McKinley Springs Winery

Imagine being the trusty engine-maker for such auto greats as Ferrari, Mercedes, and Cadillac. Then, one day, it dawns on you that your little venture is capable of making high-end cars too. Or, from a wine perspective: Imagine selling your grapes for many years to such wineries as Bookwalters, Columbia Crest, Hogue Cellars, Northstar, Sagelands, Syncline Cellars, and Thurston Wolfe and one day realizing that you too can turn grapes into fine wine. Such is the case with McKinley Springs Vineyards in the Horse Heaven Hills American Viticultural Area. Without McKinley Springs’ wonderful fruit, many wineries would need to find another “engine manufacturer” for their premium wines.

After more than 25 years of growing premium grapes, the Andrews family made the decision to take the next step: to ferment their product into premium wine. Doug Rowell is the winemaker and fortunately has plenty of fruit to work with given that the Andrews Estate Vineyard is 2,000 acres composed of 20 different grape varieties. It’s a small lot winery with a huge vineyard: Guess who gets the “pick of the litter” with regard to the grapes.

The McKinley Springs address indicates Prosser, but the vineyard and winery are many miles to the south in the Horse Heaven Hills (named for the once-prevalent wild horses that inhabited them). It’s rural here; agriculture abounds, and from the McKinley Springs tasting room you can look south to Alder Ridge and Chateaux Champoux Vineyards. Surrounding the Andrews’ farm is row upon row of vitis vinifera the responsibility of grape grower Rob Andrews. Sadie, the resident Australian sheep dog, is in keeping with the vineyard’s history. A century ago, sheepherders would stop at the only watering hole between Prosser and the Columbia River, where the sheep were loaded on to trains and transported to Montana for the summer. That watering hole was McKinley Springs.

A stunning metal sculpture greets you at the entrance to the winery. Right away, you know that McKinley Springs is serious about its wines. The two-story post and beam building housing the tasting room offers an airy space to sample its 10 different wine varietals. Fortunately, for WineTrail enthusiasts, there are plenty of large picture windows to view the windswept vineyards and hillsides. Dana Andrews is typically working the tasting room and, as a native, can readily point out distant landmarks and present the history of the area. Although changes abound throughout the Horse Heaven Hills, the one constant are the grapes outside—they’re not going anywhere.

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  McKinley Springs Winery was featured in WineTrails of Washington as part of the Horse Heaven WineTrail on page 396!