VINEYARDS
THE BEST WINES FROM THE BEST VINES
CONNER LEE
The Bookwalter family has worked with the Conner, Lee and Sullivan family owners of Conner Lee Vineyard for over 28 years, planting, redesigning, harvesting and producing every vintage.
Today, we buy over half Conner Lee’s produce and bottle these wines in our top selections. It is a special 150 acre vineyard in a cool site in central Washington growing fruit for over ten of Washington’s best wineries. We harvest the oldest 1987, 1988 and 1991 blocks of cabernet sauvignon and 1992 merlot, along with cabernet franc, syrah, malbec and chardonnays all of various chosen clones.
Jerry Bookwalter with Tom Thorsen and David Ayala built and grew daily over the last 25 years the many blocks we harvest with guidance from John Bookwalter and his leading international consultants Zelma Long and Claude Gros. Together now with Caleb Foster as winemaker, who has produced Conner Lee wines since 1992, the shared depth of understanding of the vineyard shines through the Bookwalter portfolio produced with Conner Lee fruit.
ELEPHANT MOUNTAIN
Developed in 1995 and owned by the Hattrup Family, Elephant Mountain Vineyard is high on the southern slopes of the Rattlesnake Ridge at the base of Elephant Mountain, in the Yakima Valley Appellation.
The vineyard has a unique warm micro climate, soil type and outstanding wine growing management which John Bookwalter recognized from his first harvests from Elephant Mountain Vineyard in 2006.
Elephant Mountain Vineyard has unique advantages of slope, elevation, and gravelly & calcareous soils, and long growing season with extra frost free days. These advantages are realized with the diligent growing team of this new vineyard who work closely with us to grow fruit to our highest expectations. We produce outstanding cabernets and syrahs every year from Elephant Mountain, often showing them off in our wine club wines.