Wilridge is a small family vineyard, orchard, winery, and distillery operated in the European tradition. We are the oldest winery in Seattle, founded in 1988. In 2007, we planted our certified Organic/Biodynamic Estate Vineyard on Naches Heights, near Yakima, Washington. In 2017 we launched our artisan brandy distillery; using grapes, apples and pears from the Wilridge Estate on Naches Heights.
Paul Beveridge has been making Wilridge wines for over thirty years. From the beginning, Paul has focused on wines that reflect the “terroir” of their vineyard sites rather than current fashion or the latest winemaking trends. As such, his wines are more “European” in character than most new world wines. He furthered his European philosophy of letting the grapes and the wines reflect their place of origin by planting his vineyard on Naches Heights near Yakima following Organic and Biodynamic principles.
Stroll the vineyard, picnic on the lawn, hike, horseback ride (hitching posts for up to 20 horses), mountain bike the nearby trails, or simply sit out on the wrap-around porch of our beautiful 100-year old farmhouse tasting room. The vineyard offers a multitude of outdoor activities to enjoy with a Vineyard Map to help you create your own adventure.
Lenora Thelen’s adventure began in 2010 when she started working in a retail wine and spirits department. Although I did not drink at that time, I believed it was important to gain a deeper understanding of the products I was selling. Initially, I read the front and back of the labels. Then I decided I should taste some of the bottles to get a better idea of what the descriptions on the labels meant. The first wine I tasted was a Moscato from Northern Italy; I was shocked at how sweet it was! I tried Riesling, which was also sweet! I then decided to try Rose’– but I was puzzled by all the shades of pink… Which one should I pick? So, I went back to reading the labels and discovered all the different grape varieties that went into the different Rose’s. It wasn’t long before I was exploring reds such as Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. I started to ask a lot of questions and read everything I could get my hands on about wine and grapes.” To learn even more about wine, in 2015 Lenora started to volunteer at Wilridge. “I would volunteer on my days off: cleaning tanks, topping up barrels, stomping grapes, hauling hoses, punching down fermentations, bottling and pouring at events. It did not matter what I got to do, I was so thrilled to be part of the wine creation process. I was a true Cellar Rat and proud of it.” In 2021 Lenora was offered a full-time position as Assistant Winemaker at Wilridge. “It was hard to leave retail and all my friends, but I could not pass up this opportunity. Eventually, in addition to winemaking, I also took over operation of the Wilridge Alembic Pot Still. While I have now been promoted to Winemaker and Master Distiller, I still feel like a Cellar Rat because there is always more to learn. I owe this job to Wilridge founder Paul Beveridge and my family who believed in me, put up with my long hours, and supported my dream of making fabulous Washington wine and spirits.”
