Winemaking
Columbia Crest is synonymous with consistency and quality, and crafting the best bottle of wine vintage after vintage is what Columbia Crest winemaking is all about.
Great Wines Start in the Vineyard
Columbia Crest’s 2,500 acres of estate vineyards are some of the best in Washington. With only six to eight inches of annual rainfall, water to the Columbia Crest vineyards is supplied by drip irrigation, allowing control over the timing and quantity of water delivered to the vines and yielding grapes with well-balanced characteristics.
Winemaking Excellence
In addition to their commitment to quality, the winemaking team at Columbia Crest is also dedicated to producing approachable wines that people will enjoy. Our heritage of winemaking excellence is applied to every bottle—we strive to produce wines that are balanced, rich in flavor, and surpass expectations.
The best part of my job is the opportunity to craft a variety of wine using hands-on approach with the end goal always being to make the best possible wine.”
Guy Barnes, HEAD WINEMAKER
Guy Barnes
HEAD WINEMAKER
Guy Barnes graduated from Eastern Washington University with a degree in Biology. The following year, Barnes took a temporary position as a lab technician at Columbia Crest for the 1999 harvest, and continued his work as a lab technician at another company.
“Working as a harvest temp in the lab, I got a taste of the wine industry and how Columbia Crest worked as a winery.”
Barnes always had an interest in winemaking and in 2006 decided to return to Columbia Crest as a lab technician with hopes of one day joining the winemaking staff.
In 2010, Barnes realized his goal of becoming the White Wine Enologist and in 2016 eventually earned a promotion to Assistant White Winemaker. In 2017, Barnes was promoted to White Winemaker, and in March 2024 promoted to Head Winemaker.