Goose Ridge
NEWS
SEASONAL NEWSLETTER • MARCH 2022
A Climate of Excellence
Family owned. Estate grown.
Letter from the Monson Family Greetings from Goose Ridge, The new year at Goose Ridge Estate Vineyard and Winery started under a blanket of snow. Seeing Goose Mountain covered in fresh snow always reminds us of the unique beauty of our estate vineyard, and how much we love having all four seasons on the farm. Undeterred by the snow, our team has been busy creating new wines, perfecting old favorites and starting new partnerships. Our family has always been huge Washington sports fans and we’re taking that to new level. Our VIDO Vodka is now the official premium vodka of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken and the Climate Pledge Arena. To celebrate, we’ve introduced a limited-edition label of VIDO Vodka featuring the Seattle Kraken logo. We started VIDO Vodka to fulfill one of our dad’s dreams. With this partnership, we look forward to making VIDO Vodka a part of the fans’ celebrations as they chase after their own dreams on and off the ice. While the cold winter temperatures may have us breaking out bottles of Goose Ridge Estate Cabernet, in the cellar, winter means Rosé is just around the corner. This year we are adding a new brand into the portfolio with Revelation Rosé. It is a showstopping wine that we can’t wait to share with you. Lastly, our tasting rooms have been mixing up all types of excitement to kick off the year. Our winemaker Andrew has been hosting blending classes and in Woodinville and Richland, we’re shaking and stirring new monthly signature cocktails. Be sure to stop in and see what’s new. Cheers! The Monson Family
Valerie Monson | Bill Monson | Molly Monson Stutesman
From the Ranch
Winter came in like a lion this year! In fact, the snow has really hampered our pruning on the Estate. Admittedly, the wintry landscape has been a beautiful sight to behold. A tour of the upper tier of vineyards on Goose Mountain revealed a winter wonderland. The perfect combination of low hanging, damp fog paired with 30-degree temperatures had the vines looking white as snow. Now the winter blanket has melted and we are catching up on our pruning across all our vineyards and orchards. Five crews working for
a total of about 100 people per day is helping to get us back on track. Chardonnay, Syrah and Riesling are about 85% completed and it’s looking like buds are generally in good shape for this crop year. Pruning is also progressing well with our Cherries. On the apple front, we’re packing Honey Crisp, Fuji and Granny Smith apples for market. The winter is also a great time to catch up in the office. Hard to believe but we’re getting organized for Harvest 2022.
From the Cellar If it’s cold outside, we must be assembling our Rosé and white blends inside. We’re well under way, including pulling together the blend for our newest brand, Revelation Rosé. We bottled this collection of wines in February and will get them out the door as soon as we can. It seems Rosé season continues to move beyond the spring and summer months, and we’re buzzing with excitement about our collection. Beyond our new Revelation Rosé, watch for the Goose Ridge Rosé as well as our lineup of whites, including the Goose Ridge Riesling, Pinot Gris, and Sauvignon Blanc. In addition to these familiar brands, we have a new wine coming together and getting close to bottling: Among the Giants Merlot! Our Estate Merlot is unique and stands out in its expression compared to neighboring wine regions and, honestly, international Merlot; this makes it the perfect first red wine offering from the Among the Giants line. We will continue assembling 2020 blends throughout the winter months. The Goose Ridge Vireo,
We are also revisiting the 2020 reds and thinking about those blends, leading with the G3 Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Red Wine, as well as TruthBe-Told Cabernet. The 2020 vintage is beautiful and balanced with wonderful fruit intensity. We can’t wait to get these wines bottled and available for everyone to enjoy.
Sol Duc, and all the Goose Ridge Red wines are in the process of blending before returning to barrel for aging and harmonizing before summer bottling. We’re also focused on our rarest wines, the Goose Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon and Goose Mountain Echelon. Goose Mountain sits at the center of our Estate as part of the newly named Goose Gap AVA. This best kept secret consistently expresses what we call the pinnacle of viticulture and winemaking from our Estate vineyards. We’re very proud of Goose Gap and are having fun training our tasting room staff and winery employees about this unique viticultural area that encompasses our Estate vineyards.
