DAYTON—Dumas Station Wines has acquired Birch Creek Vineyard, a 32 acre vineyard located in the heart of the Walla Walla Valley American Viticultural Area

(AVA). Birch Creek consists principally of Bordeaux varieties. The first block of Cabernet Sauvignon was planted in 1997. Over the years, several wineries—including Dumas Station—have produced award winning wines using grapes from Birch Creek. The Dumas Station team, lead by Jay DeWitt, managing partner and vigneron, has managed the vineyard since 2007. 

To celebrate the purchase of its first vineyard, Dumas Station is releasing two block-designated wines made exclusively from Birch Creek Cabernet Sauvignon. 

“Like many Walla Walla sites, growing conditions vary from spot-to-spot in Birch Creek Vineyard,” DeWitt said. “The land slopes in all directions, and within the length of a single row the soil conditions can vary widely. Grapes are exquisitely sensitive to these differences and the resulting wines can be remarkably complex and delightfully unpredictable. Our goal is to understand and capture those vineyard subtleties in our wines.” 

Co-winemaker (and certified WSET Level 3) Neil Johnston, added, “This is my 5th vintage working with Birch Creek fruit. The quality of the fruit and the flavor of the wines have always amazed me. These two Cabernets are quite different - even though the grapes are just a few feet apart.”

The two bottlings are designated as the “DeWitt Block” and the “Old Block” on the label. The DeWitt Block Cabernet is available for purchase now at the winery’s tasting room, and on Dumas Station’s new website (dumasstation.com/shop). The Old Block Cabernet will be released later this winter.

Both block-designated wines are the first to use Dumas Station’s refreshed label design. The new labels feature the winery’s noted historic train photographs, an updated logo and foil accents. The refreshed label designs will be used in all upcoming Dumas Station wines as new lots are bottled.

Founded in 2003, Dumas Station Wines is a family owned and operated estate winery. The grapes used to make Dumas Station’s wines are hand-nurtured and grown in the Walla Walla Valley AVA. The primary vineyard Dumas Station sources from is its estate Birch Creek Vineyard in the heart of the Walla Walla AVA. The wines can be purchased from the winery’s tasting room located between Waitsburg and Dayton, and in fine retailers and restaurants throughout Washington and Oregon.