Before Brock Lindsay was a wine maker, and vineyard manager,
he was a project manager with a background in civil engineering.
His passion for
building transformed from bridges to wine over the past five years.
His materials may have changed, but his
passion has remained.
And that passion
shows through in the soul of the Washington wines he shares by the shores of
Lake Chelan.
Recently, I visited with Brock on a beautiful June Saturday afternoon.
During my visit the
SuccessionWines tasting room was absolutely buzzing with activity.
It is obvious that Brock and his wife Erica have created wines, and a place, that connects with their customers.
This connection all begins with a focus on
being themselves and creating authentic wines without any gimmicks.
Brock first became interested in wine during a six-month
stay in Rome while attending college.
During his stay in Italy he discovered how wine enriches your every day
experiences. Not to mention the fabulous
historical Italian vineyards and wineries!
Like many Washington winemakers, Brock started off as a
hobbyist and enthusiast.
After purchasing some land in Brewster, Brock and Erica began to explore the wineries surrounding Lake Chelan. These visits continued to build Brock's enthusiasm for wine-making and thoughts of a potential career change.
His beer and wine making hobby
finally shifted into high gear and a full time career only a few years ago.
The change in career from Civil Engineer to
Wine Maker came in the midst of significant changes in the Lindsay’s life.
The biggest change was the loss of their home
in the Carlton Complex wildfires.
Brock took
this as a signal that it was time for a deeper change to pursue his dream.
With
Erica’s support his first big step was taking on the job of vineyard manager
for
Antoine Creek vineyards.
Simultaneously,
he also started his journey as a commercial winemaker.
For many new businesses the first challenge is selecting a
name. Brock shared with me that naming
his winery was harder than naming his children!
Erica and Brock finally selected “Succession” as the name for their
winery, deriving it from an ecological term for change following a significant disturbance. After selecting the name, Erica hand drew the
winery’s logo and the pursuit of their dream was on!
Succession’s first commercial vintage was released in 2016
and consisted of 650 cases.
At the
beginning, Brock was just selling wine out of the back of his pickup truck,
literally.
Even at this early stage of
his wine making career he was already delivering wines that made an immediate
impression with the people he met.
From Brock’s pickup, Succession moved into their brand new
tasting room on the shores of Lake Chelan in late April of 2017 with 1,400 cases of
wine. The wine, and location, proved to
be so popular that Brock sold all his wine in just 4 and a half months! For many industries, gaining a level of
success that ends with selling out your product is a major accomplishment. Unfortunately, in the wine business, that
means waiting for your next vintage to be ready. Thus, Brock and Erica had to close their
tasting room in September.
Happily, the tasting room re-opened in May this year with
2,000 cases to share with Succession’s growing legion of fans.
The growth curve for Succession has been pretty
staggering. Brock is remaining grounded
and recognizes that doubling in size every year is not sustainable. When I asked what his growth target was Brock
replied, “Not doubling every year!”
His target production level is between three and five thousand
cases per year with one-third white wine and two-thirds red. Brock likens building interesting wine to
seasoning your food “you need salt AND pepper.”
Growing in size has given Brock access to more vineyards and barrels to
work with that aid in building wines with depth and soul.
From the beginning, Brock has been learning through personal
connections and conversations. His
position as vineyard manager at Antoine Creek has provided the opportunity to
pick the brains of some of Washington’s best wine makers. Conversations with people like Greg
Harrington and Brandon Moss from Gramercy Cellars have proven invaluable for Brock on his wine
making journey.
Brock has also found mentors and friends throughout the
central Washington area. He mentions
Freddy Arredondo from Cave B, his neighbor Charlie Lybecker from Cairdeas and John
Little from Rio Vista. John has been one
of his biggest mentors, and supporters, dating back to those early days of exploration.
Brock believes that building community leads to
success.
Building a successful wine
region takes more than just one winery.
Everybody learns from one another raising the bar for quality, which
leads to greater success for everybody.
Brock envisions a bright future for the
Lake Chelan AVA.
He is optimistic that the growth, and quality of wine,
will continue to gain momentum until Lake Chelan’s reputation shifts from “A
lake with wineries” to “Wineries with a lake.” With Brock’s passion and commitment, I believe
he can drive that vision from lofty goal to reality.
The next time you are considering a wine inspired vacation,
making a trip to
Lake Chelan should be near the top of your list of
destinations.
And be sure to put
Succession near the top of your list of wineries to visit.
Brock and Erica bring passion and
authenticity to Succession, building wine with soul.
The wine community is thriving on the shores
of Lake Chelan and Succession is truly one of the shining stars.
Wines to try: Three single varietals and a blend:
Sauvignon Blanc made from
grapes sourced from DD Vineyard & Cave B.
This wine is wild fermented and shows nice minerality on the nose. The palate delivers white flowers floating on
top of mineral notes and excellent acidity that leads to a slightly sweet
finish.
Rose’ of Pinot Noir from Antoine
Creek is made with grapes picked specifically for making rose’. The grapes have a mere three hours of skin
contact before moving on to stainless steel for fermentation. This rose shows excellent herbal notes of strawberry,
huckleberry and meadow flowers with delightful acidity.
Cabernet Franc from Antoine
Creek and Cave B shows wild herbs along with notes of strawberry and
raspberry. The palate brings on
cranberry, raspberry and herbal pepper spices with subtle menthol followed by
excellent tannins on the finish.
Bridge Builders Blend Cabernet
Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc from Antoine Creek and Syrah from the Nefarious
Defiance vineyard. This red shows off
Brock’s blending skills. The nose shows
herbal dark red berries. The palate is
slightly darker with herbal character intermingled with black cherry, raspberry
and white pepper built on a stellar backbone with just the right touch of
acidity.
