Wanna get (A wine) Away? We've got a Red mountain Package for you!

Board member Athena Kennedy & I took a road trip to bring you the chance to win a spectacular wine tasting experience. By Wendy Peloquin, Board President

The view from Kiona Winery

If you have been to a DAHLIA auction in the past several years, you know that our wine grab has been sponsored by Kiona Vineyards, but you probably don’t know the history behind how that came to be.

Kiona is home to one of the oldest vineyards in the state of Washington and a pioneering founder of the Red Mountain AVA in Benton County – now widely considered one of the best places to grow grapes in the country, if not the world.

My husband, Matt – and his sister Athena - grew up on Red Mountain (the back side, not the vineyard side). I remember my first visit 25 years ago. There were only a smattering of vineyards dotting the landscape – way more dust and sagebrush than grapes. Today the Mountain is verdant even in the driest part of the summer – with vineyards creeping quickly up the hillside.

Kiona is special to our family. Back in the day, before they built their beautiful tasting room, the tasting room was in the basement of the Williams’ house. I remember Matt, Athena and I showing up as they were closing up for the day. I think the door was even locked, because I remember we were headed back to the car when someone said, “come on in – we’ll pour you some wine.” It's always a good time for wine.

Years later, Athena and her soon-to-be husband, Dan, were one of the first events held at the new facility, the first to be held in the cellar. They had the big doors open and we watched the sun set over the valley. It made for a magical evening.

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Having been a wine club member and Kiona super fan for so many years, when I re-joined the DAHLIA board I reached out to JJ Williams at Kiona and asked if they would sponsor us. The answer was “yes!” The only requirement was that someone would have to pick the wine up and transport it to the westside. We tapped family members as wine “mules” every year. But, this year with COVID, as with most aspects of life, things were different.

First, without an in-person auction event, we didn’t need wine for a wine grab. We were looking for items we could sell and we were also placing an emphasis on more “experience” type items. I decided it would be fun to try to put together a Red Mountain experience featuring Kiona and several of the other amazing wineries that we had grown to love.

Of course, I reached out to JJ first and of course he came through in spades, not only donating wine flights at the winery, but a special 9-year vertical of their signature Lemberger wine (get your bidding fingers ready!). Another favorite, Hightower Cellars, stepped in with flights and a tour of the winery with Tim & Kelly Hightower – the owners and winemakers. (They are amazing people. One time we received a shipment from them and it wasn’t right. Tim called and said, “hey we’re going to be over on your side and can bring you the correct bottles…” They delivered them to my house personally! And threw in an extra bottle for the inconvenience… now that's service!)

​Down the road, Fidelitas added more flights and suggested we contact next door Frichette Winery. It was new to us, but Shae Frichette, the owner and winemaker quickly donated 4 flights. Goose Ridge (not on the Mountain, but in nearby Richland), also a long-time family favorite, donated tastings in both their Richland and Leavenworth tasting rooms – as well as some wine. I was so touched by the generosity of all these establishments, especially given that they were only recently permitted to re-open.

Now with all this wine tasting, our winners would need a place to stay. When Matt’s folks moved to Anacortes several years ago, us “kids” were truly saddened. Their 12 acres on the Mountain was our oasis in the desert. We spent every summer by the pool, enjoying the gardens and purely relaxing. Athena and Dan, as well as sister Eileen & husband George were both married in the gardens.

It was important to Bill and Becky that they sell to someone who would love and care for the place they had transformed over the years. Well, Jen and Jason, at the newly dubbed “Grove at Red Mountain,” have done just that. Tending to the gardens and transforming the property (keeping with great Peloquin/Kennedy tradition) they the guesthouse (a.k.a. Ruthie's House - our aunt) into an Airbnb. They too, graciously offered a 2 nights’ stay at the property we love so much.

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​With the package complete, we needed to get the donated wine over to the westside. But, with pandemic this year, none of our remaining family was making the trip west. But, it didn’t take much arm twisting to convince Athena that she and I needed to take a road trip. 

​Short on time, we had to pack a lot in with little time to spare. We beelined over on a beautiful Saturday morning and our first stop was Kiona. It was like coming home. We sat with our wine flights on the terrace overlooking the vineyards. It's our happy place and it was tough to leave. Running slightly behind schedule, we high-tailed it down the road to Hightower. Kelly, herself, was handling the tastings, so we were able to thank her in person for the donation. “Air” hugs all around and we flew down the road to Fidelitas where we enjoyed their fabulous wines and a charcuterie plate on the patio. Our last stop of the day was at a new favorite, Frichette. Shae popped by to welcome us and we thoroughly enjoyed her Sassy Syrah and Carmenere. 

​While we loved the wine tasting, the highlight of the day was visiting our old homestead. We were so behind schedule, we missed seeing owner, Jason, but his cousin Kasey gave us the run of the place. We visited every nook and cranny – got a little misty eyed – and regaled her with the storied history of the unique house that Matt’s parents built more than 40 years ago (it has its own fallout shelter with a 1 foot thick cement & steel door - no lie).

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​Happy (tipsy?) and tired, we crashed at Anne and John’s house (Athena’s mom & stepdad), spending a lovely evening catching up in their beautiful backyard. In the morning, we made a quick stop on our way out of town to visit Eileen, George, Eamon (5) & Vaughn (2). Eamon gave us a spectacular demonstration of the various types of sprinkler heads and showed us how you can daisy chain them together. There's a future irrigation engineer in the making!

Now, IMHO, a trip to Eastern Washington is not complete without a stop in Cle Elum. Why? Well, if you haven’t been to Beau’s Pizza – you are missing out. Their pulled pork pizza is to die for. And, if you go, tell Beau “Wendy says ‘hi’;” he’ll know exactly who you mean. Then of course you have to stop by Owens Meats to pick up steak for dinner. You're welcome in advance.

And so that is the history of Kiona's sponsorship and the story of our road trip. This crazy year of COVID has created so many challenges, including many for DAHLIA. For one, with so many businesses struggling, we had no idea what auction procurement would look like this year. And, in fact, sadly several of our long-time donors are unable to donate. Our hearts go out to them, and it makes us especially appreciative of those who have donated.

I don’t know if you are like me, but when I get down and feeling blue, I try to remember the good people/places/things in my life. This trip was a joy and just what the doctor ordered because as I said before, it was like coming home. Home is what DAHLIA is all about. Creating a home for all of our residents. Celebrating all their abilities and a place where they can thrive. Our amazing staff has done a phenomenal job throughout the whole COVID-19 pandemic. Tireless. Committed. Caring. I could go on and on. My hope with this virtual auction is that, even from a distance, we can keep our tradition of raising funds to continue providing the highest quality care.

I hope you are planning to join us for the auction event on October 18th. I hope I’ve intrigued you about bidding on our Red Mountain package so you can go experience this special place. If you go once, you’ll go back. Oh, and you’ll probably buy way more wine than you intend to, so make sure you bring a car that can haul some cases!

Mission Accomplished!