Pioneers of Coyote Canyon Vineyard

Mike and Jeff Andrews grow 29 different grape varietals at Coyote Canyon Vineyard, one of the state’s most diverse plantings

SEVENTY winemakers, mostly from Washington and elsewhere around the Pacific Northwest, will purchase sought-after fruit this year from veteran winegrowers Mike and Jeff Andrews, who have earned a prominent reputation for growing lesser-known varietals at Coyote Canyon Vineyard, also known to many as Andrews Family Vineyards.

While Mike Andrews is the first to admit that Cabernet Sauvignon is the undeniable king of grapes dominating the Horse Heaven Hills landscape, he and Jeff grow an exceptional number of varietals—29 of them, in fact.

‘Nasty Beginnings’

With three decades of grape growing under his cowboy-sized belt buckle, Mike Andrews remains humble about his successes throughout his farming career. He learned the ropes from “a lot of good mentors,” he says, as well as “a bit of a learning curve.”

The oldest of six siblings and third generation farmer, Andrews got into the vineyard growing business in 1994 at the age of 43. He was eager for a new chapter working with grapevines, having spent most of his life farming and ranching in the Horse Heaven Hills. For the past decade he’d watched his father, Bob Andrews, along with his two brothers, Rob and Scott, plant and raise vineyards next door at Andrews Horse Heaven Ranch (later named McKinley Springs Vineyard).

Excited about the prospects, he took a risk and planted a 20-acre block of Cabernet Sauvignon on a section of his family’s farmland without a buyer lined up in advance. “It was crazy,” he recalls, “everyone told me I was too old to be starting a vineyard. And I didn’t have a lot of money to start it with.”

But Mother Nature dealt a temporary setback. In February of 1996 a cold snap killed the young Cabernet vines before Andrews could harvest his first crop. “About 25 percent were killed down to the roots,” he remembers. “The others were frozen to the ground due to the cold spell, as they were starting to come out of dormancy. Then the next year, of course, we had to replant 25 percent of them. It was a pretty nasty beginning.” It would take another two to three years for all the replantings to produce a crop.

Undaunted, Andrews replanted, this time with a contract in hand to grow Cabernet for Columbia Crest Winery, a large brand of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. He delivered his first harvest in 1997 and never looked back.

From Vineyard to Bottle

“We knew we had a great location,” says Mike Andrews of his site’s terroir. “From the get-go, most of the wineries that got our grapes knew they were special, starting with all the excitement at Columbia Crest when I delivered my first ten-wheeler truckload.”

Then in 1999, he planted his first Syrah using grow tubes, which helped speed up the process in order to get a small crop ready by the next harvest. “That wine went into Columbia Crest’s Reserve Syrah that landed on Wine Spectator’s top 100 list,” he says, adding, “We quickly established ourselves as a vineyard of quality.”

From that point, Andrews skillfully ramped up operations and added hundreds of acres of plantings over the ensuing decade that included mainstays Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah and Chardonnay.

But he soon realized that to achieve the kind of recognition he felt his vineyard and grapes truly deserved, he would have to “prove” his grapes by launching his own winery—which he commenced in 2005. “This was the reason for starting Coyote Canyon Winery,” he explains. “It has helped me to be an even better grape grower.”

 

Coyote Canyon Winery’s tasting room has been a permanent fixture at Vintner’s Village complex in Prosser, WA since 2007. The winery is dedicated to producing 100 percent estate wines grown by the Andrews’ family in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA. The tasting room is situated inside the Winemakers Loft, offering a relaxing Mediterranean-style courtyard setting that Andrews co-owns along with two other wineries.

Today, Mike Andrews along with his son, Jeff Andrews, continue to add and tweak vineyard plantings, which ebb and flow with market fluctuations and economic dictates. As the managing partner responsible for overseeing all of the vineyard operations, Jeff reports he expects to harvest almost 1,000 acres of wine grapes in 2024.

Early Champion of Unique Grape Varieties

From 2003 forward, Mike Andrews has been a champion of hard-to-find grape varietals. with origins in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Croatia, that include Nebbiolo, Barbera, Mourvèdre, Counoise, Graciano, Albarino, Tempranillo and Primitivo to name but a few.

“We were early pioneers in planting many of the lesser-known varieties,” says Andrews. “Part of the reason is that being diversified in farming helps you get through those years when something might be down and something else might be up.” Most of the varieties he planted were based on specific requests.

Around 20-plus years ago, James Mantone from Syncline Winery approached Mike Andrews about growing a certain Rhone varietal for him.

“James had just returned from Châteauneuf-du-Pape in France and was looking for the perfect site to plant Mourvèdre,” relates Andrews. “During that first conversation, I looked at that ground and thought, we can’t do it, it’s going to be too expensive. But I’m a glutton for punishment and went for it. It turned out to grow very successfully.”

Andrews says much of his education in varietals came from working with many different winemakers. “One was Gino Cuneo from Cana’s Feast, who asked us to plant 20 acres of high-density plantings of nine different varietals, among them Barbera, which we eventually did,” he says. In 2003, Andrews had been searching to find something different, and his appreciation for Barbera led him to plant six acres of it on an east-facing slope. He later added to the planting in 2006 per Cuneo’s request, in addition to Nebbiolo, Sangiovese and a few Bordeaux varietals.

He discovered Primitivo almost by accident. “I was in a little wine shop in Yakima called The Barrel House that John Caudill ran at the time. He offered me a flight of Zinfandel and Primitivo from California wineries. Immediately I tasted the difference—and I just loved the richness and the characteristics of Primitivo,” says Andrews. He planted it in 2006 and today it’s still in demand.

Top Accolades & 30-Year Milestone Anniversary in 2024

The Washington Winegrowers Association named Mike Andrews Grower of the Year in 2017. He is modest about his stature as one of the state’s most influential growers. “The recognition for the hard work and dedication is satisfying, but the biggest satisfaction is watching my kids take over and continue the business, knowing they are more capable and experienced than when I started,” says Andrews.

His son Jeff is the managing partner, who is in charge of the entire vineyard team and keeps the whole operation running efficiently. Mike’s other son, Macauley, handles the administration duties and technology.

A stickler for quality, Mike gives all the credit to his vineyard team, several of whom have worked there for decades. Coyote Canyon Vineyard celebrates its 30-year anniversary milestone in 2024.

“The vineyard is a success because of the dedication and faithfulness of the entire vineyard team. Everyone from the field worker to the management is dedicated to growing the best quality grapes,” he says with huge satisfaction.

Grape growing may be his foremost passion, yet Mike clearly holds strong affection for the winery, which combines award-winning estate wines, his family’s rich farming history and includes his wife Martha’s ability to create an ambience reflecting the Horse Heaven experience through murals and art.

The H/H Estates Reserve labels pay homage to various family members, as well as prized Hereford bulls that Andrews used to raise in his cattleman days. Winemaker Justin Michaud is on his 12th vintage at Coyote Canyon Winery and crafts a wide array of single-vineyard wines, as well as blends.

Andrews’ family has been farming in Washington State for 129 years, and for the past four generations on the family’s land in the Horse Heaven Hills.

“I’m pretty excited about the future,” he says. “This area is incredible for growing grapes. We know our ground and our grapes, and each generation has worked to make it better for the next. I am hopeful that my grandchildren will also take the challenge to continue the family business.”

Tour & Taste at Coyote Canyon Winery in Prosser, WA

Located in the Winemakers Loft complex at:
357 Port Ave, Prosser WA
Open daily
Web: www.coyotecanyonwinery.com