When Keith and ReNae Pilgrim were married in 1993, Keith was working as a consulting geologist. The new couple had a dream of opening their own business and had it narrowed down to two options: a sailboat company or a winery. While discussing the two, ReNae asked Keith what she could do for a sailboat company and he told her she could help with the cooking and cleaning. Her response was “Let’s go with the winery.”
Terra Blanca Winery and Estate Vineyard is a small, family-owned winery situated on 300 acres of Red Mountain in eastern Washington that specializes in crafting wines with “New World” fruit and “Old World” depth, structure and elegance. Wines from Terra Blanca have been described as “beautifully crafted, polished” by the Wine Spectator, “intense and structured” by the Los Angeles Times and as having “harmonious, juicy finesse” by the New York Times. Wines produced include ONYX, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, syrah, and chardonnay from estate vineyard grapes and other premiere red, wine and dessert wines.
Owners Keith and ReNae Pilgrim purchased their land in 1993 on what would become Red Mountain, one of Washington State’s more important wine grape-growing areas. Since then they have guided the development of their winery and vineyard operation from rattlesnake-infested sagebrush to a pristine vineyard and winery that produces 30,000 cases per year. They created their first vintage in 1997 and sampled the wines out of their home’s kitchen. In 2006 the Pilgrims opened a 55,000 square foot expansion that included a 10,000 foot tasting room and banquet facility as well as one of the state’s most extensive barrel cave system with room for more than 4,000 French oak barrels.
The Pilgrims are committed to farming in a safe, responsible manner. Terra Blanca is a sustainably farmed, Salmon Safe certified vineyard.
