Malaga Springs Winery

Perched on a bluff above the mighty Columbia River is the southwest styled abode of Malaga Springs Winery. The orange hued winery and adjacent home of Al and Kathy Mathews is the perfect complement to the basalt cliffs rising in the background. Nearby is Saint Laurent and if you squint your eyes, you can see Martin-Scott Winery many miles in the distance across the Columbia River. It’s a place named in honor of Malaga grapes brought from southern Spain in the 1800’s to satisfy railroad workers.

Getting to Malaga Springs Winery on Cathedral Rock Drive is a bit of an adventure given that most of the journey is on gravel road. However, the destination is worth the occasional washboard bumps. As Al notes, “We are one of the smallest wineries in the State with production well south of 1,000 cases annually.” Translation: Handcrafted punched down wines where Al knows the vines and racked the barrels through maturity.

As I looked at the lemon yellow sample of viognier, I couldn’t help but take in the pottery throughout the tasting room. Turns out Al Mathews throws pots when he is not busy making wine or dabbling in other things. A tour of the facilities revealed that Al built their current residence and tasting room using an ingenious straw bale technique. He also showed me the plot of land where he will build their new house next to Kathy’s well-tended gardens (she’s great at growing things). And all that is sandwiched between his other job in Alaska where he owns a commercial fishing business. Phew!
By the way, note the colorful labels on the bottle. That’s the creation of Al’s 84-year old mother, Vera Mathews. As I packed my bottles of AlyKat to the car, I couldn’t help but reflect on the pioneer spirit of this family – self sufficient, respect for land and love of family.