From grape juice to wine: A History of the grape in Benton County, Washington

^{Kennewick Commercial Club pamphlet, 1912 Brochure by Kennewick Commercial Club, Courtesy Washington State Historical Society}

^{Narrated by Barbara Henslee}

Land of plenty

Every story has a beginning, and the story of the grape can be traced back to the early history of this county, back before the atomic boom seen in the ’40s and ’50s, back before World War I. Our story starts with the pioneers that settled along the Columbia River, mainly in what is today Hanford, White Bluffs, and Kennewick. These folks started making a living in agriculture in the middle of a desert. At first, it was mostly dry crops, like wheat and grains. However, those who lived along the river had an opportunity to also grow fruit. 

The land that is now Benton County has always been ripe for the production of plants. The soil is made up of layers that started building up with the lava flows, then the Missoula Flood, and then years of silt and sand in the years following. The buildup made a good mixture for growth that had good drainage. It turned out to be the perfect growing medium for grapes.

It has also been noted that the latitude of our grape-growing region lines up with the prime French wine growing regions of Bordeaux and Burgundy. Our warm temperatures and long growing times — up to 200 growing days in a season with days averaging 16 hours of daylight — are also ideal. The dry, warm climate only gets an average of eight inches of rain a year, making it easy to control the water intake of the grapes. The lack of humidity also prevents the growth of fungus, which commonly plagues vineyards in more humid regions. The Columbia River provided the only moisture that the fruit needed to thrive in the harsh climate.

The first grape plants were introduced to Washington in 1825 and to Benton County in the 1860s. What little was grown at that time thrived, and the local grapes were celebrated, and known for being sweet and plentiful. Back then, most of these plants were concord grapes, which are very sweet and not the best for making wine. But they were used for eating, making homemade jams and juices, and communion wines. 

Large-scale irrigation didn’t come along till 1903; after that enormous undertaking, people further inland were also able to partake in growing fruits and vegetables. That is when the fruit industry boomed in Benton County. It didn’t take long for various festivities and national advertising to start around our agricultural community. Strawberries, apples, peaches, asparagus — and most importantly, our heroes, the grapes — were celebrated. 

Church Grape Juice Company (1912–2000s)

A profound figure in the business of grape growing came to Kennewick in 1903 from Illinois. His name was Merlyn Church, and he didn’t come for the agriculture — he came for the railroad. Merlyn Church came to build an Ice and Cold storage facility for the Northern Pacific Railroad. Church became interested in the soil quality in the area after a few years and started a vineyard. As legend goes, one evening Church came home to find his wife making grape juice. She offered him some, and upon tasting it, Church found it sweet. He asked his wife how much sugar she had put in the juice. She answered, “None!” and that was the birth of Church Grape Juice Company in 1906. 

The grape became a celebrated part of agriculture within a couple of years of Church starting his grape juice company. The Kennewick Commercial Club conceived of a celebration that was meant to do two main things. The first was to bring attention to the local grapes in terms of education, and the second was to bring some national attention to the quality of the grapes in the area. Several other festivals, such as the Strawberry Festival, were conceived for similar purposes.

The first grape festival started as a modest gathering in 1910, but it really picked up just a year later. The 1911 Grape Festival (and every one that followed) included displays, educational tours, and even a Grape Queen pageant. 

The juice company became a huge part of Kennewick’s economy. They started with 35 acres of their own, but soon other agriculturalists began to grow grapes and sell them to the company, as well. Vineyards could be found all over Kennewick, Pasco, and along the water’s edge. Indeed, the local paper at the time called Church Grape Juice Company a “Rags to Riches” story.

In 1927, Merlyn Church fell ill, then died in 1928. Majority shareholder J.G. Kelly of Walla Walla, along with Kelly’s son-in-law, took over the running of Church Grape Juice Company. They added apple juice to their repertoire in the ’40s, and by 1952, they started selling a juice that was a combination of grape juice and apple juice that was very successful. By 1953, the company had 100 full-time employees with an additional 400 or so at harvest. 

Church Grape Juice Company was sold to Welch’s Grape Juice on September 1, 1956 for $1,671,120 (what would be about $15,378,330 today). Welch’s continued its production of grape juice in Kennewick, but with the atomic projects hiring in Hanford, the competition for land and the pressure to move production to another location started to mount. In the ’80s, Welch slowly started to move production to Grandview, and in the early 2000s, Welch’s left Kennewick altogether. 

Early wine (1903—1960s)

Wine has been in Benton County since the first concord plants came to harvest, but the wine produced with concord grapes was not in demand in the area. Early in the state’s history, Benton County was part of Yakima County. In 1914, there were some vineyards in the Yakima Valley making wine from concord grapes, but the wines from these grapes were sweet, and thus only suitable for dessert wine, or to be used for communions. 

January 1920 was the start of Prohibition, an era without alcohol, and an era that had a large impact on the wine industry. Most alcoholic beverages were strictly outlawed and many were limited, but that didn’t stop the grape. Due to the need for wine during religious communion, wine was allowed to be made in small quantities. An individual could produce 200 gallons annually without the need for a permit. This loophole helped the wine industry survive as many people turned to wine as a drink. But the changing of attitudes towards alcoholic drinks that came with Prohibition also caused many people to shy away from anything considered alcoholic (including wine). 

When Prohibition ended in 1933, the sweet, concord grape wine began to re-emerge. It was during this time that Walter Clore, the man who would later be called The Father of Washington Wines, started to experiment with grapes. He altered the amounts of water used in producing grapes, and began genetically engineering them. 