Wind in Our Sales VIDO Vodka: Official Premium Vodka of the Seattle Kraken VIDO Vodka has a new partnership with Climate Pledge Arena and the Seattle Kraken as the team and arena’s official premium vodka. VIDO Vodka has Washington at its core. Joining forces with the Seattle Kraken and Climate Pledge Arena, honors VIDO’s Washington roots while sharing in the excitement for the new local team. Solidifying this partnership, the Seattle Kraken executive team came out to visit the distillery. The sponsorship includes VIDO vodka cocktails featured in the Climate Pledge Arena, signage and exposure around the team practice arena, tickets and access to games, concerts and the array of activities offered at the arena, and countless other benefits.
wine is more than what meets the eye, just like the strong group of women from Goose Ridge who are bringing Revelation to life. Revelation is rooted in three generations of strong, confident women steeped in vineyards, wine and grape growing. A female force has impacted this wine at every step of the process from the vineyards and the cellar to the design, marketing and sales. Learn more by visiting www.RevByGR.com and on Instagram at @rev.rose. Among the Giants is all about the destination and “x” marks the spot. It’s where the perfect elevation and soils intersect. Chardonnay and MERLOT from the Goose Gap appellation is shoulder to shoulder with some of the best appellations in Washington or as we like to say, Among the Giants. Available this March.
To celebrate its status as the premium vodka of the Seattle Kraken, VIDO Vodka is introducing a limitededition label featuring the signature Seattle Kraken “S” and blue colorways. Available in March at retailers across the Pacific Northwest.
Destination Brands Bringing New Brands to Life Are you ready for a Revelation? Revelation 2021 Goose Gap Rosé is coming this March. This showstopping
G3 continues to bask in the glow of recent scores.
To celebrate its status as the premium vodka of the Seattle Kraken NHL Hockey team, VIDO Vodka introduced a limited-edition label featuring the signature Seattle Kraken “S” and blue colorways.
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VIDO + KRAKEN TEAM VISITING VIDO DESTILERY!
Tasting Room News The Kraken is coming – VIDO Vodka Limited Edition Seattle Kraken Label To celebrate its status as the premium vodka of the Seattle Kraken NHL Hockey team, VIDO Vodka introduced a limited-edition label featuring the signature Seattle Kraken “S” and blue colorways. Both the Woodinville and Richland Goose Ridge Tasting Rooms have the special VIDO Vodka Seattle Kraken label available for purchase. Pair the LimitedEdition label with octopus themed glasses and decanters to truly bring the legendary sea monster to life.
Shaken or Stirred: Monthly Cocktails In the Richland and Woodinville Tasting Rooms, stop in to sample our featured monthly cocktail. Each month we will be serving up a new cocktail creation featuring VIDO Vodka. This February, we’re seeing hearts with a Strawberry Mule.
Blending In Winter is the time of year we organize blending classes in our tasting rooms. Each class gives participants the opportunity to assemble their own unique blend from individual batches. Andrew, Casey, and Maurine join our guests to talk about the process of blending and guide each person while they experiment with their own combinations. It is fun to see how people engage with the blending process and how it gives them a new perspective on how wines are created.
WA Wine Month Food Cookbook & 2 bottles of wine! We are delighted to be featured in Washington Wine + Food - The Cookbook. Over 80 Seattle-area top chefs have put together lovely recipes that highlight the bounties of our region (and pair beautifully with our wines, of course!). This featured offer includes two of our most anticipated new releases and the Washington Wine + Food cookbook. Order this week to enjoy ground shipping included or pickup in one of our 4 tasting rooms!
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In Conversation with Will Wright Tell us about Destination Brands.
