Kestrel Vintners

Specialties

Kestrel wines are created from the best fruit Yakima Valley can offer and our 126 acre estate vineyard. Flint Nelson and his team craft wines that showcase a «Sense of Place» and Yakima’s unique terroir. Using Old World Methodology and New World Technique, we make wines with our founding philosophy in mind. Great wines should be on everyone’s table, every day. In Passion, wisdom, hospitality and stewardship, Kestrel brings our customers, our community and the world a little piece of the good life. Cheers!

History

Established in 1995.

In 1995 John and Helen Walker were in Seattle, Washington on extended business. Having lived the majority of their lives in Florida, John and Helen had not had a lot of exposure to Washington State Wines. Lucky for us, John enjoyed and savored a glass of red wine that inspired him enough to conceptualize and create Kestrel Vintner’s.

Lover’s of food and wine, John and Helen were delighted with the Pacific Northwest’s abundant culinary scene and expressive wines. Washington’s Wine Industry, barely on the map in the world of wine, showed great promise to John. As a visionary, he could see a bright future for our region and decided that he must realize that potential by making wines that could reach everyone’s dinner table.

In 1995 Kestrel produced their first vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. John’s vision came to life.

Meet the Manager

Flint N.

Manager

Winemaker

An artist at heart, Flint has worked creatively with many mediums; including painting, writing and three dimensional art. However, as a young man and visionary, Flint saw the potential in Washington’s Wine Industry and believed that he could feed his passion for art and the earth via winemaking. He attended college at Washington State University and studied Horticulture and Food Science, with the dream of one day making wine.

Upon graduation and in the harvest of 1991, Flint’s studied under Joy Anderson at Columbia Crest for his first internship. Consecutively, Flint worked a harvest in New Zealand. Both experiences cemented his love for crafting wine, grape growing and especially harvest.

Flint joined Kestrel in 2004. Flint’s diverse background paved the way for Kestrel to have one of the best and most revered winemaker’s in the Washington State Wine Industry.

Kestrel Vintners also recommends

Alexandria Nicole Cellars

20

reviews

Wineries

Flint N. says,

«If you like wine, Alexandria Nicole Cellars should be on your list. Stop by and tell them Kestrel sent you.»