Mark started this journey in 1999 with a few tons of grapes in a friend’s garage. That first vintage sold out quickly and from that moment on it’s been a wild ride.
We are dedicated to producing the highest quality wines possible. We utilize vineyard sites across the Columbia Valley to create our wines, and have continued adding aportfolio of the most sought-after vineyards in Horse Heaven Hills, Yakima Valley, and Columbia Valley. We maintain a special focus on Red Mountain fruit. We produce wine from grapes grown in this high desert, on a very warm site. They are big-shouldered wines that we coax a great amount of finesse and elegance from.
OUR WINES
CHARDONNAY
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Our Chardonnay label is straightforward in name, just like the quality.
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For the past six vintages we’ve been sourcing fruit for our Chardonnay from Olsen Vineyard in the Yakima Valley.
VIOGNIER
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We hold a special place in our heart for Viognier, and have been creating our VIOGNIER label since 2006. We select only the best fruit for this label in the winery, even if that means sacrificing a larger case production.
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Our current Viognier is sourced from two distinct sites both in the Yakima Valley AVA: Red Willow vineyard on the far western edge of the AVA and Olsen vineyard on the far eastern edge, close to Red Mountain. The cooler climate and exceptional site at Red Willow produces wines that o er fantastic floral notes and citrus flavors. The warmer climate and great south facing slopes at Olsen produce wines with ripe melon and tropical fruit characteristics.
THE DISSIDENT
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It’s no secret we love good music, and may even be inspired with labels by some songs from Pearl Jam (one of Mark’s favorite bands). We identify pretty heavily with “dissident” as you might find when you experience or visit us and our wines. THE DISSIDENT is and always has been an approachable, high quality red blend.
The Dissident is a wine that we create to complement the Dead Horse and Long Haul, the same vineyards, barrels and attention to detail go into crafting The Dissident. While Dead Horse and Long Haul are crafted to be supremely age-worthy The Dissident is built to offer a more approachable wine younger in its development.
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Some of Washington State’s finest vineyards have provided fruit for the The Dissident. Red Mountain cabernet sauvignon from Quinn and Quintessence vineyards combine with merlot from Red Willow and Olsen and form the foundation of this blend.
LONG HAUL
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Vineyards and Eastern Washington farmland were long distances from our early production facilities and homes – Mark knew this from the start of his winemaking career, but his commitment to the best fruit was unwavering. Hence our LONG HAUL label that’s been here since 1999 – homage to the many long treks made for pursuit of best.
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Long Haul is composed primarily of merlot from Ciel du Cheval and Klipsun vineyards on Red Mountain combined with merlot from Red Willow Vineyard in the Yakima Valley. Ciel du Cheval and Klipsun are two of the oldest vineyards on Red Mountain. These older vines produce small clusters with intensely flavored berries. Seventy miles to the west of Red Mountain, the vines at Red Willow have an average age of 25 years and are planted on ancient soils above the deposition of the Missoula floods. Red Willow merlot offers a savory aromatic profile with complex depth and power on the palate.
DEAD HORSE
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DEAD HORSE is one of our two original labels that began in 1999. Our first vintage was sourced from Ciel du Cheval, which translates to Horse in the Sky or Horse Heaven. The name just seemed extremely appropriate to Mark (although not everyone agreed in the early days, it's worked out pretty well).
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Washington’s finest cabernet sauvignon sites provide the fruit for Dead Horse. The foundation of the blend is our custom planting at Quintessence vineyard, which produces exceptional fruit of incredible purity, intensity, and depth. Fruit from Obelisco, Discovery and Olsen vineyards complete the wine. While the composition is primarily cabernet sauvignon, small amounts of merlot and cabernet franc are used to add depth and complexity to the finished wine.
LITTLE SISTER
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We love Washington merlot and felt the time had come in 2015 to add a tiny production, superior-quality merlot label to our lineup – enter LITTLE SISTER. Mark has three beloved sisters, who he definitely tells this wine was named after. It’s worth nothing Queens of The Stone Age is also definitely one of his favorite bands… This reserve merlot scores high, sells out fast, and we look forward to making it every vintage.
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The merlot for Little Sister is a combination to two premium vineyards: Quintessence on Red Mountain and Red Willow in the upper Yakima Valley. The merlot from Quintessence was planted in 2011, on a south facing slope, in soils predominately consisting of fractured basalt and gravel with a light dusting of fine Loess. The merlot from Red Willow was planted in 1993 on a steep westerly facing slope, in soils that combine 16”-20” of gravel mixed with calcareous clay over volcanic pumice. A small amount of petit verdot from Quintessence vineyard is added to the wine and contributes subtle floral and spice notes to the blend.
