Winemaking

Canoe Ridge Vineyard focuses primarily on Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The full-scale winery, located at a historic site in Walla Walla, Washington, has an annual production capacity of 70,000 cases. A majority of the Canoe Ridge Vineyard cooperage is French Oak (rounded out by American and Hungarian oak) to add soft toasted notes as the wines age. Because of the beautiful fruit and its fine tannins inherent in our vineyard and Horse-Heaven Hills appellation, ageing with oak is more a complement than a necessity. 

Haydn Mouat

Haydn Mouat, a New Zealand native now with deep roots in Walla Walla, believes in making wines that are delicious, memorable and exciting to drink. His careful cellar management is designed to ensure that nothing done through the harvest is lost in the final bottle.

Haydn Mouat’s journey as a winemaker began when he worked a harvest at Gibbston Valley in Central Otago during his college years. Once he discovered his true passion, he immediately changed his major, completing a degree in enology from Lincoln University while working harvest seasons in British Columbia (where he could indulge his secondary passion for skiing). After a harvest at Hartford Court Winery, in Forestville, Ca, Haydn took a position in Walla Walla where he worked for nine years at Seven Hills Winery before moving to Waterbrook Winery. After one more tour in California, Haydn returned to Walla Walla and is delighted to be at Canoe Ridge Vineyard, making fruit-driven wines that tell the story of the land and climate where they grew. 

 
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Our Philosophy

At Canoe Ridge Vineyard, we pay close attention to the wine - not only in the vineyard but also in the cellar. Crop load is managed to give intense fruit flavors. Fermentations are kept simple; gentle pump-overs provide the oxygen, tannins, and color we’re looking for during fermentation, and then we work in the cellar to integrate and elevate the fruit, tannins, and oak while retaining the fruit driven vitality of the wine. Our goal is simple: to make wine so good that people want more.