While in Walla Walla weekend before last, I had the opportunity to stop by Isenhower Cellars to visit with my father-in-law, Bob, who works in their tasting room. For full disclosure, I have no financial or business interest in this winery, just a connection through family. It was an opportune visit, in that they had recently started pouring some of their new releases. At the same time, it was a very inspiring visit, for Isenhower Cellars has clearly set a new benchmark when it comes to focusing on terroir.

While tasting through their new wines, I noticed how the back label of each bottle detailed the vineyards from which the grapes were sourced. No longer was this reserved for their premium bottlings. The entire portfolio of new Isenhower releases now provide detail on the varietal and vineyard comprising each bottle.

For example, while tasting their Rhone-style red, Rara Avis, I picked up the bottle and was inspired by what I saw on the back label:

"The Rara Avis is 69% Grenache from the Elerding Vineyard near Prosser, Washington, 22% Mouvedre from the Elerding Vineyard located near Alderdale, Washington, and 9% Syrah, also from the Eldering Vineyard near Alderdale, Washington."

How many bottles of Washington wine do you pick up these days immediately connecting you to the what and where behind them? Even better, the Rara Avis tasting notes offer history of each vineyard as well as a great story about what inspired Brett Isenhower to make this wine.

I learned from Brett that offering this level of label detail comes at a cost. Wineries have to submit their labels to the Feds for review and approval before the wine can be sold. I now realize why so many wineries prefer a generic label on their wines, for they need not worry about resubmitting when only the vintage is changing. Isenhower Cellars has decided this is a regulatory burden worth carrying, for they want to ensure a consumer of their wines has the opportunity to learn what's in the bottle and where it's from.

Why is this important? For me, it provides context for the wine I am drinking in terms of understanding where the grapes where grown, how long the vines have been planted, and how they were cultivated. This has allowed me to more easily identify those vineyards producing some of the better fruit in our state. In turn, this is now guiding an increasing percentage of my wine purchases.

With Isenhower Cellars' focus on terroir, they are fulfilling an aspiration featured on the back of each bottle:

“Our goals are to emphasize the character of the vineyards and make wine that reflects how it is supposed to taste. These goals are reached by our attention to every detail, from soil to bottle.”

This isn't just a marketing phrase, but a philosophical approach Isenhower Cellars is practicing with their staff as well. The day before I visited, Brett had taken the entire winery staff on a field trip to visit eight vineyards around eastern Washington. The tasting room staff, the office manager, and even the accountant went along with Brett to each vineyard where he described the unique characteristics of each place. With cold winds blowing and at times snow falling, the staff walked the rows of each vineyard, scooped up the soil, and then tasted the wine that was made from it.

According to Bob, it was a long day, but everyone learned a lot about the terroir of the wines sampled and sold at Isenhower Cellars. It is exciting to think of their visitors now being served by a staff that is that much more knowledgeable and experienced as to where each wine comes from and how it was made. Hopefully more wineries in our state will follow Isenhower's lead in their "team terroir" approach.