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Previous vintage notes: Wine Spectator rating 92 points: " Bright and zingy, with layer upon layer of jazzy blackberry, cherry, subtle oak tones and finely tuned tannins, finishing with a light tobacco note, ultimately long and elegant with well-mann...read more
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Wonderfully balanced, cellar-worthy Cab from some of Walla Walla's best fruit.
Previous vintage notes, from the winery: Our 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon offers intense aromas of dark berry and chocolate with the right hint of mineral and a spicy, sm...read more
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MORE INFORMATION
Pepper Bridge Winery |
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 Pepper
Bridge Winery is one of Walla Walla's premier sources for fine grapes
and wine. The Walla Walla Valley is critically acclaimed for growing
some of the highest
quality red wine grapes,
and the winery's estate vineyards, Pepper Bridge Vineyard and Seven Hills
Vineyard, are recognized as two of the best in the region.
Pepper Bridge's vision to build a state-of-the-art, gravity-flow winery
began several years ago when Norm McKibben, Managing Partner planted
his first grapes in the Walla Walla Valley. The vision grew into reality
with the completion ofPepper Bridge Winery in September of 2000.
The owners built the winery to encompass
a gravity flow system that is extremely gentle on the grapes and wine.
From the crush pad on our
top level to the barrels located 32’ below in the caves, the wine
flows effortlessly and gently.
 Norm McKibben - Managing Partner
After a successful career as a civil engineer and corporate president,
Norm McKibben retired in 1985 and moved to Walla Walla, Washington. However,
Norm soon recognized the great potential Walla Walla had for growing
quality wine grapes and began planting vines.
In 1989, Norm McKibben and his wife, Virginia, planted vines on their
Waitsburg ranch, about 20 miles north of Walla Walla in Eastern Washington.
By 1991 Norm and his partners had planted Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot
at Pepper Bridge Vineyard in Walla Walla to complement their high-density
plantings of Fuji and Gala apples.
Over the next several years, Norm worked
closely with Leonetti Cellars, Woodward Canyon, L’Ecole N°.
41 and Andrew Will wineries to improve farming procedures and trellising
on the 191-acre Pepper Bridge
farm.
Pepper Bridge Winery began taking shape in late 1999. Finished in time
for the 2000 harvest, Pepper Bridge Winery will focus on the production
of ultra-premium Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Syrah.
Norm is currently managing partner and/or
consultant on over 400 acres of the top vineyard sites in Walla Walla
(Pepper Bridge, Seven Hills,
and Les Collines), and has introduced state-of-the-art irrigation systems
and soil moisture/temperature monitoring equipment. He was appointed
to the Washington State Wine Commission board in 1997 and elected chairman
in 1998. The Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers also honored
him as “Grape Grower of the Year” in 1998.
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Pepper Bridge Winery-
The Vineyards
Pepper Bridge Vineyard
Pepper Bridge Vineyard is one of Pepper Bridge's two estate vineyards
located
in the Walla Walla Appellation. The original 10 acres were planted in
1991 and have expanded to a total of 180 acres of wine grapes. Pepper
Bridge
Vineyard has gained an outstanding reputation with winemakers throughout
the state of Washington, and especially the Walla Walla Valley.
Tom Waliser
has been the Vineyard Manager at Pepper Bridge Vineyard since it’s inception
in 1991. All grapes are grown on split canopy trellises, in which the
vines are trained both up and down off the cordon, or grape-bearing wire.
With
the exception of five acres of Merlot, which is on the Scott-Henry trellis
system, all grapes are on the Smart-Dyson trellis system.
The vineyard
uses cutting edge technology on its irrigation and weather systems. Weather
data, temperature, humidity, wind, and sun energy units, are recorded
around the clock and the data is downloaded to computer by phone line.
Over sixty
moisture-measuring points are spread throughout the farm and moisture
is data logged once an hour, 24 hours per day. The soils in this vineyard
are Walla Walla Silt Loam, which is a wind-blown glacial loess that is
young and full of minerals. This silt loam contains one-third sand and
is very free draining.
Seven Hills Vineyard
Located just 10 miles south
of Pepper Bridge Winery on the edge of the Walla Walla Appellation you’ll
find Seven Hills Vineyard. The original plantings date back to 1981 and
have expanded to over 200 acres of premium wine grapes.
Seven Hills Vineyard
is managed by Chris Banek and is the source of fruit for many of the
fine wineries in the state and valley. With the exception of five acres
of Geneva
Double Curtain, all grapes are grown on the Smart-Dyson split canopy
trellises, in which the vines are trained both up and down off the cordon,
or grape-bearing,
wire. The soils in this vineyard are Ellingford Silt Loam, which is a
wind-blown glacial loess that is geologically very young and full of
minerals.
During
the first months of each growing season irrigation is pulled from the
Hudson Bay Ditch. After ditch water is shut off to protect the fish,
irrigation
switches to a deep basalt well, which is drilled over 1100’ through hard
rock. Water is distributed from a surge pond to the grapes through both
above ground and buried drip lines that can also spread required fertilization
along with the water. Grapes are one of the most efficient crops in terms
of water requirement and the drip system of irrigation eliminates waste
water. The moisture monitoring system advises any time moisture gets
below the root zone of the grapes. This allows the farm to irrigate only
as much
water as will be taken up by the plants and eliminates contamination
of the ground water system.
Pepper Bridge Winery |
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