Winery Andrew Will Winery

Adress: 12526 Southwest Bank Road Vashon, WA
Country: United States
internet: http://www.andrewwill.com
Wine district: none
wines

Andrew Will Winery was started in 1989 and is owned by Chris Camarda. The winery was launched out of a love for wine that Chris developed while working in the restaurant trade for almost 20 years. Named after his son Will and nephew Andrew, Andrew Will has been a major contributor in putting Washington State on the map as a world-class wine-producing region.

Initially, the winery consisted of 900 square feet of rented industrial space in Seattle. In the early days, everything was done by hand from shoveling grapes into crushers, to labeling and delivering the wine. In 1994, the winery moved to Vashon Island, a short ferry ride from Seattle, where the present winery was built on 5 acres which also includes his home.

In the early years, Chris made single varietals of which his Merlots in particular, received critical acclaim. Robert Parker wrote that "no winery in America has made a series of Merlots as sumptious and delicious as these 1995's."

Yet, as Chris Camarda has developed his style of winemaking over the years, he has chosen to focus on the primacy of the vineyard over variety. It is now the driving force behind Andrew Will. While the idea of terroir has become almost a hollow marketing tool, it has great attraction for Chris in its purest form. "I believe that an individual piece of property can form a signature - an identity - and it is that face that is the focus of my winemaking. We are trying to let the vineyards reveal themselves," he says. "I believe that if Washington is ever to be considered a great wine region we need to establish the characteristics of our geographical areas and the characteristics of each vineyard in those areas," he adds.

He also believes that blends of varieties also make the most complex and attractive wines. The Cabernet Franc and Merlot, two grapes which mature beautifully over the long growing season in Eastern Washington, when blended with Cabernet Sauvignon best express the characteristics of a vineyard.

Andrew Will wines are labeled by vineyard with each wine a different makeup of the Bordeaux varietals. These vineyards, all in the Columbia Valley, include Camarda's own estate Two Blondes. He is part owner of the Champoux Vineyard and sources from Ciel du Cheval Vineyard.

Andrew Will has no plans to increase output beyond 4800 cases but instead to focus on the vineyards and the care needed to produce the kind of fruit to satisfy the Andrew Will ideals. In the words of one wine critic, "he remains among the real stars of Washington."

"Camarda's (wines) blend power with elegance, concentration with finesse, and super sweet fruit with definition. (He) is a brilliant winemaker." -Robert Parker