Salishan Vineyards

Joan Wolverton is an amazing woman. A handful of people are responsible for the emergence of the Washington wine industry. Joan, the creator and loving caretaker of Salishan Winery, is counted among them.

Salishan was the first vinifera vineyard and winery established in southwest Washington state. Armed with 50 years of weather data from Burgundy, Joan and her economist husband, Lincoln, set about finding a location in Washington having a similar climate. They settled on a plot of land outside the small town of La Center, and Salishan Vineyard was born in 1971. They bonded the winery and released their first estate pinot noir in the early ’80s. Thirty years and many awards later, the 10-acre vineyard is producing high-quality fruit. This should come as no surprise; the climate is similar to the north Willamette Valley of Oregon, where there is an army of winemakers fervently devoted to world-class pinot noir.

However, despite her impact on the Washington wine industry, this self-effacing person finds it easier to dish out credit than to receive it. The now-faded Salishan logo on the side of the winery greets visitors. Inside the combined tasting/barrel room, local newspaper articles and other memorabilia cover the walls and provide a synopsis of Salishan Winery. Joan herself is a former newspaper reporter from Seattle, and a visit with her reveals that she must have been a terrific writer. Her inquisitive mind made it possible to investigate stories for The Seattle Times and Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and she’s applied that same approach to learning about the viticulture and winemaking world. The fact is, prior to planting her 10 acres, she knew next to nothing about farming.

The Salishan languages are a group of Native American languages of western Canada and the Pacific Northwest that are characterized by an astonishing variety of consonant clusters. Sample these wines and your consonants and vowels will spell out enthusiastic words of praise.

WineTrail Note: Salishan’s prices are low. A bottle of its 2002 pinot noir sells for $12 and reflects Joan’s philosophy of giving her customers good value.

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  Salishan Vineyards was featured in WineTrails of Washington as part of the Southwest Washington WineTrail on page 164!