At Vagabond, we source our grapes from select vineyards throughout Washington State, choosing ideal growing conditions that will produce the the best wines we can hope to make.
While we value all different types of grapes, we specialize in Bordeaux and Rhone varietals.
At Vagabond we elect to use solely french cooperages for our barrels. Every red wine spends a minimum of 24 months in-barrel and 12 months in bottle before we release them to the public.
For our white wines, we employ concrete eggs and stainless steel tanks.
Thus far we have used five different cooperages at several different toast levels to give our wines complexity and a variety of flavors.
Sourcing grapes from the Red Mountain area is only natural for Washington winemakers. Picking which vineyard to source from is another story. Ciel Du Cheval (which translates to Horse Heaven in French) has gained a reputation for growing some of the best fruit on Red Mountain.
We chose this vineyard in 2024, specifically for our grenache. The terroir at Ciel Du Cheval is reminiscent of vineyards in Rhône, France. Grenache grapes are particularly suited to soil with high permeability which allows for good drainage and ultimately begets a more concentrated flavor.
One of Red Mountain’s hidden gems, Blackwood Canyon is a lesser-known vineyard that primarily grows Bordeaux varietals.
Our “Nomad” cabernet sauvignon is a clone of the famous “169 Winemaker’s” Bordeaux grape which offers complexity and intense flavors.
The wine itself boasts high levels of anthocyanins which give our wine a rich color and the ability to age gracefully.
Another favorite of the Horse Heaven Hills AVA, Phinny Hill is the vineyard we chose in 2023 for our “Spectre” sauvignon blanc. The vineyard enjoys cool nights that help retain a natural acidity that is perfect for white wine varietals.
The vineyard’s south-facing slope provides ideal growing conditions for white wines. Thanks to the prominence of the diurnal shift in the area, this vineyard produces a crisp product with high citrus characteristics.
For those seeking a syrah, The Royal Slope, located between Adams and Grant county in Washington State, is one of the most well-known AVA’s for winemakers.
We sourced our 2023 Syrah, “The Scribe,” from a number of vineyards in this area due to The Royal Slope’s overwhelmingly positive reputation for noteworthy syrahs throughout the years.
Thanks to the Missoula Floods, the Royal Slope boasts one of the most unique geological settings for grape growers in all of the Pacific Northwest.
For us, that means a syrah that possesses an optimal ripeness and flavor development that is sure to last.
Weinbau Vineyard (literally “winegrowing” in German) gave us our 2025 cabernet franc, “Heathen.”
We chose this vineyard for several reasons: warmer climate, superior air drainage, silt loam soil, and the vineyard’s block layout which minimizes direct sunlight.
These conditions are ideal for a grape that enjoys an even ripening and dislikes being waterlogged which ultimately lead to a full-bodied wine with minimal perazine flavors.
Celilo Vineyards is a high-elevation vineyard located in the Columbia Gorge that we chose for our “Saboteur” chardonnay in 2023.
Known for producing premium chardonnay grapes, the south-facing slope of this vineyard provides ample sunlight and natural irrigation while the soil possesses a volcanic quality that gives our wine an ideal level of acid and minerality.
