Good Fruit Grower

October 2013

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Grapes Tucker Cellars FINDS NICHE Sunnyside, Washington, winery supplies wineries across the nation. T by Melissa Hansen hird-generation wine grape grower Randy Tucker has made wine in Washington's Yakima Valley for 30 years. Through the decades, he's changed business plans at Tucker Cellars to finetune the winery's market niche, but he's now facing one of the biggest changes as he approaches retirement. Randy's grandparents Melvin and Vera Tucker moved from Nebraska after the Depression to the Yakima Valley, where they sharecropped wine and table grapes from 1933 to 1946 for Sunnyside's wine grape pioRandy's father Dean planted more vinifera grapes in 1978 and added a produce neer William Bridgman. Melvin obtained cuttings from Bridgman and stand in 1979. Tucker Cellars opened its doors in 1981, one of the first wineries to be planted European varieties under contract with Bridgman. established in Yakima Valley. That same year, Randy returned to the family's new Historical artifacts, photos, and even an empty Upland Winery botwinery, leaving his grocery store marketing job on the west side of the state. He took tle of Muscatel adorn the wall of the winery tasting room in Sunnyside. winemaking classes at the University of California, Davis, and worked alongside wineOne of the contracts signed by Bridgman dates to 1937, and a framed making consultants Stan Clarke and Kay Simon for two years before taking the reins as bill of lading shows that in 1939, Melvin brought in 101,942 pounds of w inemaker in 1983. grapes (Semillon, Zinfandel, Malvoisie, and Norton/Brighton) to Upland At first, Tucker Cellars made only two wines, Chenin Blanc and Johannisberg Winery and received $764. His 61,490 pounds of Muscat grapes fetched R iesling. Today, it produces 15 different kinds of wine, but it's in custom winemaking Trident Ag 2-15-13_1/4 page dummy 1/25/13 10:16 AM Page 1 $538.04. where Randy has developed the winery's niche. Avoid the Orchard of No Return Replant disease can take the profit out of any orchard. Soil fumigation services offered by Trident manage replant disease and other soil-borne pathogens. Trident offers custom applications of Telone® C17, Telone C35, and Pic-Clor 60. • Row and broadcast applications available • Specializing in tree fruit, hops, grape, berry, and nursery crops Telone® II, Telone C-17, and Telone C-35 are registered trademarks of Dow AgroSciences LLC. Telone II, Telone C-17, Telone C-35, and Pic-Clor 60 are restricted-use pesticides. Soil Fumigation Specialists Serving the Northwest for 29 years orchardfumigation@tridentag.com NORTHWEST, WA: EASTERN WASHINGTON: EASTERN WASHINGTON: THE DALLES & HOOD RIVER, OR: 30 SEPTEMBER 2013 Good Fruit Grower Tim Purcell..........Mobile 360-630-4285 Robert Rauert ....Mobile 509-728-2004 Jason Rainer .......Mobile 509-731-5424 David Sbur ..........Mobile 971-563-8848 www.goodfruit.com

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