Jacob Williams Winery was a nice find on our recent trip through downtown McMinnville’s tasting rooms. The winery itself sits on the Washington side of the Columbia River Gorge, but owner Brad Gearhart and winemaker Peter Cushman opened this Willamette Valley outpost in 2021 to expand the brand’s reach. Named for Gearhart’s two sons, the winery pours Bordeaux-inspired wines and Italian-leaning curiosities at 232 NE 3rd Street.
The winery that almost wasn’t
Brad Gearhart’s path to owning his own winery, and a successful one at that, wasn’t easy. Brad began pursuing his dream of striking out on his own just before the Great Recession of 2008 took hold of the economy and turned it belly up.
The project was slow going. In the beginning, Brad had to bootstrap the winery he’d named for his two sons by pooling resources with other local winemakers. Together, the group purchased used wine equipment and shared a warehouse space to collectively get their projects off the ground.
At this point, things were going well for Brad. He was able to open a small tasting room, which his father helped him manage. Shortly after he’d started to establish his brand in the community, however, the economy tanked, funding dried up, and he went through a significant amount of his savings trying to keep his business afloat.
Times were rough for Brad and the Jacob Williams Winery, but, pretty miraculously, he was able to keep the whole thing together by continuing to release wines that had a small but loyal following and leaning into promoting the Jacob Williams wine club. In fact, it’s the winery’s wine club that he credits with sustaining the business during that rocky period.
Today, Brad has a winery that overlooks the Columbia River, two bustling tasting rooms, and winemaker Peter Cushman’s wines have earned strong reviews from critics across the country!
Washington Wine: What You Need to Know
We get so spoiled living here in California, the wine capital of the US, that it’s easy to forget that there are talented winemakers, and bustling wine economies, all over the country, particularly in Oregon and Washington.
Washington is a state rich with great wineries. Today, just over 1,000 wineries call Washington home. That’s roughly 100 more than Oregon. The number of AVAs (American Viticulture Areas) has nearly doubled in the last six years, going from 13 to 20!
Jacob Williams Winery sources its grapes from the Columbia River AVA and Columbia River Gorge AVA, Washington’s two most widely planted AVAs. The region is rich with micro-climates and growers experimenting with all kinds of grapes, from Bordeaux varieties to riesling and tempranillo.
While the Jacob Williams’ team is primarily focused on Bordeaux-inspired wines, winemaker Cushman has a soft spot for Italian varieties like barbera, which he’s cultivating in one of the family’s vineyards, so we may see a few more Italian bottlings in the near future.
Based on the wines we tried, it was a great decision.
Jacob Williams Winery Tasting Room Experience
The Jacob Williams Winery offers one tasting option that includes:
- 2021 Jacob Williams Pinot Gris
- 2021 Jacob Williams Viognier
- 2019 Jacob Williams Zinfandel
- NV Jacob Williams Sadie Red Blend
- 2019 Jacob Williams Merlot
- 2019 Jacob Williams Syrah
Overall, our tasting experience at the McMinnville outpost had some hits but also some misses.
The Jacob Williams merlot and syrah were the best in the bunch we tried. The merlot had good tannins and a nice structure. While the syrah is rich with notes of dried stone fruit and herbs.
The grapes for both wines come from the Hi Valley Vineyard in The Dalles, Oregon, which sits on the Oregon side of the Columbia River. Cushman oversees the vineyard management here and has created more than a few wines that embody the big presence and great texture that wines from the region are known for.
Of the two white wines in the tasting, the Jacob Williams Pinot Gris was the clear winner. Just like the state’s neighbors to the south, the pinot gris from this region is excellent. This wine was crisp but delicate, and the notes of pear, apple, lemon, and lime came together for a nice finish.
More Oregon wine country: our reviews of R. Stuart Winery, Björnson Vineyard, and Troon Vineyard.
Wines to look for
One tasting flight covers six wines: the 2021 whites, the 2019 reds, and a nonvintage red blend.
- 2021 Pinot Gris White Crisp but delicate, with pear, apple, lemon, and lime and a nice finish; the clear winner among the whites.
- 2021 Viognier White Sweet and sugary; not for us.
- 2019 Zinfandel Red Decent, with a great nose and pepper on the palate.
- NV Sadie Red Blend Red Approachable, but not great.
- 2019 Merlot Red Good tannins and nice structure; one of the best wines in the tasting.
- 2019 Syrah Red Rich, with dried stone fruit and herbs; one of the best wines in the tasting.
Our verdict
★★★★★
Cork & Journey: 5 out of 5 stars. All in all, the wines from Jacob Williams are some decent Washington wines from an owner who makes it known just how much he values his customers. Jacob Williams Winery, and winemaker Peter Cushman, are ones to watch.