HOME PAGE - Kitzke Cellars

Richand, WA Tasting Room Hours
Friday & Saturday: 11:00am – 5:00pm | Sunday: 12:00-4:00
Join us at on the foothills of Candy Mountain! We welcome all, including your furry friends!

BORDEAUX FIELD BLEND

The Field blending method involves picking all the varietals used within the wine at one time and fermenting them together from the beginning. This method is unique in an industry chasing perfection year in and year out. The beautiful outcome is a wine that is cohesive on the palate with intense aromatic range and terroir showing first. We wait for all varietals being used to get within a window of ripeness by tasting the fruit everyday and following the development of each varietal to determine our blend. It changes each year but always represents our Candy Ridge Vineyard perfectly.
Aged in 60% - 100% new French Oak depending on the vintage.

JAMISON OLD BLOCK

Sourced from our neighbor, the 1982 Jamison Block on Candy Ridge Vineyard is truly unique. Cabernet and Merlot are trained in an old Lyre style system with California Sprawl canopy that displays extreme freshness and natural acidity. The tannin profile is big because of the small yielding clusters but the elegance and depth is what separates this wine from the rest.

Aged in 70%-100% new French Oak depending on the vintage for 18-24 months.

CANDY RIDGE VINEYARD

Our original estate block on Candy Ridge Vineyard was planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot in 2000. It sits at 800ft elevation on a hard caliche layer with a very slight south slope without basalt bedrock. Due to the pores quality of caliche the amount of water used is very minimal for Washington. This creates natural stress in the vineyard leading to deep roots and distinctive terroir.

These wines are aged in 40% to 70% New French oak for 18-24 months.

SANGIOVESE

Planted in 2002, our small block of Sangiovese is trained in lyre style system and faces east. It receives morning sun and is protected from the harsh late afternoon rays. Confined to a very limited quantity this wine is rarely available in the tasting room.
Aged in neutral Large Oak 400L to 500L puncheon for 18-20 months depending on vintage

NEBBIOLO

Our soft spot for Italian varietals started with Nebbiolo in 2005. Changing our source over 10 years we have found what we think to be one of the best sites in Washington State for Nebbiolo. Sitting at 1100ft on stoney cobble in the Horse Heaven Hills these vines get great cool nights and protection from extreme warm weather. Made in traditional Barolo methods this wine spends 40 to 45 days on the skins before being pressed off and finishing native malolactic fermentation.
Aged in 500L Puncheon for 20 to 36 months depending on vintage.

CANDY MOUNTAIN

Candy Mountain is one Washington’s newest purposed AVA’s located right outside of Tri-Cities on the South slope of Candy Mountain. The South West side of the AVA will border the famed Red Mountain AVA in Washington State. At 815 acres, Candy Mountain will be Washington’s smallest AVA with some of the state’s top wineries sourcing grapes here.

ESTATE GROWN

Our small Candy Ridge Vineyard allows us to be hands on throughout the whole process. From pruning to picking you will find our family staying in tune with the vineyard throughout the year, adjusting and nurturing each vine as the vintage commands. We are herbicide free and pride ourselves in growing healthy vines that showcase our place on the mountain.

TERROIR DRIVEN

Expressing our small piece of land in each bottle is an absolute honor. It is our promise for place to always be put first in our wines from Candy Mountain. This means we value honesty in our winemaking and promise to never use added tannin, proteins, color additives, or any other wine altering product during our process.

“I imagine the characteristics of the wine would be very similar to Red Mountain because the soils are quite similar. However, Candy Mountain is equivalent to the best of what’s on Red Mountain.” –Kevin Pogue