Chris Upchurch Brings His Love of Red Mountain to Everyday Wine

 

Benton City, WA, February 19, 2019 – “What I have learned over the years is that the art of blending is just as important in everyday wine as it is in our finest efforts,” remarked acclaimed Washington State winemaker Chris Upchurch. “And I’ve always wanted to take full advantage of the grapes on Red Mountain. The structure and richness of the fruit here over-delivers at every level.” So it was no surprise when Chris decided to expand the Upchurch Vineyard portfolio to include an everyday wine, a Cabernet Sauvignon under the newly minted label “LTL (Larger Than Life)”.

 The four Upchurch Winery brands (L-R): Counterpart, Upchurch Vineyard, Southwest Facing, LTL

“Creating this wine, an everyday red which reflects his own exacting standards and approach to craftsmanship is a natural evolution as we grow and Chris continues to experiment.” commented Thea Upchurch, UV cofounder. 

“Chris might know as well as anyone how truly powerful Red Mountain wines are,” added Dick Boushey, Upchurch’s vineyard manager and renowned Washington State grower. “His track record speaks for itself. We are continuing to discover Washington wines’ unique potential. Leave it to Chris to create an amazing wine at an affordable price.”

“At Upchurch Vineyard, by definition we have a limited capacity with our single vineyard,” concluded Chris. “With LTL, since we are working with vineyards in addition to our own, we can make more wine and of course reach a broader audience. And that, at the end of the day, makes any winemaker happy.”

 LTL 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Mountain AVA

100% Cabernet Sauvignon

Inaugural Vintage

Cases produced 500; $30/bottle suggested retail price

Available online at LTLwine.com

Winemaker Notes

2016 LTL Cabernet Sauvignon shows classic Cabernet aromas of Provence herbs, cassis, brambleberry, cocoa powder and cracked black pepper. The mid-palette is stacked with rich accessible red and black fruits, bacon and light oak touches. It is balanced and flavorful with savory tannins and a long ripe hedonistic finish.

Winemaker

As the founding winemaker and a partner at DeLille Cellars since 1992, Chris Upchurch has crafted some of the finest and most award winning wines in Washington State. He is the only winemaker to produce two Washington State brands to receive five stars (outstanding) in Robert Parker’s Wine Buyers Guide, for both DeLille Cellars and Doyenne.

Chris and his wife Thea founded Upchurch Vineyard in 2010. His Upchurch wines have garnered much praise and recognition from the start, Upchurch Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon has received 95, 93, 96, 96, and 95 point scores for its first five vintages respectfully from Jeb Dunnuck of the Wine Advocate and was featured in the March 2017 issue of the Wine Spectator. Upchurch has also received numerous local, state and regional awards.

 

 

Vineyard

Upchurch Vineyard is dedicated to sustainable farming and is certified by L.I.V.E. (Low Input Viticulture and Enology), a non-profit organization that promotes and certifies sustainable vineyard practices. It is also certified “Salmon Safe” which is a program to protect Pacific Northwest water sheds and the wild life that thrives within them.

 

 Address and Contact Information

 Winery

32901 Vineyard View PR NE

Benton City, WA 99320

Office

12022 NE 97th Street

Kirkland, WA 98033

Kelsey Upchurch, General Manager

contact@upchurchvineyard.com

Press Contact

Hilary Peck, (917) 855 – 4808

hilarypecknyc@gmail.com

 

Benton City, WA, June 19, 2018 - Long regarded as one of Washington State’s foremost innovative winemakers and master craftsmen, Chris Upchurch continues to experiment in the cellar, creating wholly new and unique wines from his corner of the Pacific Northwest. Upchurch’s latest wine is the 2016 Southwest Facing, a Sauvignon Blanc collaboration with renowned Washington grower Dick Boushey. The wine showcases a single Sauvignon Blanc vineyard on Boushey’s County Line Road property in Grandview.

Upchurch Vineyard 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon, Red Mountain, $70: It’s a lofty goal of Chris and Thea Upchurch for their Red Mountain estate project to be viewed as a “First Growth” of Washington state, but the consistent reception for their Cabs, starting with the debut 2010 vintage, is matching those aspirations.

As often happens in our lives, outcomes are a product of many things coming together at a certain time and place. This seems especially true for Upchurch Vineyard: the family, the vineyard, the wine.

Check out this beautifully written article on the story of how Chris and Thea met, how Chris became one of the founding fathers of the Washington State wine industry and why Upchurch Vineyard is a family legacy. 

Al Vuona with Off the Vine

Oct. 19th 2017

” A star is born with this year’s inaugural release of Upchurch Vineyard’s 2015 Counterpart, a merlot-based wine made by Washington state’s most revered winemaker, Chris Upchurch. Made from two-thirds merlot and one-third cabernet sauvignon, this wine offers notes of plum, graphite, black cherries and dark chocolate. Well-balanced and full-bodied with a very long, flavorful finish. $50 ”

See the article here

 

1889 Magzine - July 2017 

Washington vintners talk soil and sense of place

Check out the fantastic article beautifully written by Naomi Tomky "Chris Upchurch is widely considered one of Washington’s best and most creative winemakers for his work at DeLille Cellars, as well as his own personal project, Red Mountain’s Upchurch Vineyard. At Red Mountain, he found a place where big cabernet grapes weren’t just powerful and rich but had structure he could build on, that he could layer with the rest of the blend’s grapes. " 
 More Info Here