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18 WINES&VINES Collector's Edition W ashington may be the second biggest w i n e p r o d u c i n g state in the U.S., but its growth has been driven largely by homegrown entrepre- neurs with little help from foreign investors. California wineries have made investments here, and Ste. Michelle Wine Estates' ven- tures with Ernst Loosen and the Antinori family have won ac- claim, but Oregon has been the destination of choice for direct foreign investment. The construction of a 22,000 -square-foot winery and tasting room south of Walla Walla by Bo- degas Valdemar S.A. of Rioja is changing that. Valdemar expects to spend up to $18 million on win- ery and vineyard development over the next five years, the first time a vintner from Europe has set up a new winery in the state inde- pendent of local partners. "We came here with my father and my sister and we really fell in love with Washington, to be hon- est," says Jesús Martínez Bujanda, CEO of Valdemar Estates, the Washington venture of his family's Rioja winery in Oyón. "In the first trip, we realized that we were going to do something here." Bodegas Valdemar produces approximately 150,000 cases a year and wanted to expand within Spain, but after scouting local op- portunities it turned its attention abroad. The market at home was crowded, and the family looked for a less mature market with dy- namism and opportunity. Washington fit the bill. Mar- tínez Bujanda spent a semester as an exchange student at the University of Washington in 2009 during his business admin- istration studies so he was aware of what was possible, and the state ranked high on the list. The cost of entry was cheaper than California, and the range of high-quality grapes being grown was more diverse than many other U.S. regions. "Washington has a lot of op- portunities for, basically, all the varietals," he said. "The prices here are still reasonable in terms of the grapes, and the prices of the wines are quite high." A key part- ner in establishing the new ven- ture is Norm McKibben, who sold Valdemar a site adjacent to Amavi Winery for a new, 20,000-square- foot production facility and tast- ing room. Valdemar Estates will have a capacity of 10,000 cases but pro- duction will start small and in- crease in step with demand. A stunning 2,000-square-foot tast- ing room with an outdoor seating area of similar size promises to make the winery a destination and build a following for wines ex- pected to retail in the $80 range. The winery crushed 12 tons last year from vineyards across the state, which will underpin an initial release of approximately 600 cases when the winery opens in 2019. It received 36 tons of fruit this year sourced from some of the region's best vineyards, including two sites in the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater on the Oregon side of the Walla Walla Valley AVA as well as prop- erties in the Yakima Valley and on Red Mountain. Valdemar has purchased 26 acres in the Rocks, which it ex- pects to begin planting in 2020 and is also in discussions for another 50 acres in a "very in- teresting place" but negotia- tions are ongoing. The plan is to continue sourcing fruit from vineyards across the state for the foreseeable future, learning about local capabilities. The focus of winemaker Ma- Northwest Continues to Lure Investment WINE INDUSTRY NEWS