Andrew Will Winery

Chris Camarda founded Andrew Will Winery in 1989. The first winery occupied a converted walkway between two adjoining buildings in Seattle's Lower Queen Anne neighborhood, a space just 10 feet by 60 feet where the winery made about 2,000 cases across its first five vintages. Camarda named the operation for his son Will and his nephew Andrew rather than using his own name. In 1994, the winery relocated: barrels, equipment, and case goods were loaded onto two trucks for the drive from Lower Queen Anne to West Seattle, then ferried to Vashon Island, arriving in time to prepare for that year's harvest. The winery is located at Chris Camarda's home on Vashon, which is why Andrew Will has no public tasting room.

• Founded 1989; first winery in a converted walkway building in Seattle's Lower Queen Anne, about 2,000 cases in a 10-by-60-foot space
• Named for son Will and nephew Andrew, not for Camarda himself
• Relocated to Vashon Island in 1994, arriving in time for that year's harvest
• Winery operates from Chris Camarda's home on Vashon; no public tasting room

Andrew Will's first two fruit sources, from the 1989 founding, were Ciel du Cheval on Red Mountain and Champoux Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills. The winery has continued sourcing from Ciel du Cheval, Champoux, May's Discovery, and its own Two Blondes Vineyard. Ciel du Cheval was first planted in 1975 and today has 102 acres under cultivation; according to vineyard owner Jim Holmes, the site's high calcium carbonate soil is key to its fruit quality. At about 2,950 heat units a year it is the warmest of the vineyards Andrew Will works, and its Merlot was the wine that first drew critical attention to the winery in its earliest years. In 2000, Chris Camarda planted the Two Blondes Vineyard in the Yakima Valley near Zillah as Andrew Will's own estate site: 30 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec, managed by Chris Hoon, with viticulturist Dr. Daniel Roberts consulting in the vineyard's early years. Andrew Will describes Two Blondes as the coolest of its four vineyard sites, with a particular focus on matching clonal selections to the site.

• First two sources (1989): Ciel du Cheval (Red Mountain) and Champoux Vineyard (Horse Heaven Hills)
• Ciel du Cheval: planted 1975, 102 acres today; high calcium carbonate soil per owner Jim Holmes; warmest Andrew Will site at about 2,950 heat units per year
• Two Blondes Vineyard (estate, planted 2000, 30 acres near Zillah in the Yakima Valley): Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec; vineyard manager Chris Hoon
• Also sources May's Discovery Vineyard (Horse Heaven Hills) fruit; current single-vineyard bottlings are Two Blondes, Champoux, and Ciel du Cheval

Sorella, Italian for sister, is Andrew Will's flagship wine, made every vintage since 1994 from 100 percent Champoux Vineyard fruit. Chris Camarda named it for his late sister, Jane Camarda. The wine draws on Block 1, the oldest section of Champoux, where a Cabernet Sauvignon planting first went into the ground in 1972 on what was then part of the Mercer family's roughly 6,600-acre Mercer Ranch. Paul and Judy Champoux began working the vineyard in the late 1980s, and in 1996 they purchased the property outright with a consortium of partner wineries: Chris Camarda of Andrew Will, Paul Golitzin of Quilceda Creek, Rick Small of Woodward Canyon, and Bill Powers. Champoux Vineyard is set back five miles from the Columbia River in the Horse Heaven Hills, on sandy loam soils that produce notably firm tannins, in an area defined by wind off the Columbia River Gorge. Andrew Will's own site lists the vineyard at 175 acres; Paul Champoux retired as owner and vineyard manager in 2014, succeeded as vineyard manager by Dan Nickolaus.

• Sorella: Andrew Will flagship since the 1994 vintage; 100 percent Champoux Vineyard Block 1 (planted 1972, the vineyard's oldest section); named for Chris Camarda's late sister, Jane Camarda
• Champoux purchased in 1996 by Paul and Judy Champoux with a consortium: Andrew Will (Chris Camarda), Quilceda Creek (Paul Golitzin), Woodward Canyon (Rick Small), and Powers (Bill Powers)
• Champoux Vineyard: Horse Heaven Hills, five miles from the Columbia River, sandy loam soils noted for firm tannins; listed at 175 acres on Andrew Will's own site
• Paul Champoux retired as owner and vineyard manager in 2014; Dan Nickolaus succeeded him as vineyard manager

Beyond Sorella, Andrew Will's current single-vineyard lineup centers on Champoux, Ciel du Cheval, and the estate Two Blondes Vineyard. From Two Blondes, the winery also makes a Cuvée Lucia Sauvignon Blanc and a Semillon for its white-wine lineup. Blend composition varies by vintage: the 2019 Sorella was about 80 percent Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot, while a Wine & Spirits review described the 2012 Sorella as two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon from vines then close to 40 years old. The Wine Advocate reviewed the 2014 Champoux Vineyard for its "sensational purity in its lifted bouquet of cassis" and described the 2014 Two Blondes as a blend of 56 percent Merlot, 20 percent Cabernet Franc, 15 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, and 9 percent of a fourth variety not named in the review excerpt. Writing in View From the Cellar in late 2013, critic John Gilman placed Andrew Will's single-vineyard bottlings "amongst the most superb wines made in the US today," noting stylistic similarities to Cheval Blanc in the winery's more recent releases at that time.

• Current single-vineyard reds: Champoux, Ciel du Cheval, Two Blondes (estate)
• Whites: Cuvée Lucia Sauvignon Blanc and a Semillon, both from Two Blondes fruit
• 2019 Sorella: about 80 percent Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot; 2012 Sorella: two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon per Wine & Spirits
• Wine Advocate (June 2017): 2014 Champoux praised for cassis purity; 2014 Two Blondes a 56 percent Merlot-led blend

Will Camarda, Chris Camarda's son, studied geology at the University of Washington before joining his father's winery full time; 2016 press coverage described the 29-year-old as Andrew Will's next generation. He now serves as the winery's winemaker, having learned the craft from his father, and also as its sales director for distribution within Washington State. Andrew Will produces about 4,500 cases of wine a year and, per the winery, has been distributing its wines around the United States and internationally for more than two decades; wholesalers and importers currently carry Andrew Will wines in dozens of US states as well as in countries including Denmark, South Korea, Puerto Rico, and across the European Union. The producer has labeled wines by vineyard name on the front label since its first, 1989 vintage, and by 2003 had committed to blending grapes within each vineyard rather than bottling single varieties.

• Will Camarda: University of Washington geology graduate; joined the winery full time, now winemaker and sales director
• Production about 4,500 cases per year; direct sales in Washington plus wholesale distribution across dozens of US states and several countries
• Vineyard-name-on-label practice since the 1989 first vintage; committed to within-vineyard blending over varietal bottling by 2003
• Andrew Will has been sourcing from Ciel du Cheval since its own first, 1989 vintage

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://andrewwill.com/, https://andrewwill.com/history, https://andrewwill.com/wines, https://andrewwill.com/et-al, https://andrewwill.com/press, https://andrewwill.com/find-our-wines. Secondary sources: HistoryLink.org (Champoux, Paul and Judy entry), Great Northwest Wine (August 28, 2013), Owen Bargreen wine blog (August 21, 2024). Last verified 2026-09-14. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs. Andrew Will's own site lists Champoux Vineyard at 175 acres; secondary sources give different acreage figures for different years (135 acres at the 1996 purchase per HistoryLink, 185 acres in 2013 per Great Northwest Wine, 190 acres in 2024 per HistoryLink), reflecting the vineyard's growth over time rather than a factual conflict.