When you hear stories of wineries’ and their estate vineyards’ origins, there always seems to be a common thread – a history that led to the winery’s creation. Sometimes it centers around families that immigrated from elsewhere, or perhaps it’s a family tradition in farming that lead to grape growing. Much like their name denotes, Airfield Estates has a unique and distinct story which is grounded in the history of aviation in Prosser, WA.
Founder H. Lloyd Miller leased the land, located primarily in south-eastern Washington, to the Olympic Air Transport Company just prior to World War II. The area was made into an airbase to train military pilots in 1941 (However, in retrospect, there are suspicions about the true purpose of this airbase that are quite interesting. Read HERE for more details). The operations continued until the mid 1940s – around the end of WW II. After the pilots moved off base, the buildings were sold back to Miller who used them as headquarters for his family’s farming operations. From growing produce to providing grapes to some of Washington’s best know wine producers since the ’70s, it didn’t take long for Airfield Estates to set up their own winery. With some of the original WWII airbase buildings still intact and a strong aesthetic focus on planes throughout their winery, Airfield Estates has a distinct personality that attracts both lovers of planes and wine. Amy Sonnichsen, assistant general manager, answered some questions about the winery while in the midst of harvest this year.
Stacy Buchanan: Obviously you have a strong theme based on airplanes, particularly vintage and fighter planes, have you had any plane lovers become fans of the winery based on your aircraft branding?
Amy Sonnichsen: Plane lovers are probably our best customers! The minute they drive up to our tasting room they are filled with glee! A large percentage of our wine club consists of individuals whom are connected to aviation in some form or another, either professionally or personally.
SB: Which wines would you say best represent what Airfield Estates is about and why?
AS: Airfield produces 22 wines, so there is a large range which represent who we are. However, two wines strongly represent Airfield would be the Unoaked Chardonnay and the Bombshell Red. These wines truly showcase the quality of our fruit in the vineyard while still maintaining a fantastic economic price point.
SB: Your winery seems to have a lot of fun between the love for planes, grape stomping, 5k Fun run, your upcoming ‘Murder Mystery Theatre’ and more. Can you talk about the importance of engaging your customers.
AS: We love engaging our customers. One of our mottos is to “provide a sense of ownership”. We want our club members and our patrons to feel a part of who we are. We try and provide tours of our facility to each and every person that comes through our doors.
SB: What is some advice you’d give other wineries who are looking to broaden their fanbase or simply improve their communication to their current fans?
AS: It’s all about making those people who support you feel a part of what you are doing. It’s also being passionate and enthusiastic about what you are doing. The wineries passion and enthusiasm is contagious and will pass on to those people who are around it.
SB: Any new/fun stuff coming up for Airfield Estates?
AS: We will be bottling our first Malbec this spring and a new white blend which will line up with our Bombshell Red. We continue to grow and reach into new markets, and with that spread we are also growing our production.
***Watch Airfield Estates’ “Straight from the Source” Video Short***
