Challenger Ridge Vineyard & Cellars

From high in the Cascades, the melted snow becomes part of the Skagit River flowing by the lovely burg of Concrete (solid name!) on its way to the Puget Sound. It’s quiet here. Green with fresh air. It’s not where you would expect 13+ acres of pinot noir growing. For that reason, many a traveler along the North Cascade Highway will make an unexpected detour to check out Challenger Ridge Vineyard & Cellars located just north of Highway 20 on Challenger Road.

In the grape growing world, “growing degree days (GDD)” is a measure of heat units and at an average of 2050 GDDs, Challenger Ridge’s south facing slope provides just-right conditions for growing pinot noir (clones 777, 667, 115 and 828). That’s plenty of fruit for winemaker Randy Bonaventura to craft award-winning pinot at the relatively new production facility on the property. Grapes sourced from the Columbia Valley become part of the remaining red and white portfolio of 3,000 cases produced annually by Randy and his team.

The tasting room itself is a charmingly restored early 1900 farmhouse where visitors can enjoy a glass of wine ensconced in leather chairs. Throughout the year, they sponsor events whether to celebrate the release of red wines in the fall or white wines in the spring, host a Corvette car rally, carve pumpkins and more. The bocce court and sprawling grounds including the vineyards invite visitor to explore and stay awhile.

For those that want to get a taste of Challenger Ridge Vineyard & Winery without making the trek to Concrete, their Woodinville tasting room located south of the Hollywood Schoolhouse is a perfect solution. There, for a refundable tasting fee, you can sip and swirl their full-line up of wines including pinot gris, viognier, Liberty Bell (a classic Bordeaux blend of Semillon and sauvignon blanc), Mystic (white and red blends), syrah, Gordon Bordeaux red blend and, of course the aforementioned pinot noir.

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  Challenger Ridge Vineyard & Cellars was featured in WineTrails of Washington as part of the Skagit County WineTrail on page 38!