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Hedges Family Estate
BENTON CITY
Soil meets soul at Hedges Family Estate, where the blend of rich cultural
upbringings and a shared love for creating beautiful wine converge at the
heart of the bucolic Red Mountain. Led by a passion for authenticity and a
deep connection to the land they call home, the Hedges family epitomizes the
modern wine estate by uniting past and present, as they continue to evolve
the winemaking tradition for generations to come.
Tending to the riches of Red Mountain with a visionary blend of biodynamic
farming and time-honored winemaking techniques, Hedges Family Estate
lends an ear to the earth and a voice to the vines. Their wines are testament
to their dedication to letting the land speak for itself. It's something that has
been important to owners Tom and Anne-Marie Hedges from the beginning—
even when they started their wine adventure in 1987 with American Wine
Trade, Inc., exporting Washington and California wine worldwide. They
realized the Washington wine industry was about to boom and they wanted
to be a part of it by growing and making their own wine.
Anne-Marie grew up in France, where she witnessed from an early age
the beauty of small-estate winemakers through her grandfather, who was
passionate about fine wine. Perhaps it was fate when Tom ran into vineyard
owner Fred Artz at his 20th high school reunion in 1989. Fred introduced
the Hedges to a 50-acre parcel of land on Red Mountain the day after that
reunion—and the seeds of the vineyard were born. About six years later, the
Hedges broke ground on the winery—designed in the manner of a French-
inspired Bordeaux chateau—continuing the evolution of the family business.
FACING PAGE: The grand entrance to the Hedges Family
Estate chateau on Red Mountain.
TOP: Gazing up towards the Chateau from the Demeter-
certified Biodynamic Cabernet Sauvignon vines–Hedges
vineyard
Photographs by Richard Duval