Steppe Cellars

Named after the shrub-steppe environment of the surrounding ecosystem, Steppe Cellars is partnership between of Tom and Susan Garrison and Susan’s sister and husband Gabrielle and Mike Seibel. My visit coincided with the sun setting and the shrub-populated land in golden glow. I reached for my camera.

Tom Garrison has been growing wine grapes since the early 1980s, and despite the advice of many to either ‘not do it’ or ‘do it but keep you day job’ launched Steppe Cellars in 2005.

Smartly however, they knew growing premium grapes was one thing but turning those grapes into fine wine required hiring an experienced winemaker. Enter Anke Freimuth-Wildman. A native of Germany’s Mosel Valley, Anke’s pedigree includes many generations of winemakers, stints at German and Swiss wineries and an advanced enology and viticulture degree from Germany’s renowned Geisenheim Institute. Can you say ‘riesling’?

A fusion of the Garrison’s Dalkeith Farm wine grapes and Anke’s old-world winemaking style creates wines of distinction. In addition to gewürztraminer and riesling (as you would expect) their portfolio of wines include merlot, syrah, cabernet sauvignon and several red blends. However, their Dry Riesling grabbed my palate with its fruitiness and balance of flavors and acidity. Unlike a dry trocken riesling from the Mosel Valley with its distinctive graphite-like tastes, these wines express the fruit forward characteristics of Washington riesling. Chicken piccata, pad Thai shrimp and summer salad with grilled flank steak spring to mind with this wine!

The tasting room is “Quonset hut chic”—literally—with a “swamp cooler” providing welcome relief from the summertime heat, and patio heaters strategically placed inside for wintertime comfort. It’s a perfect wine tasting environment: cozy, comfortable, and inviting.

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  Steppe Cellars was featured in WineTrails of Washington as part of the Rattlesnake Hills WineTrail South on page 316!