Mont Elise: oldie but goody - Mont Elise Winery

From the outside, the long white building, with its deep brown-timber trim looks as if it might I have been transported magically from the Bavarian Alps. Adding to the illusion, part of the interior of this former fruit storage building houses a thriving microbrewery. But the primary occupant is the 27-year-old Mont Elise Winery, owned and operated by Charles and Della Henderson. "I believe we're the oldest family-owned winery, and the second oldest existing winery in the State of Washington," says Charles. "Chateau Ste. Michelle is the only winery I know of which was operating when we began."

The birth of Mont Elise, originally called Bingen Wine Cellars, was with the planting of Charles's first vineyards, at the 1,600 foot level, above the Columbia River, in 1964, the first grapes planted in the Columbia River Gorge. Bingen is pronounced, by the localites, as Binge-in, with a soft g, although its name was taken from Bingen-am-Rhein, (hard g) in the Rheinhessen region of Germany. Many of those who settled in the area emigrated from Bingen-am-Rhein and noticed many sharp similarities between the two regions, particularly in the hospitality of the soil and climate towards the cultivation of tree crops.

Although Charles's forebears were long-time wheat farmers in Fargo, N.D., it was the orchards which drew him west to Bingen. "I had visited there once and I liked what I saw," he remarks. "So, in 1960, when a fellow who had sold his farm in Fargo and had gone to Washington returned disenchanted I offered to swap properties with him. There were 300 acres in the piece and the main crops were Anjou pears and cherries. I wanted to plant a third crop and had always liked wine. Basically all these fruit crops grow the same way, so I decided on grapes, and put in 20 acres."

The vines are trellis-trained and easy for the family to manage, with extra help hired for pruning and picking. The Pinot noir and Gamay Beaujolais are cordon-trained, and the Gewurztraminer is cane-pruned, but Charles says he's planning to re-do his trellis system in a year or two, and right now is setting in new posts. "Once the vines were in and producing," he says, "I had to find a market for them, and that was when we built the winery."

It is hard not to suspect that Charles always planned, secretly, to have a winery, and he even admits that, when he bought the 100-year-old building in 1973, it was with the thought in the back of his mind that it really would make a good winery and tasting room. It also, at the present time houses a thrift shop, the Chamber of Commerce and the Bingen Brew Pub.

The winemaking, bottling and shipping facility is tucked into a tidy space below street level, beneath the southwest comer of the building. It is about as small and compact as a working winery can get, but with a work force of one to three people the compact size is a blessing and a necessity. The tall, skinny, temperature-controlled tanks were designed and constructed to fit the space available. The tasting room, above, has a large window from which visitors can watch the winemaking activities, while tasting the finished products. At the moment, tasting room hostess Christie Messier is pouring samples of Mont Elise's spicy-dry Gewurztraminer, a light salmon-colored Pinot noir blanc, a deeper pink Pinot noir rose, a rich, fruity Pinot noir, Gamay Beaujolais and a delightful blanc de noir brut champagne. About half the total production is sold in the tasting room, and the rest is distributed in the Portland area, with some representation in Couer d'Alene, Idaho and The Dalles, Oregon.

In the early days Charles relied on purchasing additional grapes from his neighbors to make his wine, but says he found that "an iffy way to operate." By enlarging his vineyard to 35 acres, he now produces 2,500 to 3,000 cases of wine each year, all from his own fruit. "One year we made 7,000 cases," he remarks, still shaking his head in wonderment, and admitting he never wants to hit that mark again.

The present name of the winery combines the source of the grapes, Mont, with the name of Charles and Della's daughter, Elise, who was an infant when the infant winery got its start. Elise, whose picture hangs in a place of honor over a rack of glasses in the tasting room, is now a student at the University of Washington, majoring in food science.

Charles and Della's son, Chuck, a 1984 graduate of the University of California/ Davis is the winemaker. He is also brew-master of the Bingen Brew Pub, and oversees the harvest of all the crops. The day of my visit, he shook hands and pointed over his shoulder at his dad. "Talk to him," he said, as he climbed into his truck and gunned the motor. "I'm picking cherries today."

Though planning for the future goes ahead, Charles is realistic about the future for the winery. "It doesn't look particularly bright," he comments. "The price of bottles has doubled. The cost of labels is out of sight, taxes have quadrupled and insurance is eight times as expensive as it was. It's hard to see how much longer we can hold on."

Add to that the fact that Chuck admits he much prefers the brewery to the winery. "It's all fermentation science," he says, "so I've had the training and the experience." The 1997 harvest could be the last to wear the Hendersons' Mont Elise label. Visitors who hope to observe this bit of vanishing Americana should plan a visit soon.

Mont Elise Winery is located on State Highway, about an hour's drive east of downtown Portland, across the Columbia River from Hood River. The tasting room is open daily from 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM, and there is no charge for tasting. To contact the winery, call (360) 458-9463.

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