Located on the west bank of the Columbia River just downstream of Northport, Washington, China Bend Winery brings a unique approach to winemaking in a scenic corner of our region.
Bart and Victory Alexander first arrived on the property 50 years ago as self-described "back-to-the-land hippies" who planned to grow fruits and vegetables in the sun-soaked clearing above the river.
"It was just absolutely raw, undeveloped land with no improvements of any kind," Bart says. "At that time we weren't sure if we could do wine or not because the experts of the day 50 years ago were telling us, 'No, you can't grow grapes up there.' But I had been to Europe as a young guy and had seen grapes growing. It's a really challenging environment. So it was largely just a matter of years of experimentation to find varieties that would come to perfection in a climate like this."
In business as a vineyard and winery for 35 years, China Bend Winery made a dramatic shift in 2005 when Bart's interest in ancient civilizations led him to learn of a new discovery. Clay tablets describing various forms of Sumerian agriculture had been unearthed and translated, and he says one describing winemaking caught his eye.
"There was one thing that they did in making wine that we'd never heard of any winery ever doing before, or read about any of my studies, and is something very simple, very natural, but radically different in the way that they handled the grapes in the fermentation," Bart says.
Initially shocked by what he had learned, Bart thought it must have been a misinterpretation of the Sumerian language inscribed in the tablet. However, he was also intrigued and decided to set aside one barrel to experiment on.
While they won't reveal their secret, Bart says that "it makes a very, very noticeable, very remarkable difference in the wine," and they've been sticking with it ever since that initial experiment.
And it's not the only technique that sets China Bend Winery's products apart. All of China Bend Winery's wines are organically grown and contain no added sulfites.
Sulfites naturally occur in the winemaking process, especially for reds, but most winemakers add in sulfites as well as they help keep the product shelf stable. While they help preserve the wine, sulfites are also commonly accused of being the culprit behind those post-wine headaches.
China Bend Winery
3751 Vineyard Way
Kettle Falls, Wash.
chinabend.com
Such natural wines have become quite trendy in culinary hipster circles in recent years, but China Bend Winery has been on the bandwagon since long before it was cool.
Beyond the wines, the Alexanders give would-be customers plenty of reason to make the trip up past Kettle Falls.
"The minute you arrive, you are on a beautiful estate right on the banks of Lake Roosevelt. The vineyards and gardens are beautiful and just a great place to explore if nothing else. But we have a nice area in front of the winery that's a nice lawn with shade and picnic tables," Bart says.
Just next to the vineyards, in the shade of towering ponderosa pines, you'll find the winery, tasting room and a bed and breakfast — you'll want to make reservations in advance, as there is room for just one set of guests at a time.
The winery also hosts events like their Summer Party on July 6, Garlic Faire on Aug. 17 and Salsa Fiesta on Sept. 14. These events feature live music, arts and crafts, local products, and gourmet food, some of which is made on site by Victory.
"She has a beautiful garden that you come by as you go to the winery where she grows all the various ingredients for a line of salsas and pickled foods and this sort of thing that we process right on the estate here, fresh out of the garden," Bart says.
As you would expect from a pair of self-described hippies, Victory's foods are all organic as well.
This eclectic mix of producing the presently trendy natural wines, by a couple from the countercultural back-to-the-land era of the 1960s and '70s, with the twist of an even greater blast from the past to Bronze Age Sumeria, ensures China Bend Winery is one of the most eclectic winemakers in the region.
