Airfield Estates Winery
Winemaker Marcus Miller’s young age belies the long history he and his family have been in the wine business. Although he is only 29, you could say that winemaking is in his blood. We’re not referring to his degree from Walla Walla Community College’s Enology and Viticulture program or his stints at a variety of other wineries. Rather, the Miller family has been growing premium grapes in Washington since 1960. What’s more, Marcus’ grandfather was friends with Walter Clore – the man generally credited as being the father of Washington’s wine industry.
Mike Miller, Marcus’ dad, is both grower and founder of Airfield Estates Winery. With hundreds of acres of prime vineyards, the Millers have the luxury of keeping the top 2% of the grapes for their own label.
In the spring of 2007, the Millers launched Airfield Estates Winery in Prosser’s Vintage Village. Visitors to the Village will have no problems spotting Airfield Estates Winery. It’s the winery with the tower that has “AIRFIELD” written on the sides. Visitors to the winery encounter several hangar doors in the front and a delightful interior featuring model airplanes, classic airfield photos and a whacky dummy’s head sporting an aviator hat and goggles. It’s fun and it works. But the airfield theme is no accident. It turns out that Marcus Miller’s grandfather, H. Lloyd Miller, built a 1,200-acre airport ranch near Sunnyside for an air training station during World War II.
Of course, with an airfield theme under their wings, the Millers have an opportunity to come up with some great names (to go with some fabulous wines). Check out some red blends with catchy names including Mustang Red, Aviator Red, and Runway Red. It’s no surprise that their wine club bears the name “Officer’s Club” and offers two options – the B-17 or the B-29. You would think that an old bi-plane would drop ship your wine shipments via parachute but sadly, this is not the case. Rather, look for the more grounded UPS truck. Roger, that.
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Airfield Estates Winery was featured in WineTrails of Washington as part of the Prosser WineTrail South on page 350!