MONKEY WRENCH
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Throwing a wrench into how things should be is part of our dissident nature, like creating a superior-quality wine hailing from the best vineyards at a killer $ value. MONKEY WRENCH is versatile, similar the tool it’s named after – accessible to drink today, with the depth to cellar for years to come. (Mark’s also known to draw label inspiration from some of his favorite bands, like the Foo Fighters).
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Monkey Wrench combines the power of Red Mountain cabernet sauvignon and malbec with the elegance of Yakima Valley merlot. The fruit from Red Mountain offers intense layers of ripe fruit with an expansive and textured palate. Yakima Valley fruit provides lifted floral notes and delicate spice with broad flavors and a refined finish.
LONELY HEART
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Every year since the early 2000’s, we choose the best of the best cabernet sauvignon barrels at the winery and blend painstakingly to produce LONELY HEART – our reserve selection, always Red Mountain, cabernet sauvignon. The name is as powerful, bold, and brooding as the wine in the bottle.
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Lonely Heart is a single-vineyard cabernet sauvignon from our custom planted blocks at Quintessence on Red Mountain. Block 16 was planted in 2012 with clone 191. Grapes from this block produce wines with bold, fruit driven aromatics and expansive flavors. Block 53 was planted in 2017 with clone 337. The fruit from this block produces wines with an exceptional balance of rich aromatics and subtle layers of spice with broad, ripe flavors. When working with such extraordinary fruit we strive to elevate and support its unique qualities without obscuring the profile with heavy-handed winemaking techniques. Our goal is to allow the amazing qualities of the fruit to be freely expressed in the finished wine.
WILD EYED
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Our WILD EYED label is and always has been syrah from Red Mountain since 2006. We love working with syrah from this warmer climate, and pour a great deal of energy & finesse into making it bold and balanced every vintage. You may notice more rock music inspiration for WILD EYED in tandem with another label name, Mark is a Pearl Jam fan.
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Quintessence and Angela’s vineyard provide the fruit for the Wild Eyed Syrah. The combination of four premium Syrah clones give us wonderful blending tools in the cellar. Clone 383 offers dark, brooding aromatics and flavors, while Clone 174 brings expansive primary fruits and sweet spice. Clone 877 bridges the gap between clone 383 and clone 174, with beautiful layers of sweet fruit and a dark, savory core. The Phelps clone ties the wine together with its amazing purity and intense profile. Our goal with the Wild Eyed is to offer a glimpse of warmer climate Washington state Syrah. The wine is specifically aged in thick staved 500-liter French oak barrels. We find these larger volume barrels help create a wine that has a great purity of fruit with improved textural qualities.
LOST SOUL
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We think few escape feeling a bit like a lost soul, we certainly have at times over the past 20 years! Our LOST SOUL label has always come from Yakima Valley, representing the cooler side of syrah. Red Willow has been our vineyard of choice for the past 10 years, and each vintage is crafted into our style in production – bold, balanced, cellar-worthy.
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The Lost Soul is a single vineyard representation of Red Willow vineyard Syrah and is a combination of two distinct blocks planted on quite different soils.
WATER WITCH
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Mark’s grandfather was an actual water witch many years ago – he located water in Eastern Washington farmlands. Our WATER WITCH label dates back to 2005, exclusively from Red Mountain.
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In 2012 we partnered with Quintessence Vineyards to plant a 13.6-acre block on the south slope of Red Mountain. We worked together with the Quintessence team to transform the site into a world-class vineyard, sparing no expense in the design and development. Through meticulous site, varietal, and clone selection as well as targeted vine density and orientation, we have been able to create this singular wine unique to the Mark Ryan lineup. We focus on highlighting the fantastic character and quality that make this block unique.
CRAZY MARY
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Mourvèdre is a particular varietal, and there’s not too much of it planted in Washington State. We’ve been getting our hands on incredible fruit from Red Mountain over the past 10 years, but only create our CRAZY MARY label when the quality & vintage are up to our standards. It’s worth noting that a song by Victoria Williams, covered by Pearl Jam, is one of Mark’s favorites and makes for great label inspiration.
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Mourvèdre is a varietal that we all love to work with. Its aromatic profile is similar to Syrah, but it contains additional elements that make the resulting wine unique. Mourvèdre prefers the deep sandy soils offered by Ciel du Cheval. Unlike Syrah, which we tend to harvest early in the growing season, Mourvèdre is a later ripening varietal and is often one of the last lots we pick. The addition of Red Willow Syrah provides the blend with additional layers of savory aromatics and subtle floral notes.
Other Wine Families
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Manu Propria
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Megan Anne Cellars
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Board Track Racer