Weekend Wine Tasting: Chateau Faire Le Pont

By: Doniree Walker | October 03 2011
Posted in Seattle - Great Day Trips

Doug and Debe Brazil, winemakers and owners of Chateau Faire Le Pont. (Photo reprinted with permission.)

Wenatchee, Washington is known as the "Apple Capital of the World," and while that's absolutely true, it should be noted that this Central Washington valley town actually boasts much more than just apples. The city of Wenatchee is home to a number of wineries and tasting rooms, each with vineyards in their own backyards.

Chateau Faire Le Pont is located just outside of downtown, on the north end of the city. Winemakers Doug and Debe Brazil opened the Chateau in 2002. Doug, a Georgia native is warm and friendly, and talks about his wines and tasting room with a sense of subdued pride, like someone who knows they know what they're doing, yet simultaneously seems blown away by the fact that they actually get to do it.

The Story
Doug is a self-taught wine-maker. "I took lots of short courses," he says, "I read a lot of books, and drank a lot of wine. I knew what I was trying to do. The first year, we did hire a consultant. I'd made wine at home before, but to do it at this scale is different and the consequences are much more expensive." Today, Doug says that the wines still exemplify his own style, but that he's now grasped how to make great wine on a larger scale.

Doug's wife Debe is the co-owner, and she's got a vibe that makes you believe that she can throw a killer dinner party. She's poised, polite, and extremely engaging. Together, this charming couple can be seen in the tasting room, serving wine and food to the guests in their restaurants, and working as a seamless duo who are as approachable as they are knowledgeable and professional.

A cozy place to enjoy dinner. Photos by: Doniree Walker

The Tasting Room
The building that houses the winery is a renovated Fruit Staging Warehouse that was built in the 1920s and was weeks away from the wrecking ball when the couple discovered -- and purchased it -- in 2003. They cleaned up and refinished the floors, revealing wood floors with character and charm. The building is brick, but had been painted a mix of dark gray during its days as a fruit staging warehouse. Since brick is virtually impossible to "un-paint," Doug hired a professional artist to come in and hand-paint faux brick on the interior of the building. When you look closely, you can see brush strokes, but from a distance, the paint job is rather convincing!

The Cellar
Wine is aged, blended, and stored in barrels downstairs. The most interesting part of this large basement room is a table on the far end. Doug explains how they'd considered closing up this side of the basement into a private room, but then decided that leaving it open to the wine cellar made it a much more interesting place to have dinners. Today, this space is used for wine-maker and rehearsal dinners, and is beautifully romantic with its deep colors and decor.

Enjoy a stroll through the sunny Adopt-A-Vine vineyards.

The Wines
Tasters have two options for tastings in the tasting room: there's a free-tasting which includes a Reserve Tasting list at $5 for five tastings, or $2 per individual taste. Like most tasting rooms, the fee is waived if you purchase a bottle after enjoying your sips.

Grapes for the wines are grown at various vineyards in Washington state. The only vines on the property are part of the Adopt-a-Vine program, which lets wine-lovers and guests of the winery "adopt" their own vine. When it's time to blend and bottle, vine "parents" can come in and bottle their own wine.

A number of their wines have taken Gold Medals at various wine shows, including their 2007 Milbrandt Free Run Syrah, which was a Gold Medal winner at the North Central Washington Winemakers Invitational. "Free run" refers to the process by which the juice is extracted from the grapes. While most grapes are processed by pressing the grapes to squeeze the juice out, "free run" means that only the gravitational weight of grapes on top of grapes is used to extract the juice.

Clockwise from Upper Left: Crab Asparagus Soup, Pinot Noir, Goat Cheese Wontons, and Tomato Basil Chicken Pasta.

The Food
Having played with a number of approaches for food service at the winery, the Chateau opened a restaurant inside the building in March of 2011. On the night of our visit (a Wednesday night), there was live music which provided excellent ambiance. The menu is fresh and creative, and smartly includes pairing recommendations for each of their wines.

The recommended wine pairing for the Tomato Basil Chicken ($13) is their Pinot Noir; a flavor combination that was spot on, with the wine providing a perfect compliment to the fresh tomatoes, basil, olive oil, and garlic butter.

The Wenatchee Valley in Central Washington is a flavor-rich area for food and wine-lovers alike, and if you're planning a trip here from Seattle or the surrounding areas, or just passing through, Chateau Faire Le Pont should definitely be a dinner stop along the way!

Have you visited any Washington Vineyards? Share your favorite spots to sip.