*Our family has been farming in Washington for 129 years and farming in the Horse Heaven Hills for over 80 years. Before moving to the Horse Heaven Hills, My Grandfather and Grandmother farmed near Lowden near the Smalls, whose family now has Woodward Canyon Winery.
George Washington Smith (GW) started farming in the Horse Heavens as a tenant farmer, he broke out ground on one farm and was moved to the next, getting a crop and then again breaking new ground. He was responsible for breaking 100,000 acres of sagebrush, turning those acres into productive land.
It was not an easy job, times were changing and he was making the change from Horses to Caterpillar tractors, The Iron Horse. Still facing the challenges of the first pioneer families, but because of economy of scale enabled by the Caterpillar, he was able to overcome the element.
After many years of working as a tenant farmer, he purchased his own piece of ground in 1941. This is where the Andrews Family Vineyard is located today.
Just as they purchased the farm from Billings and Stout Sheep Company, World War II broke out. The ground was made part of a Naval Firing Range.
My mom and her sisters have shared many stories of this period. My aunt tells stories of watching the planes practice their fighting tactics and mom tells stories of seeing the tracers at night through the bedroom windows and through the cracks in the walls.
As the war was over, my Grandfather was anxious to move to the farm and start to rebuild. Why I share this part of the story is that during the time the ground was be used as a firing range all the buildings burnt. A new home was built, and their first crop was in 1947.
My mom and Dad met in high school in Walla Walla. My dad worked for my grandfather in the summer along with many of his high school friends.
My dad and Mom were married in 1949 and moved into the big farmhouse where I was raised.
Many of his friends, other local farmers, said he could never be successful farming this piece of ground because it is one of the driest spots on the Horse Heaven Hills. In 1954, they drilled a domestic well at about 200 feet hitting artesian water of 1,000 gallons a minute. It was quickly reduced to about 600 gallons a minute. This gave them enough water to plant 80 acres of irrigated pasture, giving them feed for the Registered Hereford operation they started. In 1958 they drilled a deeper well, getting artesian flow of 2000 plus gallons a minute.
My Dad and GW applied for water rights in late 60s and early 70s to develop most of their farm ground. My dad’s early foresight to get these permits is responsible for our ability to have the necessary water to grow our grapes today.
Most of the neighboring family farmers at one time worked for GW or my Dad.
I am the oldest of 6 kids. All of us loved farming because we grew up doing it as a family with my father. My favorite part of the operation was the cattle. I spent a lot of time giving them the tender loving care necessary to make them into show winners.
I graduated WSU in 1973. The same year the American Hereford Association sent representatives around the US selected the best Hereford bulls for a herd bull sale at John Asquaga’s Golden Nugget. Our bull topped the sale selling for $23,000 dollars. The energy crunch of the early 80s, with power cost spiking by 400%, put a crunch on my cattle business.
My brothers and Dad chose in 1978 to exit the cattle operation and in 1980 planted their first wine grapes, Andrews Horse Heaven Ranch, later McKinley Springs Vineyard.
After watching the success of my brothers farming wine grapes for 10 years in 1994, I took the plunge planting 21 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.
With a bit of early learning curve, I had my first crop in 1997. From there, we quickly established ourselves as a vineyard of quality. Our early plantings were Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah, and Chardonnay.
Having always been diversified, I looked at other varieties to grow that might be successful. I always had a contract or someone that wanted the grapes when they were planted. Some of the early diversified plantings included Grenache, Mourvedre, Barbera, Albarino, Graciano, Sangiovese, Primitivo, Viognier, Roussanne, and Marsanne. We today successfully grow 26 varieties of grapes on 1300 acres of vineyard.
From my early upbring and competition in the cattle business and growing of seed crops, it has always been my desire to produce the best quality products and that goal for quality has been passed to my sons, the 4th generation of farmers.
I farm with my 2 sons Jeff and Macauley. Jeff a graduate of Seattle University School of Law oversees the entire operation. Macauley (Jade) with his degree in Cyber Security manages the many computers and programs used to manage the vineyard and office.
We have successfully farmed for 129 years in Washington State, and 4 generations farmed this farm in the Horse Heaven Hills. We know our ground and our grapes, and each generation has worked to make it better for the next. I am optimistic for the future. I see the Horse Heaven Hills and the Andrews Family Vineyard as the premier site for world class wine and grape production for generations. I see a surprise on the horizon.
As legend has it, the name Horse Heaven Hills was coined by a cowboy by the name of James Kinney, who’s herd of horses wandered off up a hillside and were found on an upland plain munching on succulent bunch grass. “This has to be horse heaven,” Kinney declared. Based on the agricultural direction that this beautiful part of Washington state is headed, it could easily be considered “Grape Heaven Hills.”
~ Mike
Learn more history on Coyote Canyon Vineyard - https://www.coyotecanyonwinery.com/history
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