Columbia Crest winery from Columbia Valley, USA

In 1978 Columbia Crest began planting vines in eastern Washington’s Horse Heaven Hills along the Columbia river, after recognising the potential of the region to produce quality grapes. Crest’s head winemaker Ray Einberger joined in 1993. Previously a member of the Opus One international winemaking team, and with extensive work in Bordeaux including Château Mouton-rothschild, Ray was drawn to Washington by the similarities he perceived between French and Washington vineyards. Under Einberger’s leadership, the Columbia Crest winemaking team has produced more 90-plus scoring bottles of wine than any other winery in the world. With the capacity to produce hand-crafted, superior-quality small-lot wines, as well as affordable everyday Washington wines, Crest is today one of America’s most popular and fastest growing wineries.

Being in the rain shadow of the Cascade Mountains, the Crest vineyards receive long dry summers to ripen grapes and cool nights which preserve acidity. The large estate and riverside location create a variety of microclimates, soils and temperatures, which provide the winemaking team distinctively different parcels of grapes. Because the valley is phylloxera-free, Crest is able to propagate new vines from parent plants with the best wine-producing characteristics, and has developed an active shoot-tip culture program, the only such program at a US winery.

With fourteen Wine Spectator Top 100 wines in ten years, including a number one Wine of the Year, Columbia Crest is a leader not only within its appellation but also at international level, exporting to more than 50 countries worldwide.

The range of Columbia Crest wines includes:

Columbia Crest Two Vines Chardonnay
Columbia Crest Two Vines Sauvignon Blanc
Columbia Crest Two Vines Cabernet Sauvignon
Columbia Crest Two Vines Merlot
Columbia Crest Two Vines Shiraz
Columbia Crest Grand Estates Chardonnay
Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet Sauvignon
Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot
Columbia Crest H3 Chardonnay
Columbia Crest H3 Cabernet Sauvignon
Columbia Crest H3 Merlot