History of the Tucker Family in the Yakima Valley
Home to the Yakama Indian Tribes, the first white men to see and
visit the Columbia Basin and the eastern end of the Yakima
Valley were Lewis and Clark on their expedition to find a route
to the west coast. They passed through the area where the Yakima
River, Snake and Columbia all joined, on or about October 17,
1805. They stopped briefly at the confluence of the Yakima and
the Columbia, although they did not proceed upriver. The river
was then known to local Native Americans as 'Tap Teel', although
the area has been inhabited since prehistory
A French Winemaker from Alsace-Lorraine
named Charles Schanno is credited with planting the first vines
in the Yakima Valley area in 1869. Schanno purchased cuttings
from a vineyard in The Dalles, Oregon and the Hudson’s Bay
Company outpost at Fort Vancouver and hand carried them back to
the Yakima Valley.
In
the early 20th century, an attorney
named William Bridgman pioneered the
modern wine industry in the Yakima Valley. Bridgman helped draft
some of the state's earliest irrigation laws for wine growing
and planted his first vineyard in 1914. Many of the vineyards
established in the Yakima Valley during this period came from
Bridgman's cuttings.
Following the repeal of Prohibition Bridgman opened Upland
Winery. He influential in promoting the use of varietal labeling
for wines made in the Yakima Valley, including the state's first
dry Riesling, after the Alsace manner of making Riesling.
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Having moved from Nebraska after “the Crash” to the
Yakima Valley, Melvin and Vera Tucker sharecropped wine
and table grapes for Bridgman from about 1933 until
1946. Sons Dean and Clifford continued their parents’
love of and involvement with the wine grape; Dean as a
grower and later starting a winery, and Clifford as a
marketing and salesperson for Bridgman’s Upland Winery. |
From the 1930’s it was known that the
Yakima Valley was suited for growing great vinfera grapes.
Prohibition slowed down the
development of the wine industry, and then World War II also had
its impact.
After the change in the State’s laws
in the 50’s allowing wine to be sold other than in a tavern or
liquor store, the land meant for grapes would no longer be
silenced.
One big asset for the wine industry
in Washington Sate dates back to 1917 when the
Washington State Legislature passed an act setting aside
200 acres of sagebrush desert
to become an agriculture
research center known as the Irrigation Branch
Experiment Station (today known as the IRAEC. Under
Walter Clore, horticulturist, and his
guidance and vision, the
Center expanded into grape growing and vinifera grape
plantings. Research from the Center would become vital
to the growing Washington wine industry.
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In the 1980s the Yakima Valley saw a boom in the plantings of
new vineyards and the openings of new wineries, among the first
being Tucker Cellars Winery in 1981.
When
Tucker Cellars Winery started 29 years ago, there were 2
varieties of grapes grown and made into wine – Chenin Blanc and
Riesling.
With Randy Tucker and wife Debbie
assuming ownership of the winery, the
Family of Wines
has grown to over 15 varieties, always honoring the flagship
wine grapes started by grandfather Melvin and father Dean
Tucker.
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