Cave B Estate Winery makes the most of its Gorge-ous location

GEORGE, Grant County — Looking due west across the Columbia River, Colockum Ridge steps down basaltic terraces then tumbles precipitously the last 850 feet into calm blue-green waters flowing at the bottom of the gorge.

The view, carved by ice age torrents, exposes millennia of Washington's geologic history.

But on this eastern side, another chapter in the 40-year modern history of Washington's wine industry is unfolding.

Title it "The Doctor is In. Again."

The doctor is retired Mercer Island neurologist Vince Bryan, who with his wife Carol in 1980 planted a vineyard in Grant County overlooking the gorge. In 1983, the couple founded the now-defunct Champs de Brionne winery.

The winery produced up to 18,000 cases and sold much of it at concerts held in the Gorge Amphitheatre. So popular was the outdoor music venue that some of the top acts in the nation began performing there.

In 1993 MCA Records bought the site — lock, stock and wine barrel — from the Bryans. The winery became a general store, supplying armies of concertgoers who camped near the Gorge during events. In 1999, House of Blues bought the outdoor performance venue.

But through the years, three things remained: the vineyards, which the Bryans maintained; their desire to make a great wine; and their love for that dramatic view.

This year, all three merged in Cave B Estate Winery, marking the Bryans' return to premium winemaking after a 10-year hiatus.

A grand opening of the new facility, adjacent to the amphitheater property, was held last month.

"It was sort of an unfinished story out there," Vince Bryan said. "The real goal from the very beginning was to take the wines made from the grapes on this estate as far as they could be taken."

In the interim decade, Bryan plowed the $3.9 million from the sale of Champs de Brionne into developing an artificial spinal disc implant that is being used commercially in many countries. U.S. clinical trials for the disc started earlier this year, he said.

Development and manufacturing of the patented Bryan Cervical Disc System are now being handled by Minneapolis-based Medtronic Inc., allowing the doctor and his wife to return full-time to their passion for wine.

Their love of wine developed over decades of touring Europe and was seasoned by their first foray into the business. This time, they say, the wine they produce will be made in a setting that takes full advantage of the gorge view.

"We had a feeling that when we acquired the property, we would assume stewardship of a national park," Bryan said.

The facility itself blends into the terrain so as not to upstage the natural spectacle. The tasting room was designed and built out of native basalt in collaboration with Sebastian Valenzuela, a stonemason from Guadalajara. Valenzuela's son, also named Sebastian, and daughter Lorena handle special projects on the grounds for the Bryans. Inside a massive wood door, the bar is fashioned out of old oak barrel staves and topped with polished birch.

The wine cellar is a faux cave made by partially burying a corrugated steel structure into the ground and covering it with native stone and vegetation.

Outside, overlooking 50 acres of sectioned vineyards and the Gorge to the west, is a lawn picnic area with tables and two gazebos, all surrounded by vines that will grow into an overhead arbor.

Bryan said an inn and a fine dining restaurant on or near the site also may be in Cave B's future, although no firm plans have been drawn up.

With viticulturist Jeff Cleveringa and veteran Washington winemaker Brian Carter as consultants, the winery has already won medals for two of its six first releases. Its 2001 Cave B Semillon ($35) won bronze at the Northwest Wine Summit, and its 2001 Angelo's Cabernet Sauvignon ($21) won silver at the Central Washington State Fair Wine Competition.

With the Cave B wines ($30 to $45 depending on the varietal) the Bryans put their best foot forward. The Angelo's wines ($18 to $21) are a second label.

The basic difference between the two brands, Bryan said, is that grapes selected for Cave B are the top 1 to 3 percent of the vintage and are hand-harvested about two weeks after the Angelo's grapes to allow them to build more flavor and intensity on the vine.

The higher-priced Cave B wines, with a total of just 265 cases made this year, use only the unpressed, free-run juices from the grapes after their skins are split in the crusher. The wines also are aged longer than Angelo's — for two years in 100 percent French oak barrels, and another six months in the bottle before they are released.

Bryan said he will limit production to a total for both brands of about 5,000 cases a year. His first bottling this year produced a total of 1,543 cases. A second bottling will be next month.

"By restricting the size of the operation, we can really focus on the quality," he said.

But can the wine market, with prices trending downward, support another new ultra-premium winery?

One of the Bryans' consultants, Carter, thinks so — especially if the couple is able to sell the wine country setting along with the wine.

"They are on a unique spot with some unique ideas for marketing," Carter said of the Bryans. "They have something other places don't have, and I think they can carve a niche for themselves there."

Marketing manager Sherrye Wyatt said that for now, the winery is aiming to sell its products mostly through a Cave B Estate Winery club and through the tasting room, which has a ready-made, potentially high-traffic clientele during concerts at the adjacent amphitheater.

As she puts it: "You come for the view, but stay for the wine."

Thomas P. Skeen: 509-525-3300 or tskeen@ubnet.com