Powers Winery

Bill Powers (1926-2014) was an Oklahoma-born farmer who arrived in Washington's Columbia Basin in 1957, drawn by the region's irrigation infrastructure, soils, and farming climate. After roughly 20 years as an orchardist and a stint in the cattle business, Bill found the property at the base of Badger Mountain in Kennewick that would become the family operation. In 1982 he planted Badger Mountain Vineyard with his son Greg Powers, and in 1989 the family built the on-site winery, producing the first Badger Mountain estate vintage in 1990. The operation continues as a family business with second-generation Greg Powers serving as director of winemaking alongside the Powers winemaking team. The Kennewick site places the operation in the Tri-Cities metropolitan area (Pasco-Kennewick-Richland), Eastern Washington's principal urban center and a significant Washington wine commerce hub.

• Bill Powers (1926-2014): Oklahoma-born, arrived Columbia Basin 1957; orchardist and cattle background before founding the vineyard
• Badger Mountain Vineyard planted 1982 by Bill and son Greg; family winery built 1989; first Badger Mountain estate vintage 1990
• Second generation: Greg Powers (director of winemaking) and the Powers winemaking team
• Kennewick base places operation in Tri-Cities metropolitan area, Eastern Washington's principal wine commerce hub

Badger Mountain Vineyard is the sister brand to Powers Winery and the organic side of the family operation. After watching farming friends from the Columbia Basin community fall ill from agricultural chemical exposure, Bill Powers decided to convert his viticulture to organic practice. Beginning in 1988, Bill transitioned the vineyard away from conventional chemical inputs. In 1990 Badger Mountain Vineyard achieved USDA Certified Organic status, becoming the first certified organic wine grape vineyard in Washington State. The Badger Mountain label has remained the certified organic side of the operation through subsequent decades, producing Riesling, Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon from the estate's Kennewick vineyards. The operation has also pursued broader sustainability initiatives including on-site biodiesel production from collected restaurant cooking oil and early adoption of 3-liter organic box wine packaging.

• Badger Mountain Vineyard is the sister brand to Powers Winery and the certified organic side of the family operation
• Bill Powers began organic conversion 1988 after farming community illness concerns
• Certified USDA Organic 1990: first certified organic wine grape vineyard in Washington State
• Badger Mountain label produces organic Riesling, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon from estate Kennewick vineyards

The Powers Champoux Vineyard Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is the flagship bottling of the conventional Powers label, drawing single-vineyard fruit from the historic Champoux Vineyard in Horse Heaven Hills AVA. Champoux Vineyard was planted to Cabernet Sauvignon in 1972 by previous owner Don Mercer with the specific aim of producing fruit capable of matching the great wines of Bordeaux. In 1996, Powers joined Paul and Judy Champoux and fellow partners Andrew Will, Quilceda Creek, and Woodward Canyon to purchase the vineyard, which Paul Champoux farmed along organic lines for over two decades; the Powers Champoux Reserve therefore draws on partner-owned vineyard fruit. Champoux is widely regarded as one of the top vineyards of Washington State, with fruit feeding multiple premium Washington producer bottlings beyond the Powers Reserve. The Powers Champoux Reserve ages 32 months in approximately 55 percent new French oak, producing a wine with structural depth from the warm Horse Heaven Hills site combined with oak-derived complexity. Recent vintages of the Powers Champoux Reserve retail in the $45-55 range and represent the prestige tier of the Powers lineup.

• Powers Champoux Vineyard Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon: flagship of the conventional Powers label
• Single-vineyard fruit from Champoux Vineyard in Horse Heaven Hills AVA, which Powers co-owns as a 1996 consortium partner: planted 1972 by Don Mercer; farmed organically by Paul Champoux
• Champoux widely regarded as one of the top vineyards of Washington State; feeds multiple premium WA producer bottlings
• 32 months in 55% new French oak; recent vintages retail $45-55; represents prestige tier of Powers lineup

Beyond the Champoux Reserve, Powers Winery operates a broad Columbia Valley lineup spanning Bordeaux varieties, Syrah, and white wines. The Powers Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon serves as the conventional core bottling at accessible pricing. Powers Syrah draws fruit from Candy Mountain Vineyard in the small Candy Mountain AVA (a sub-AVA near Richland, about four miles southeast of the Red Mountain AVA, within the Yakima Valley AVA) plus the Milbrandt family's Ravenscliff Vineyard on the warm Wahluke Slope, aged in a blend of new and used French oak. Other bottlings include AVA-designated Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot drawing fruit from across the broader Columbia Valley, plus white wines including Riesling and Chardonnay. The Badger Mountain side runs in parallel with certified organic Riesling, Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon at value-tier pricing. Distribution covers regional and national US wholesale plus direct sales at the Kennewick tasting room.

• Powers Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: conventional core bottling at accessible pricing
• Powers Syrah: sourced from Candy Mountain Vineyard (Candy Mountain AVA) plus Milbrandt Ravenscliff on Wahluke Slope; aged in French oak
• Broader Powers range: AVA-designated Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Riesling, Chardonnay from across Columbia Valley
• Badger Mountain parallel: certified organic Riesling, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon at value-tier pricing

Bill Powers became one of the most recognized figures in the Washington wine industry through his organic pioneering and multi-decade family operation building. He was named Washington Wine Grape Grower of the Year in 1996, recognized partly for the vineyard's recovery from a severe freeze event. In 2007 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award (a recognition granted only three times in the organization's history up to that point). The Walter Clore Center inducted him into the Hall of Fame in 2010 as a Legend of Washington Wine, the highest recognition the organization confers. The Kennewick operation continues under Greg Powers and the winemaking team, maintaining the dual conventional and organic label structure that distinguishes the family operation within the broader Washington wine landscape. The Badger Mountain Vineyard organic-first identity remains particularly distinctive: most Washington producers operate under conventional or sustainable certifications rather than full USDA Organic certification, leaving Badger Mountain in a relatively unusual market position over three decades after its 1990 certification.

• Bill Powers: 1996 Washington Wine Grape Grower of the Year; 2007 Lifetime Achievement Award; 2010 Walter Clore Center Hall of Fame Legend of Washington Wine
• Operation continues under Greg Powers and the winemaking team
• Dual conventional (Powers) and organic (Badger Mountain) label structure remains distinctive within Washington
• Badger Mountain's USDA Organic certification remains unusual: most WA producers operate under conventional or sustainable certifications rather than full organic