Underling (right) helping one of the Chieftans press the 2004 Chardonnay!
Some of the boys are unloading Cabernet Franc grapes to put into the crusher/destemmer. The Cabernet Franc will be blended into the 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon.
The Underling bottling the 2003 vintage Cabernet.
Vintages of Daniels Creek Winery
My experience in winemaking began in 1997 after several years of the home brewing of beer. I needed a higher mountain to climb and a good friend of mine, native to Northern California, took me under his wing to learn the trials and tribulations of home winemaking. I had another friend who lived nearby that was also interested in expanding his fermenting skills beyond malt and hops. With two of us three winemakers soaking our feet with grape juice for the first time, it was obvious we were more like the Three Stooges then the other first-time craftsman that were spouting up in the Washington State winery business like mushrooms after a Spring rain.
The 1997 vintage was a drink-out! (Non-commercial winery slang for wine all drunk) All bottles gone by the time I tried my second batch in the year 2000. But year 2000 found only my Northern California teacher making this vintage of Cabernet with me. No more Three Stooges - this was serious business now and it called for a serious winery name. This was the birth of Daniels Creek Winery. We had procured grapes through the Western Washington Amateur Winemakers Association (WWAWA), a consortium of Garagistes who with the major grape buying clout, demand and receive the same grapes that some of the prestigious wineries of Washington state also purchase from. The 2000 vintage was an immediate success and from it grew a demand by five other would-be Garagistes to learn our secrets of making great wine for under $5 a bottle. My life was actually threatened if I didn't teach a young yearling who's taste for wine exceeded his ability to make it. In 2002 Daniels Creek was firmly established as the destination Winery for anyone lost and seeking fortification north of Woodinville-Duval Highway.
In 2003 our ranks had grown to fourteen Garagistes. Some of the original five branched out to form their own winemaking group, but we all share the same passion for making great wine, buying the same grapes and coming out with totally different tasting wines - go figure! "A great winemaker has a story to tell" - Timothy Egan from his book "The Winemaker's Daughter." I too have a story to tell, though I am not a great winemaker. My fellow Garagistes have stories to tell too. So enjoy now the changing face of the Daniels Creek Winery Website. May the stories be somewhat true and the hyperbole of my wine acolades grow. Who knows, someday soon I too could become an official winery and wine snob to boot!