The Matthews Winery was one of the early pioneers of Washington State. The winery is a leader in blending tradition and innovation to create wines that are both delicious and sustainable. With a focus on terroir, resources, and technology, it’s a story of innovation and environmental stewardship, proving that quality and conscience can coexist.
I had a chance to talk to Alex Stewart, head winemaker, and Hal Iverson, winemaker, about the impact that they have made in the recent years since they’ve been in their roles.
About the Winemakers
Alex is a winemaker who came to Matthews Winery after a distinguished career at Quilceda Creek. A native of Snohomish, Washington, he once thought he’d pursue a medical degree, but developed a passion for winemaking after working on Quilceda Creek’s bottling wine. He changed course and pursued a degree in enology from California State University, Fresno. He studied in Burgundy, Tuscany and Switzerland. He joined Matthews as lead winemaker in 2021. Alex talked about how the Matthews opportunity gave him the ability for artistic exploration with different AVAs and varietals vs. a more traditional, historic brand with a set profile.
Hal received his degree in sustainable agriculture and talked about how he was trying to avoid making life decisions and got into winemaking. In the beginning, he was teaching classes in Taiwan. When he returned to the States, he worked a harvest at Quilceda Creek in 2010 where he remembers working 70 days in a row. It was agriculture-focused and rewarding work, so he eagerly accepted a position at Quilceda Creek in 2016 when it was offered. Since joining Matthews, Iverson has been instrumental in pushing the boundaries of winemaking at the winery especially when it comes to the blending process across multiple AVAs.
This is where the friendship between the two winemakers began.
The Shared Philosophy
Together, they have elevated the winery’s reputation and produced wines that showcase Washington State’s terroir.
There are a few key tenets to their winemaking philosophy including taking a minimalist approach. This philosophy is centered on letting the grapes express their true character, handling the grapes gently and preserving the integrity of the fruit — while respecting the terroir, using low intervention and making wines that are characterized by their balance, complexity and sense of place. When it comes down to it, they are two best friends that get to work together with a shared goal of making the best wines possible.
Matthews Winery is located in Woodinville, Washington, and was established by Matt Loso in 1993. They initially focused on Bordeaux-style blends. The winery was an early incubator for some of Washington’s early wineries including Mark Ryan Winery, Sparkman Cellars and Gorman Winery.
Cliff and Diane Otis acquired Matthews Winery in 2008. They have been pivotal in guiding the winery through significant growth, innovation and development as well as hiring Alex and Hal.
They remain focused on elevating the winery’s profile as well as showcasing what is special about the Washington region and Woodinville. The grapes are grown across the Columbia Valley in Royal Slope, Red Mountain, and Horse Heaven Hills. The family also has several brands from Washington State including Tenor, Jaine, Blackboard, and Single Barrel.
The last time I visited Washington State was for the 2010 Wine Bloggers Conference. Hearing about the development that has happened with wine, food and tourism makes me want to return.
Alex and Hal talked about how the winery is located in a “blank slate.” Woodinville is an amalgamation of the perfect terroir, having access to water, and warm temperatures key for an ideal growing experience.
They talked about how the approach used to be more science-based but has evolved to more of an art form as they get to know the vineyards well enough to make decisions about how the grapes are we grown, when they harvest, what resources are needed and what innovations are needed to make the best wine possible.
Over time, they have evolved the wines produced from being very Bordeaux-focused then expanding to include wines like Sauvignon Blanc, Muscadelle and Semillon, which will go into a new Bordeaux Blanc. The goal is to make ripe Bordeaux wines with the freshness that California has to offer.
In a nutshell, they told me the owners are willing to invest in decisions that make the best wine possible. That it all starts in the vineyard with low yields, later pick times and using their expertise to know when the grapes will be at their best leaving them on the skins for, on average, three-time longer than other wineries. Once in the winery, they age for at least two years in barrel and blend later as well. It’s a winemaking philosophy of trusting your palate and doing everything in balance. That can happen when you are completely trusted by the owners, who are focused on helping the world realize the potential of Columbia Valley.
One interesting conversation was when I asked about sustainability. As a reference, Hal got his undergraduate in sustainable agriculture and has an organic farm in his backyard. He has a voice and believes that sustainability is an ill-defined term often used to a winery’s advantage. It’s a bit of a parallel to “pinkwashing,” which is a term associated with breast cancer awareness when companies slap in a pink ribbon without funds truly going to breast cancer. The winery is certified sustainable, and Washington State is poised to be highly sustainable as a region as well. Matthews Winery has a commitment to compost, use cover crops, not use tractors, sign long-term contracts with vineyards, use natural cork and recycled tin, minimize bottle weight and pay workers a living wage.
We also talked about the ideal position of Washington State and the influx of out-of-state winemakers and growers entering the market with investment and technology.
The Wines
They talked about three years of remarkable vintages especially from 2021 to 2023. I was able to taste several of the wines.
- 2022 Columbia Valley Sauvignon Blanc – notes of honeysuckle, citrus, green apple, stone and herbs. I loved the balance of fruit and minerality.
- 2021 Columbia Valley Cuvée – notes of blackberry, violets, mocha and spice. It was rich and complex
- 2021 Columbia Valley Claret – this merlot-dominant blend had lots of dark black and red fruit, lavender, cedar, pencil lead, chocolate and tobacco.
- 2021 Matthews Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon – this structured cabernet sauvignon had notes of blackberry, dark chocolate, mocha, vanilla, and black cherry. The fruit and spice lingered.
- The 2021 Matthews Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is delicious and complex. I tasted notes of blackberry, currant, cedar, pencil lead, tobacco, dark chocolate and mocha.
Matthews Winery stands as an example of the quality and character of Washington State wines. Under the leadership of Alex Stewart and Hal Iverson, the winery has consistently produced wines that capture the essence of the Columbia Valley terroir.
