John Little of Rio Vista Wines
Rio Vista Wines is a family run winery and vineyard operation that is also family friendly. The log cabin tasting room in Manson on the North shore of Lake Chelan has a kids room upstairs and a fireplace downstairs. If you prefer a park, beach and plenty of space for outdoor activities, Rio Vista’s riverside tasting room offers all three. Located about 8 miles north of Chelan, the winery property sits on the banks of the Columbia River and can be accessed by car, boat or helicopter. There are 7 acres of vines along the river that provide 80% of the grapes for Rio Vista Wines. If you like sipping while sitting on sand with your feet in the water, this is the place for you!! It’s no wonder that Rio Vista is a popular site for summer weddings.
When John and Jan started planting grapes along the river in 2000, they knew very little about growing grapes and making wine. John read lots of books, joined viticultural and winemaking groups, and learned by trial and error. He has also had a lot of help from family members. Jan helps with the business side of things, their son John Jr. is now winemaker after completing a degree at the Walla Walla Community College, their daughter Kerry is a watercolor artist who does all the labels and paintings, and granddaughter Kelsey is general manager of the tasting rooms. They produce a wide variety of blended and single varietal wines using French, Spanish and Italian grape varieties. This year they released a sparkling wine for the first time called Bubbles on the Beach. Just the thing to sip riverside in summer while listening to the live music on Sundays!! Speaking of listening, my interview with John is here:
Listen to the Interview: