Boushey Vineyard is a

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...

-growing estate located in the

Yakima Valley AVA Yakima Valley is the first American Viticultural Area (AVA) established in Washington state on April 3, 1983 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Treasury after reviewing the petition submitted by the Yakima Valley Appellation ...

, north of

Grandview, Washington Grandview is a city in Yakima County, Washington, United States. It is about 38 miles west of Kennewick and 38 miles southeast of Yakima. The population was 10,907 at the 2020 census. Grandview's economy is agriculture based; with apples, cher ...

. Grapes grown in the vineyard have been used to produce some of the most critically acclaimed Washington wines with the name Boushey regularly being featured on vineyard designated wines. Paul Gregutt,

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

writer for the ''

Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

'' and ''

Wine Enthusiast Wine Enthusiast Companies is a New York based company that engages in the wine, e-commerce, information, education, events, media, and travel markets.Covel, Simona, ''The Wall Street Journal'' (October 2, 2008)Wine Enthusiast Looks to Win Over ...

'', list Boushey as one of the "top ten" vineyards in the entire state.P. Gregutt ''"Washington Wines and Wineries: The Essential Guide"'' pg 85-86 University of California Press 2007 The vineyard is owned and managed by

viticulturist Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ...

Dick Boushey who was honored in 2002 by the Washington State Wine Commission as

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

's "Grower of the Year" and in 2007 by

Wine & Spirits ''Wine & Spirits'' is an American wine magazine. With an editorial and business office in New York, the magazine publishes four issues annually. History The magazine was started under the name ''Winestate's Wine & Spirits Buying Guide''. In Oc ...

as their "Grower of the Year". After

Red Willow Vineyard Red Willow Vineyard is a grape-growing estate located in the far western end of Yakima Valley AVA, within the Yakama Indian Reservation. Beginning with their relationship with Columbia Winery and Master of Wine David Lake, grapes from Red Willo ...

, which was planted with David Lake and Mike Sauer, Boushey was one of the first Washington wine growers to plant

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse ...

. Today, Boushey Vineyard is considered by wine experts such as Jon Bonné to be ''"One of the state's top Syrah spots"'' with many Washington Syrahs made from Boushey's grape receiving critical acclaim.

Dick Boushey

Dick Boushey, a

cherry A cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus ''Prunus'', and is a fleshy drupe (stone fruit). Commercial cherries are obtained from cultivars of several species, such as the sweet '' Prunus avium'' and the sour '' Prunus cerasus''. The na ...

and

apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

grower first planted Boushey Vineyard with

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...

and

Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

in 1980—three years before the Yakima Valley was recognized as an

American Viticultural Area An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States, providing an official appellation for the mutual benefit of winery, wineries and consumers. Winemakers frequently want their consumers to know abo ...

. Boushey Vineyard was located in a cooler region of the Yakima Valley and the grapes grown here soon earned distinction for the unique ''

terroir (; ; from ''terre'', ) is a French language, French term used to describe the environmental factors that affect a crop's phenotype, including unique environment contexts, farming practices and a crop's specific growth habitat. Collectively, th ...

'' they exhibit that was different from grapes grown in the warmer Red Mountain to the east and Wahluke Slope to the north. At the request of

Rhone Ranger The Rhone Rangers are a group of American winemakers who promote the use of grape varieties from the Rhône Valley. They are mostly based on the West Coast, particularly California, and have created a not-for-profit organization for the promotion ...

winemaker Doug McCrea of McCrea Cellars, Boushey began planting Rhone

varietal A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...

s and was one of the earliest Washington vineyards to grow Syrah.

Opposition to the Rattlesnake Hills AVA

Boushey Vineyard is located among the Rattlesnake Hills but when part of the Rattlesnake Hills west of his vineyard was proposed as an

, Dick Boushey was in opposition to the plan. Boushey argued that the area did not have distinctive ''terroir'' that would merit an AVA stating ''"I know of no regional style, specific variety or type of wine that is unique to this proposed area. The granting of this proposal would confuse consumers and undermine the existing Yakima Valley Appellation."''

Vineyard and grape varieties

Boushey Vineyard is actually composed of 5 locations, all near each other and Dick Boushey's home in Grandview. Across these locations the elevation varies from 800–1400 feet and include a diverse range of

vineyard soils The soil composition of vineyards is one of the most important viticulture, viticultural considerations when planting grape vines. The soil supports the root structure of the vine and influences the drainage levels and amount of minerals and nutrie ...

. The highest blocks of the Boushey Vineyard feature relatively shallow silt loam overlying fractured

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

. The vineyard blocks at elevations below 1100 feet have thick silt loam soils that overlie layered slack-water deposits of the Missoula floods. The vineyard receives an average of 2600

Growing degree-day Growing degree days (GDD), also called growing degree units (GDUs), are a heuristic tool in phenology. GDD are a measure of heat accumulation used by horticulturists, gardeners, and farmers to predict plant and animal development rates such as the ...

a year, putting it on the

Winkler scale The Winkler Index, sometimes known as the Winkler Scale or Winkler Regions, is a technique for classifying the climate of wine growing regions based on heat summation or growing degree-days. In the system, geographical areas are divided into five ...

as a ''Region II''.Andy Perdue '
Washington: Yakima Valley
"'' Wine Press Northwest. March 29th 2009 Among the

grape varieties This list of grape varieties includes cultivated grapes, whether used for wine, or eating as a table grape, fresh or dried (raisin, currant, sultana). For a complete list of all grape species, including those unimportant to agriculture, see ''V ...

grown in Boushey Vineyard include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot,

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux (wine), Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire (wine), Loire's C ...

