Our Story

Benke Cellars is a small, family owned and operated winery located in the beautiful area of southwest Washington. We source our grapes from the world-renowned wind surfing destination, the Columbia Gorge.

Winemaker, Rob Benke began working with wine in the early 1990’s in the Walla Walla Valley. He helped produce Merlot, Cabernet, Semillon and Chenin Blanc from 1992-1995.

In 1995, he and his wife, Deidra spent a year in Switzerland working with Pinot Noir and learning vineyard management. After the 1995 harvest and a few months traveling in the Rioja and Porto regions, they ventured back to the Pacific Northwest where Rob went to work making Pinot Noir in the Willamette Valley. Wanting to start their own winery, they spent a couple years searching for a grape source in the scenic Columbia Gorge.

In 2003, Benke Cellars had its first harvest. The first vintage included Pinot Noir, Viognier and Sangiovese.

Our winery is open to the public once a year, at our annual release and we also have tastings by appointment only.

We believe in producing a high quality wine at an affordable price and feel our wine is best when shared among family and friends.