About This Vineyard
Using organic Cabernet, Merlot, and Syrah grapes exclusively from their own vineyards, Hedges Family Estate is best known for its Bordeaux style blend called Hedges Family Estate Red Mountain. While wineries usually become known by the locals before gaining international success, Hedges Family Estate won acclaim on the other side of the Atlantic before pursuing markets in the United States. One of the only wineries in Washington State today to be an estate-grown and bottled property, Hedges Family Estate gives you insight into the entire winemaking process, from first fruit to finished product.
The winery began as a brand from the original company American Wine Trade, started by husband-and-wife-team Tom and Anne-Marie Hedges with the 1987 vintage. As a wine export company, American Wine Trade focused on exporting wines from California, Oregon, and Washington State. The Hedges label was established after an initial order to Sweden, and soon became the American Wine Trade’s exclusive export, which led to an international success for the wine. It was only after winning the gold medal in a 1990 Seattle wine competition for their 1989 Hedges that Tom and Anne-Marie shifted their focus to the North American market.
One year later they purchased and planted vines in the Red Mountain growing district three hours southeast of Seattle in the warm and dry Columbia Valley. From this new estate they began to craft the highly regarded organic wines of the Hedges Family Estate portfolio. In 1995, the Hedges family took the next step and built an authentic French chateau in the middle of their estate vineyards. A beautiful building with old world charm, its off-white stucco, slate roof, and heavy shutters pays homage to the family of Anne-Marie, who is a native of Champagne, France.
