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With an eye towards making wine in the Lake Chelan valley, Judy and Don began searching for the right property and bought a 25 acre orchard on Ivan Morse Road on the north shore of Lake Chelan in 2004. After updating the existing orchard buildings and purchasing state-of-the-art winery equipment, they were ready for their first commercial 'crush' on site in the fall of 2005. The Lake Chelan climate, with its cool nights, hot days and lake-moderated winter temperature is an ideal area for growing wine grapes allowing for a longer hang time without over ripening. The vineyard is located on a southwest facing slope of the property and has been planted and maintained organically using sustainable growing practices. The soils here consist of well-drained gravel interspersed with large stones and small boulders, making it truly a hard row to hoe. 2005 was the first year of planting the first two acres of grapes, Cabernet Franc. In 2006 another 2 acres of grapes, Gewürztraminer and Riesling, were planted. In the 2007 growing season Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Malbec and Chenin Blanc were planted. The first estate bottling of the 2009 Nauti Buoy, a field blend of Riesling, Gewürztraminer and Pinot Gris, was in February of 2010. For more info visit them at www.HardRow.com