Andrew Will Winery

Chris Camarda launched Andrew Will Winery with the inaugural 1989 vintage, working out of a humble 60-by-10-foot space in Seattle's Lower Queen Anne neighborhood. He had begun making wine as a hobby in 1987 while working in the restaurant industry as a wine buyer, spending time with pioneering Washington winemakers including Rick Small of Woodward Canyon, Gary Figgins of Leonetti, and Alex Golitzin of Quilceda Creek. In 1994, he moved the entire operation, barrels and all, by truck and ferry to its current home on Vashon Island in Puget Sound, just south of Seattle.

• Winery is located at 12526 SW Bank Road, Vashon Island, Washington; fruit arrives by truck and then ferry boat from eastern Washington
• Chris Camarda is a self-taught winemaker who developed his passion while working nearly 20 years in the restaurant trade
• The winery has no public tasting room and has never emphasized tourism; it operates as a working winery focused solely on production
• Chris began making wine as a hobby in 1987; the first commercial vintage was 1989

Andrew Will sources fruit from four of Washington's most distinguished vineyard sites, all planted to Bordeaux varieties. The two original vineyards, Ciel du Cheval on Red Mountain and Champoux in the Horse Heaven Hills, have been part of the program since the very first 1989 vintage. Two Blondes, the winery's 30-acre estate vineyard in Zillah within the Yakima Valley AVA, was planted in 2000 and is the coolest of the four sites. Discovery Vineyard, also in the Horse Heaven Hills, rounds out the portfolio. All fruit is hand-harvested and transported by truck and ferry to Vashon Island.

• Ciel du Cheval (Red Mountain AVA) and Champoux (Horse Heaven Hills AVA) have supplied fruit since the inaugural 1989 vintage
• Two Blondes Vineyard: 30 acres, planted 2000, Zillah, Yakima Valley AVA; planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec on silty loam soils
• Champoux Vineyard is co-owned by Andrew Will alongside Quilceda Creek, Woodward Canyon, and Powers Winery; the partnership purchased the vineyard in 1996
• Discovery Vineyard (also known as May's Discovery) is a 24-acre site overlooking the Columbia River in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA

Since the first vintage in 1989, Chris Camarda has labeled wines by vineyard rather than variety, establishing a conviction that place matters more than grape name. His initial releases were single-varietal wines, but since 2001 the focus has shifted entirely to single-vineyard blends, as he believes this expresses each site's character more clearly than any single-grape bottling. All wines are treated consistently in the cellar: 100% destemmed, fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel, and aged in mostly neutral French oak with 25-35% new barrels depending on the vintage and the wine.

• Vineyard-designated labeling has been used since 1989; the front label carries the vineyard name, not the varietal
• Single-variety wines were produced early on; since 2001, single-vineyard Bordeaux blends are the winery's exclusive focus
• Cellar protocol: 100% destemming, native yeast fermentation in stainless steel, French oak aging (25-35% new); Sorella typically aged 22 months
• Wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal sulfur addition

Sorella is the winery's flagship, sourced 100% from Champoux Vineyard since its debut vintage in 1994. Named after Chris Camarda's late sister Jane, Sorella is a Cabernet Sauvignon-dominated Bordeaux blend; recent vintages have run approximately 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, and 4% Petit Verdot. The 2019 Sorella received 99 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and 97 points from Jeb Dunnuck. Additional single-vineyard bottlings include Champoux, Ciel du Cheval, and Two Blondes, each a different Bordeaux-variety blend reflecting its source site. An entry-level Involuntary Commitment bottling uses fruit not allocated to the single-vineyard cuvees.

• Sorella: 100% Champoux Vineyard fruit since 1994; Cabernet Sauvignon dominant; named after Chris Camarda's late sister Jane
• Recent Sorella blends run approximately 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 4% Petit Verdot; aged 22 months in 35% new French oak
• All single-vineyard blends vary in composition year to year depending on each vineyard's performance
• Involuntary Commitment is the entry-level cuvee, made from fruit not selected for the single-vineyard wines

Andrew Will's house style emphasizes finesse and balance over power and extraction, favoring modest alcohol levels and seamless oak integration so that vineyard character predominates. Chris Camarda has articulated this philosophy precisely: he is interested in the differences between his wines and the individual identities of each vineyard rather than any homogenized house style. Critics have consistently recognized the wines as among Washington State's finest, with Champoux Vineyard fruit having yielded multiple wines of outstanding critical acclaim from top reviewers.

• Style: structured, elegant, age-worthy; modest alcohol, fine-grained tannins, seamless oak; wines reward 4-5 years of cellaring and can evolve for two decades or more
• Philosophy: vineyard identity is paramount; differences between sites, not similarities, are what interest the winemakers
• Washington Wine Advocate reviewer David Schildknecht noted the winery's approach as one that has always favored elegance over flamboyance
• The 2019 Sorella received 99 points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and 97 points from Jeb Dunnuck

Andrew Will remains a family operation. In 2013, Will Camarda joined his father full time, and he has since taken over as winemaker and sales director. Will is a geologist by training, having graduated from the University of Washington in 2010 with a degree in Environmental Geology and worked as a geologist at Sound Earth Strategies in Seattle before joining the winery. He has built on the style his father established while developing his own approach to blending and exploring additional varieties. Chris Camarda remains involved in the winery he founded.

• Will Camarda (son, namesake) joined Andrew Will in 2013; now serves as winemaker and sales director
• Will holds a degree in Environmental Geology from the University of Washington (2010); his geological background informs his approach to vineyard terroir
• The winery is co-owned by Chris and Will Camarda; it remains a family operation with no outside corporate ownership
• Will has explored new directions including whole-cluster fermentation and sourcing from additional Washington AVAs