Javier Alsonso of Pomum Cellars & Vinateria Idilico
Javier Alfonso grew up in the Ribera del Duero wine region of Spain. But when he purchased the Konnowac Vineyard in the Rattlesnake Hills area of the Yakima Valley, he came full circle back to where he was born. His mother was from the Yakima Valley and majored in Spanish at WSU. During her junior year, she went to Spain to improve her language skills, and fell in love with Javier’s father. Although the couple has lived in Spain from the time they got married until today, she did come home to Yakima in the 70s to give birth to Javier. They returned to Spain when he was 2 months old, and he lived there until 1995, when he came to the University of WA to complete undergraduate and graduate degrees in aeronautical engineering. He met his wife Shylah at the university, and they fell in love with Washington state and WA wine. What started as a winemaking hobby for friends, turned commercial in 2004 when they created their Pomum Cellars label.
In 2012, Javier became a full-time winemaker for both Pomum Cellars and a label they created in 2009, Vinateria Idilico. Pomum wines are all made with French grape varieties, and Idilico is dedicated to wines made with Spanish grape varieties. In 2019, Javier and Shylah purchased the Konnowac Vineyard, making him a winegrower in the European sense. All Pomum wines are made with estate fruit from Konnowac vines, some of which date to 1987, and Idilico wines are sourced from Konnowac and other areas of the Yakima Valley. Javier is the largest producer of Albarino in WA state, and perhaps the US. He believes that Albarino should be WA state’s white wine grape. Javier is also one of the few winemakers to make a single-varietal Graciano, something he admits he could never do in Spain. In this interview, he explores fascinating stories behind his wine journey, comparisons between Spanish and Washington wines, amazing paella he makes for hundreds of club members, and much more.
Listen to the Interview:
