Local Wineries Rush To The Crush

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Story Published: Oct 6, 2008 at 4:42 PM PST

By Steve Wellman

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Nimble fingers work quickly, rushing to gather the grapes while conditions are perfect.

In wine country, it's known as "The Crush", as load after load of prime grapes come off the vines and go into the presses.

Along with other growers, Bonair Winery near Zillah is celebrating a good year, because nature largely cooperated.
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"We're coming in with normal sugars. We picked chardonnay at a little over twenty four percent sugar," says Gail Puryear, Bonair owner.

And Bonair looks to reap good profits, since Yakima wines are now gaining widespread attention for quality.

Puryear says, "We have a top 100 wines in the world award for one of our wines. We have no qualms about comparing our wines to any other region."

Even with a sliding economy, orders for local wines aren't slacking. Shirley Puryear, Bonair’s self-proclaimed “Wine Goddess" tells Action News, "Case sales have been up. We do some wholesale directly from the winery to local restaurants, but most of it is done through distributors."

But while the grapes look excellent, deciding exactly when to pick this year was a bit of a challenge. The late spring made the growing season shorter.

Bonair’s winemaker, Willard Meecham, stands in the cellar where barrels are stored. "Making the right picking decisions based on flavor is a lot more complicated than saying 'this is the number we have let's pick.'"

So now time is critical, with wineries going near around the clock to finish the crush at the peak.

Steve Wellman is next to the crushing machine. "I'm trying not to get splattered with grape juice here,” he says, “but the smell is near indescribable it's the essence of the fresh fruit coming off the vine just starting the winemaking process.”

The business of wines is still on the grow near Yakima.

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