Description
CELLAR INFORMATION From the very beginning, Cayuse Vineyards has been farmed organically—without synthetic fertilizers, chemicals, insecticides or fungicides. “Mistreating the earth kills the terroir, and you end up with soils that are sick or dead,” Christophe believes. “It’s a foundation you have to protect.”
In 2002 Cayuse became the first domaine in the Walla Walla Valley to fully implement biodynamic farming—a chemical-free approach designed to produce healthier soil and food. Based on the research of Dr. Rudolph Steiner in the 1920s, the philosophy focuses on the interrelationship of earth, plants and animals as a closed, self-nourishing ecosystem. Followers use an astronomical sowing and planting calendar.
"I noticed many of the best French producers had been switching from conventional farming to biodynamics over the last decade, and I became convinced it was a necessary step for us to take,” Christophe says.
Visitors to Cayuse see far more than just vineyards. They find chickens, pigs, sheep and cows, apple and cherry trees, tomato and cucumber vines and rows of corn. “It closes the biodynamic circle by integrating animals into the farm, and shows respect for the old ways,” Christophe says. VINEYARD INFORMATION Perhaps you’ve heard the almost mythical story, how the brash, young French Vigneron visited the then little-known town called Walla Walla, and fell in love with a few acres of seemingly useless, stone-covered farmland. While the nay-sayers nayed, Christophe Baron deftly turned that field of stones into the acclaimed Cayuse Vineyards. And the rest, as they say, is history—and a whole lot of spectacular wine.
Cayuse is a domaine located in the Stones of the Walla Walla Valley. Over the past 20 years, Christophe has made it his mission to craft food-friendly wines of incredible depth, individuality and character—all from fruit grown entirely using biodynamic farming methods.
