Syncline Wine Cellars

syn•cline n. a trough of stratified rock in which the beds dip toward each other from either side.

If your car trek takes you through the Columbia River Gorge, you’ll likely spot a dramatic 300-foot rock wall jutting out beside the Columbia River. Known as the “Coyote Wall Syncline,” this is the namesake of Syncline Wine Cellars.

It’s no accident that Syncline Wine Cellars makes great wine. Yes, winemaker James Mantone starts out with great fruit, but his background as a microbiologist and organic chemist has ingrained him with a strong attention to detail, which truly pays off when it comes to fine-tuning the fermentation process.

James and Poppie Mantone are transplants from other parts of the country. They met and fell in love at LaVelle Vineyards in the Willamette Valley. Settling on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge, they started Syncline in 1999. Most recently, they relocated from beautiful downtown Bingen and opened a new facility in the metropolis of Lyle.

Syncline Wine Cellars’ focus is on Rhone-style wines and that aforementioned attention to detail may help explain why a growing number of wine lovers call Syncline their favorite wine. This is high praise considering the winery’s short history and its initial shoestring budget. With current production running fewer than 3,000 cases annually, the winery primarily produces syrah, grenache, roussanne, and viognier. The Mantones acquire their grapes from a who’s who of growers, including Alder Ridge Vineyards, Celilo Vineyard, Clifton Vineyard, Coyote Canyon, Destiny Ridge, McKinley Spring, Northridge, Pheasant Vineyard, Sundance Vineyard, and Steep Creek Ranch (their own vineyard). Not surprisingly, James is also the winemaker for McKinley Spring in the Horse Heaven Hills, which is where he gets his syrah grapes.

Hard work, passion and a scientific background all conspire to create distinctive Rhone-style Syncline wines.

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  Syncline Wine Cellars was featured in WineTrails of Washington as part of the Columbia River Gorge WineTrail on page 176!