker for Domaine Pouillon since 2018, she made her mark here in the Gorge, keeping the winery youthful, by adding her skill set to their Pèt Nat and skin contact wines–wines that she makes under her Lushington label as well.
Teddi tends the Hi Hill Vineyard in Lyle, Washington, sitting at 1888 feet in elevation, sourcing her grapes from the organic vineyard that is inhabited by Old Vine Pinot Noir and Riesling.
Her newest releases include Sparkling Blanc de Noirs, Rosè, a whole cluster Pinot Noir and Piquette, made from Riesling.
You can find her wines at various pop-ups, and can purchase them at many of our local markets and restaurants here in the Gorge.

Lisa Wiseman / RIDGE OF WONDERS
A limited production, family-run winery, Ridge of Wonders made its first vintage in 2016, producing 60 cases of Rosè, in the garage-turned-wine-cellar in Husum, Washington.
Lisa began sourcing her wine grapes from the Columbia Gorge AVA and wanted to make the wine close to that source. Her current releases include two Sparkling wines, a Rosè, Carbonic Pinot Noir, Syrah and Piquette.
Lisa has just embarked on a new adventure–setting up a Tasting Room on the patio at Inn of the White Salmon! Her wines are also available at many of our local markets/restaurants.

Anaïs Mera and Rachel Horn / ANICHE
Since 2009, this mother/daughter duo has been focusing on vintage and terroir, making unique varietal blends! Deeply entrenched in the community, this is absolutely a family affair, with everyone involved in some way.

Two years ago, AniChe purchased 25 acres of vines (and manages 30 acres!) with plans to produce 90 percent of their wines from their dry farmed Estate grapes in 2024. These ladies make a myriad of fun and interesting wines, including Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Grüer Veltliner and a Sparkling from Boushey vineyards, done in the traditional méthode champenoise.

While you can find some of these wines in and around the Gorge, AniChe has chosen to focus almost solely on their wine club for distribution.  The Tasting Room on Underwood Mountain is open Wednesday through Sunday.

Julia Bailey / LOOP DE LOOP WINES
Though Julia Bailey has been making wine since 2012, her first vintage on Underwood Mountain was in 2021, in a facility she owns with husband Scott Gulstine. Julia focuses on low-intervention winemaking and places an emphasis on sustainability and regenerative farming. Her Wallflower Project was created to make wines that are “experimental and fun”, but also makes and bottles Chardonnay, Riesling, Grüner Veltliner, Pinot Noir and Syrah, to name only a few.

The Tasting Room on Underwood Mountain is open Friday through Sunday.

Kelly Johnson / TETRAHEDRON
Kelly grew up in Lyle, Washington and attended Washington State University, earning a degree in Biology, then moved to California to embark on a career in the wine industry. Working in the Napa Valley for 13 years, she eventually returned home to the Columbia Gorge and Tetrahedron was born. Past vintages include Chardonnay, Charbono, Syrah and Merlot.

There is a new tasting room coming in the Spring of 2025! Until the new site opens, there are special occasions for people to taste and purchase bottles with reservations–details are available on their website.

Bethany Kimmel / THE COLOR COLLECTOR
Bethany has been working with Oregon Gamay grapes since 2015, and says, here in the Pacific Northwest, the grape is “perfectly suited to ripen rich fruit flavors”, prompting her to plant and farm on her own property, 2000 feet in elevation, in White Salmon, Washington. Bethany sources Gamay from the Willamette Valley as well, making various expressions of the varietal–a traditional red, a still Rosè, a whole cluster carbonic and delicious Vermouth.

These very intentional and small production wines are available on her website or in many of the local spots around the Gorge, including her own, The Soča Wine Shop.

Shahnnen Elizabeth-Head / ESTELBROOK FARMS & VINEYARD
Cool-climate varieties are grown, and estate wines are made from the 86-acre property that sits above 2,000 feet elevation in Snowden Meadows, north of White Salmon.

Purchased in 2016, she is working to carefully rehabilitate the land, following conscientious agricultural and management principles as much as possible, and planted the first grape vines in 2018. The vineyard now has ten varieties across ten and a half acres. Estelbrook has Organic (CCOF), Demeter Biodynamic, and Regenerative Organic (ROC) certifications — only the eighth vineyard in the world to attain all three certifications.

Stay tuned, as the Farm Shop will include unique products produced on the farm, including wine, cider, honey, and various fruit preserves.

Emilie McKinney / Assistant winemaker Syncline Winery
Emilie went to high school on the central coast of California in Paso Robles, where she began to recognize the scope of the wine industry through friends and their family’s wineries. Bachelor’s degree in hand, in Wine and Viticulture from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, her first harvest job was in 2012 and she hasn’t missed one since!  Emilie has worked in Chile, New Zealand, and Australia as well. This year marks her 14th harvest.
Moving to Oregon in 2016, she worked in the Willamette Valley for nearly seven years. After working a harvest in Australia for Yangarra in 2018, she was reminded how much she loved Rhône varieties, and was hired by owner and winemaker James Mantone in 2022.

Abby Young / Assistant winemaker Hawkins Cellars
After studying Agriculture Education at Oregon State University, Abby began her winemaking journey by accident. Thinking she would be doing only vineyard work for the Summer, she applied at Hawkins Cellars two years ago. When that September rolled around, owner and winemaker, Thane Hawkins, prepared her for what was next. “I fell in love with the harvesting process on day one! Winemaking is a perfect balance of labor, science and industry. I feel stronger, wiser and more deeply connected to those in my community after every harvest season.”

Laura Brennan Bissell / INCONNU
Laura spent several years doing performance poetry and living in Barcelona, then took harvest internships in prestigious Northern California wineries, before launching Inconnu in 2013. Inspired by the beauty of the Gorge, Laura eventually made her way to Underwood, Washington, creating her new brand, Aitia Wines. She practices non-invasive winemaking and uses organically farmed grapes.