Walter Clore was born in Oklahoma and got a Bachelor of Arts in horticulture. During the great depression, he read an article on the Grand Coulee Dam Irrigation Project, and began to dream of a better life in Washington State. In 1934, he was granted a scholarship with Washington State College (Later known as Washington State University) to study horticulture. In 1937, he was offered a job with the school as a faculty member in what is today the WSU Irrigated Agriculture Research Extension Center in Prosser. Clore started working with small fruits and vegetables, including grapes, and continued to do so for the next 40 years. 

During the 1950s, European varieties were introduced to the area. The varieties that were grown in Eastern Washington were used to make white wine. Most notable of these new grapes were chardonnay, riesling, gewürztraminer, and sauvignon blanc. It was the introduction of the new varieties that set the stage for Clore’s research in the ’60s, when he began testing on more than 250 grape varieties. Clore partnered with Charles Nagel, a WSU Microbiologist and former Napa Valley resident, who tested the vines and figured out what would grow best in which areas and under which conditions. This careful research played a huge part in assuring local growers that the vinifera grapes would grow and produce excellent wines.

Wine boom (1966–1980)

The first recognition for the wines in the area came in 1966, when renowned winemaker Andre Tshelistcheff sampled homemade gewürztraminer (a type of white wine) made from grapes grown in the Yakima Valley. Tshelistcheff remarked that it was the finest gewürztraminer made in the states. Soon after, Washington premium wines started to compete with California varieties. That same year, Andre Tshelistcheff was hired to help produce the first vinifera vines. His work, and the work of others, produced the first wine under the Chateau Ste. Michelle label. 

With the sudden growth of the wine industry, the first ‘modern’ family winery, Hinzerling Winery, started in 1976 in Prosser. The next year, a second family winery popped up in Franklin County. Then the wine industry boomed, starting Eastern Washington on a path that led to awards, and an expansion of economic and cultural development.

Expansion (1980–Today)

The first nationwide recognition of the wines produced in Washington came at the end of 1989. On December 31, Wine Spectator Magazine placed five Washington wines on their top 100 list: Hogue Cellars (Johannesburg), Woodward Canyon Winery (Cabernet Sauvignon), Kiona Vineyard Winery (Chardonnay), Latah Creek Wine Cellars (Merlot), and Columbia Winery (Cabernet Sauvignon). Of the five Washington wines, three of them were from wineries in Benton County, and all were made using grapes from Eastern Washington. 

The Washington state wine industry was on the rise. In 1981, there were only 19 wineries in the entire state. By 1990, there were 70 wineries; and by 2006, there were 300 wineries, producing seven million cases per year. 

To keep up with this staggering growth, the amount of American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) increased, as well. An AVA is an area that is designated as a wine-growing area. Washington state currently has fifteen AVAs, with various terroirs (unique environmental factors that affect the grapes and their resulting wines).

The Columbia Valley AVA covers about 8,748,950 acres and makes about 99% of the state’s wine grapes. Most of the vineyards in this AVA are on south-facing slopes, which helps the plants stay warm in the winter. The soil environment is varied, and great for raising wine grapes. Within the Columbia Valley AVA there are also Horse Heaven Hills and Red Mountain AVAs. 

The Horse Heaven Hills AVA was established in 2005, though growers have been there since 1972, and is around 576,600 acres. Of the grapes grown there, 66% are red and 34% are white. A unique feature of this AVA, compared to the larger Columbia Valley AVA, is that it is positioned so that the Columbia River brings up warmer winds that help during the winter months. 

The other AVA within Benton County borders is the Red Mountain AVA. The Red Mountain AVA was established in 2001 and is nearly 4,540 acres large. The grapes grown there include cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, syrah, sangiovese, malbec, and petit verdot. It is a popular place to grow grapes, and about half of the area is used for grape vineyards. There are also fifteen wineries located in the Red Mountain AVA, and a number of other wineries source their grapes from the Red Mountain area. 

Today, the grape is hailed a hero in Eastern Washington. It is a source of economic pride and brings wine tourism to our region. But the grape has had a much longer and deeper impact through the history of Benton County. From its humble beginnings as grape juice to its current use in some of our country’s finest wines, the grapes of Eastern Washington have provided fine drinks for many generations and all ages. 

Let’s now raise a glass to our hero, the grape. 

Ashleigh Malin is a historian, cosplayer, and writer.

Sources

• Grape Festivals 1910-1915, 1922-1933, 1945-1948. Raw data. East Benton County Historical Society, Kennewick.
• Wineries, Micro-Breweries. Raw data. East Benton County Historical Society, Kennewick.
• “Dr. Walter Clore the Father of Washington Wine.” Dr. Walter Clore. Accessed September 19, 2018. https://www.theclorecenter.org/dr.-walter-clore.html.
• Flavor Tricks with Church’s Grape Juice. Kennewick, WA: Church Grape Juice.
• “Merlyn Church Surname/Family History File.” East Benton County Historical Society.
• Parker, Tom. Discovering Washington Wines: an Introduction to One of the Most Exciting Premium Wine Regions. Raconteurs Press, 2002.
• “Washington State Wine.” Washington State Wine. Accessed September 17, 2018. https://www.washingtonwine.org/.
• Zraly, Kevin. Windows on the World: Complete Wine Course. New York, NY: Sterling Publishing, 2006.