2005 Hedges Bel'Villa Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Hedges Family Estate was founded in 1987 when Tom and Ann-Marie Hedges, a couple with ties to France --Marie is from the Champagne -- produced their first commercial Columbia Valley Cabernet/Merlot blend. The pair had spent a decade working for large agricultural concerns, but they wanted to be wine producers. Their original idea was to set up a wine producer/brokerage business on the model of the French negoiciants. But in 1989 they purchased 50 acres in the Red Mountain district of Washington’s Yakima Valley and began growing their own grapes. In 1995 the couple built a chateau in Red Mountain. Today the estate is still owned and operated by the Hedges family, which now includes adult children. Hedges is known for its red blends and its Merlot, but it also produces Chardonnay and Syrah. The estate has won numerous awards for its wines.

Washington State, with 59,000 vineyard acres, is the second largest producer of wine in the United States. Wine was made in the state as early as the mid-19th century, but Prohibition and, later, restrictive state laws killed the wine making business in the 20th century until the 1960s, when laws changed and large and small producers started making wines. An influential horticulturalist and agriculture professor name Walter J. Clore studied various grape clones in the 1960s to find the best ones for Washington, and by the 1970s Yakima Valley, Walla Walla and Columbia Valley had all become important grape growing areas. The best vineyards in the state are east of the Cascade Mountain range, where hot dry summers and cold winters are conducive to successful viticulture. Numerous grape varieties are grown, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc at the head of the list.

One of the most widely grown grape varieties, it can be found in nearly every wine growing region. A cross between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. It’s a hardy vine that produces a full-bodied wine with high tannins and great aging potential.