Petit Verdot Petit Verdot is a variety of red wine grape, principally used in classic Bordeaux blends. It ripens much later than the other varieties in Bordeaux, often too late, so it fell out of favour in its home region. When it does ripen it adds tannin, ...

Sangiovese Sangiovese is a red Italian wine grape variety that derives its name from the Latin , "blood of Jove, Jupiter". Sangiovese Grosso, used for traditionally powerful and slow maturing red wines, is primarily grown in the central regions of Italy ...

Roussanne Roussanne () is a white wine grape grown originally in the Rhône wine region in French wine, France, where it is often blended with Marsanne. It is the only other white variety, besides Marsanne, allowed in the northern Rhône appellation d'Orig ...

Grenache blanc Grenache blanc (; also known as garnatxa blanca in Catalonia) is a variety of white wine grape that is related to the red grape Grenache. It is mostly found in Rhône wine blends and in northeast Spain. Its wines are characterized by high alcohol ...

Marsanne Marsanne () is a white wine grape, most commonly found in the Northern Rhône region. It is often blended with Roussanne. In Savoie the grape is known as ''grosse roussette''. Outside France it is also grown in Switzerland (where it is known a ...

and

Picpoul Piquepoul (), Picpoul, or Picapoll is a variety of wine grape grown primarily in the Rhone Valley and Languedoc regions of France as well as Catalonia, Spain. It exists both in dark-skinned (Piquepoul noir) and light-skinned (Piquepoul blan ...

. The variety most often associated with Boushey is

Wineries

Boushey Vineyard grows some of the most highly sought-after grapes in Washington. Dick Boushey works closely with the winemakers who use his grapes, willing to accommodate them on

viticultural Viticulture (, "vine-growing"), viniculture (, "wine-growing"), or winegrowing is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ...

issues such

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

canopy management In viticulture, the canopy of a grapevine includes the parts of the vine visible aboveground - the trunk, cordon, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruit. The canopy plays a key role in light energy capture via photosynthesis, water use as regulated ...

vine training The use of vine training systems in viticulture is aimed primarily to assist in canopy management with finding the balance in enough foliage to facilitate photosynthesis without excessive shading that could impede grape ripening or promote grap ...

and

thinning In agricultural sciences, thinning is the removal of some plants, or parts of plants, to make room for the growth of others. Selective removal of parts of a plant such as branches, buds, or roots is typically known as '' pruning''. In forestry ...

, selling only to a core group of winemakers who produces wines that match the style produced by his vineyard. A few of the wineries who use Boushey grapes (including those who produce vineyard-designated wines) include Avennia, Barrage Cellars, Betz Family Winery, The Bunnell Family Cellar, Chinook Wines,

DeLille Cellars DeLille Cellars is a winery in Woodinville, Washington, USA. The tasting room is located in the Hollywood District of Woodinville, at the former Redhook Brewery. DeLille Cellars specializes in wines using the Bordeaux grape varieties: Cabernet Sauv ...

Chateau Ste Michelle Chateau Ste. Michelle is a winery in Woodinville, Washington, United States, east of Seattle. It is the state's oldest winery and produces Chardonnay, Cabernet, Merlot, and Riesling, and has winemaking partnerships with two vintners: Col Solare ...

Eight Bells Winery
Fidelitas Wines, Gorman Winery, McCrea Cellars, Syncline Wine, Three Rivers Winery, Two Vintners, Forgeron Cellars, Ross Andrew Winery
W.T. Vintners
and Long Shadows. For Long Shadows, Boushey provides Syrah grapes for

Australian wine The Australian wine industry is one of the world's largest exporters of wine, with approximately 800 million out of the 1.2 to 1.3 billion litres produced annually exported to overseas markets. The wine industry is a significant contributor ...

maker (and former

Penfolds Grange Penfolds Grange (until the 1989 vintage labelled Penfolds Grange Hermitage) is an Australian wine, made predominantly from the Shiraz (Syrah) grape and usually a small percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. It is widely considered one of Australia' ...

head winemaker) John Duval and Sangiovese for

Tuscan wine Tuscan wine is Italian wine from the Tuscany region. Located in central Italy along the Tyrrhenian coast, Tuscany is home to some of the world's most notable wine regions. Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano are p ...

makers Ambrogio & Giovanni Folonari.Long Shadows '
Boushey Vineyard
"'' Vineyard Profiles. Accessed: January 1st, 2010

References

{{reflist, 2 Washington (state) wine

Dick Boushey

Opposition to the Rattlesnake Hills AVA

Vineyard and grape varieties

Wineries

See also

References