Inland Northwest Homes and Lifestyles, September 2006

Mike Berghan was doing retirement planning for clients at Salomon Smith Barney at the age of 23 and was"bored to death," he says. He called a friend he had met through Gonzaga's study abroad program in Florence, Italy, that owned a vineyard in Napa Valley. That encounter led to a job working for a vineyard management company. He loved working in the vineyards and while visiting Sandpoint, Idaho, for a family vacation, traveled to Walla Walla. Berghan decided to relocate to Walla Walla. He went to work at Canoe Ridge Vineyard and enrolled in classes at the Walla Walla Community College Center for Ecology & Viticulture program.

The Berghans believed their family was new to the area when they moved to Walla Walla, but it turned out that a direct ancestor was born there when their families crossed the country in covered wagons in the mid-l800s. Gifford and Hirlinger were the last names of those ancestors on the paternal and maternal sides.

After searching for land to begin a vineyard, the Berghan family purchased 10 acres and began Berghan Vineyards in 2001. The land was already in production of first leaf cabernet sauvignon and merlot grapes.

Berghan and his father, Peter, built a new winery and production facility on their property. They produced their first estate grown release, a blend of 58 percent cabernet sauvignon and 42 percent merlot named "Stateline Red" It is designed to be a food-friendly wine, aged 23 months in new French and Hungarian oak. They produced 320 cases.

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• Next: Wine Enthusiast, March 2007