Destination Brands is a collection of fine wine & spirit brands developed and produced by Goose Ridge. These brands highlight a place and a purpose. The place is Goose Mountain & Goose Gap, the purpose is to create and market high quality, innovative brands that share the Goose Ridge destination and story. 2021 was an epic year for Destination Brands, Goose Ridge and the Monson Family. What were your favorite highlights? 2021 was a year where many of our initiatives came together. From our new brand innovations including Among the Giants, Revelation Rosé and Truth Be Told – all highlighting our incredible vineyards & winemaking, to our new VIDO Vodka sponsorship with the NHL’s Seattle Kraken & Climate Pledge Arena. There is so much opportunity with this incredible partnership and vodka. I would also like to recognize the incredible job our winemaking team has done the last two vintages. 90 to 92pts scores across the board from this group. There is so much to celebrate with this team and a job well done. Consumers are taking note of our brands. Looking ahead, there is still so much more to come As head of Sales for Destination Brands and Goose Ridge Estate Vineyard & Winery, your travels take you around the country constantly. What are some of the top trends in wine & spirits you’re seeing in the market? With all the pantry loading in 2020 & 2021 of value wines, retailers and consumers alike are looking for something that is real. Premium wine & spirits that offer a premium experience. Products that are real, have a history and tell stories will win in 2022. Cabernet Sauvignon will continue to be the category leader of red wines, but Merlot will see renewed interest. There is a lot of talk about premium merlot and its great versatility. Washington Merlot will be highlighted amongst all domestic Merlot. I like our chances with the Goose Gap AVA Merlot. I’d say it’s one of the best being produced in Washington State!
Anything new on the horizon for Destination Brands in 2022? We continue to look at expanding our wine & spirits portfolio. On the horizon is a new Artisan Gin brand. There’s a lot of excitement around this project as the gin category has caught fire! Many mixologists are experimenting with new cocktails using these new age gins. Truth Be Told is a partnership that highlights Columbia Valley and Napa Valley. What other regions would you like to explore for an AVA mash up? Oregon Pinot Noir continues to excite. Willamette Valley would be a fun opportunity for us to explore. What gets you up in the morning? Believing in the work I do and sharing my experiences with others. Working for the Monson Family has been an incredible opportunity to be a part of something special. I take a lot of pride in representing the family and their businesses. Helping build their family legacy is an honor. I’m always excited to see what the next day brings us. What’s on your ‘To-Do’ list these days? One of our biggest initiatives in 2022 is to get folks out to our property. The more industry people we can host in our vineyards, and at the winery & distillery, the more brand ambassadors we will have around the country. You can only share so much in a presentation or a Zoom call. It is what you experience here at Goose Ridge that is most memorable. There is no place like Goose Ridge & Goose Mountain in the entire country. We can’t wait to share our destination with all. Will Destination Brands expand into other spirits? We are working on a new Gin brand, which also highlights the high-quality spirit produced from our estate grown red wine. This is going to be a game changer in the gin category. There won’t be anything like it. We are certainly exploring other spirit opportunities as well. More to share down the road.
When you’re not on the road or at the winery how do you like to spend your down time? “Family First” is something you’ll hear me reference often. Spending time with my family is always at the top of list. We like to travel together, looking for the next best vacation spot around the world.
What are you drinking these days? My cocktail of choice is almost always a Gin & Tonic. This spring and summer I’ll be drinking our new Revelation Rosé 2021. A dry Rosé highlighting our new Goose Gap AVA. This is going to be one of our top selling wines in 2022! So good!!
Will Wright Vice President National Sales & Marketing DESTINATION BRANDS
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Tasting Room at Richland, WA 16304 N Dallas Rd Richland, WA 99352 509.628.3880 info@gooseridge.com
Tasting Room at Woodinville, WA 14450 Woodinville Redmond Rd NE Suite #108 Woodinville, WA 98072 425.488.0200 info@gooseridge.com
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