Rooted in family, grown with care.
Our Vineyard Story
Meet Our Family
Passionately committed to producing quality wine from our hand-tended vines right here in Stevens County, WA.
Remembering The Visionary
Brian Benson could often be found around the winery where he created everything from the wine to the patios and rock walls.
Brian's passion for creating legacy by fostering the future of his community and pouring his energy into his business is evident everywhere we look.
Watching his dream from vine to bottle become a reality brought an extra twinkle to his eyes.
Brian was diagnosed with Glioblastoma grade 4 in February 2021 and fought until he passed on June 5th, 2022. Even though he has passed on, when you come join us at the winery you'll enjoy hearing stories of his mischief and successes.
He is deeply missed.
Vineyard Manager and Kitchen Master
John Schuldheisz spends his days in the alfalfa fields and vineyard and enjoys his weekends in the tasting room kitchen creating stunning menu items. He also has been known to be caught meticulously cleaning the tasting room kitchen.
John is often caught in the vineyard discussing his dream antipasto platter that is sourced 100% from our farm.
He lives with his wife and 3 children on the vineyard property.
Winemaker, Marketing and Events
Leah Schuldheisz has stepped into her new role as winemaker with great pride. Following in her father's footsteps as winemaker after being his assistant for many years, she proves herself passionately committed to FVV's mission statement of producing quality wines with the grapes grown right here!
She also creates both public and private events at the tasting room throughout the year.
Meeting new friends and traveling as a vendor are some of her favorite parts of the job.
More often than not she is working in the winery with her 3 children close beside her.
Flower Lady and Quality Control Trio
Kathy Benson has lovingly started, planted, and cared for the gorgeous plants and flowers adorning our back patio.
Kathy owned Fruitland Service Station with her husband, Brian, for over thirty years.
In 2012, Kathy and John planted the first vines together in the vineyard, making her an integral part of the team from day one.
Kathy is now retired and is learning how to “smell the roses” and enjoy time with family, friends… and her flowers.
Here she is accompanied by her 3 grandchildren named Henry, Ayla and Lucy, who also help in the vineyard, checking grape sugar content through the harvest season.
Varietals
We've planted 9 varieties on our vineyard.
The 5 red grapes: Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, and Petit Verdot create both bold single varietal wines. They also compliment each other beautifully in our blended Bordeaux style wine.
The 4 white grapes: Orange Muscat, Pinot Gris, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc are prefect for a sweet or dry wine, allowing us to tailor our wine making to our guests’ tastes.
First Harvest
After planting the vines in 2012 we were able to pull our first harvest in 2014. We sold to winemakers and home winemakers in Washington and Oregon as we set our own winery in motion. Selling grapes to the home wine maker was a highlight of the year! Everyone was so enthusiastic about our grapes and what they produced from them. We knew we had started something special here in Fruitland.
Our grapes now
All grapes grown here at Fruitland Valley Vineyard now go directly to our winery for production.
The vines receive lots of love and attention from April through November. We still hand tend them, weed by machine, and we shovel and mow the rows weekly.
Our vines are watered with drip irrigation and monitored closely.
The grapes get bird netting on them about a month before harvest as we have quite a bit of wildlife in our area. Turkey and quail are a common sighting, among other beautiful birds native to our area.
Lake Roosevelt Terroir
The Lake Roosevelt terroir features a unique, semi-arid microclimate shaped by its massive 150-mile reservoir.
It combines the ancient volcanic, basalt-rich, and alluvial soils from Ice Age floods with dramatic temperature shifts.
This environment produces grapes with exceptionally high acidity, vibrant fruit profiles, and complex mineral characteristics
The Beginning
The land where the vineyard sits has been tied to our family for over 100 years. Leah's great-grandfather originally homesteaded the property, which is located at the base of a scenic valley.
After planting the first vines in 2012, we had our first harvest in 2014. We later launched the winery and tasting room in 2016.
Each of the 7,000 grape plants have been planted by hand. The vineyard sits at a 1400-foot elevation surrounded by majestic pine trees and diverse wildlife.
