Horse Heaven Hills is a region of unsurpassed physical beauty. It is also home to nearly a third of Washington State’s wine grape acreage. A large amount of production occurs in the appellation, which also boasts a rich agricultural history. Yet many barely know this viticultural outpost exists. Fewer have been there.
Cowboy Country
Eastern Washington, where almost all the state’s wine grapes are grown, is a desert where 30 or more miles might separate one far-flung town from another.
Even by those standards, Horse Heaven Hills is remote.
“It’s in the middle of nowhere,” says Rob Mercer, president of Mercer Estate Winery, ICAN and Mercer Ranches. “It’s hard to get to. There’s not much up here but a few families and a few vineyards.”
That is not hyperbole. The closest town of any real size is 40 or more minutes away from most vineyards. The area doesn’t even have a gas station, stranding more than a few winemakers over the
