When Chris Camarda accomplished his inaugural crush in 1989, he did in an industrial squat off a bustling Seattle byway. Described as a “walkway between two adjoining structures that had a roof put on it,” the team from Andrew Will stuck it out for five vintages, producing 2,000 cases in minimal space for Camarda’s dream. Today, Andrew Will Winery calls Vashon Island home, 17 miles and one ferry ride south of the city, where they now bottle 4,500 cases of wine exclusively from Ciel du Cheval, Champoux and May’s Discovery vineyards, along with fruit from their estate vineyard, Two Blondes.
Named for Camarda’s late wife, Annie, and for the wife of vineyard partner Bill Fleckenstein who were both ladies of fairer hair, the 30-acre vineyard is the sole site for the 2010 Two Blondes, a blend of the four varieties planted on the vineyard—43 percent Merlot, 38 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 17 percent Cabernet Franc and 2 percent Malbec. After 21 months in barrel and now having logged nearly the same time in bottle, this wine is still quite young and vibrant. Savory and musky aromas of tomato leaf and olive tie into red berry fruits of cranberry, raspberry and marionberry with black tea leaf tucked way in the back. The palate, however, is lynch-pinned on black fruits of marionberry and blackberry with acid beaming through the dark fruit and young, fine-grained tannins.
