The drive to Red Willow Vineyard, in Washington’s Yakima Valley, takes you to what feels like the end of the Universe. You head out on West Wapato Road and drive until it feels like Mt. Adams is right in front of you. Really the mountain just gets bigger and bigger. You are almost as far west as there are vineyards in the Yakima Valley. It felt like we had driven forever, and I was getting a bit concerned. It’s not easy to get a signal out here. I was staring hard at each passing sign to be sure we didn’t miss the road to turn on. At last, we found the road and made the turn.

Jonathan Sauer is waiting for us. His crew is gathering up at the end of the day. He assures them he will close-up.

Jonathan could not be nicer. He has a humble air about him, but he is friendly and brings a brightness to the conversation that puts you immediately at ease. He is the 4th generation of his family to work on this farm. His father Mike, first planted wine grapes here. We gather up our equipment and climb on the ATV to head up the hill, into the vineyard.

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