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Airfield Estates

Airfield Estates has a deeply rooted history that traces back to 1907 when our founder and great-grandfather, H. Lloyd Miller, pioneered to the northwest settling in Sunnyside, Washington. As an entrepreneur and successful real estate man, H. Lloyd was largely engaged in the buying and selling of farm properties.
By 1920, H. Lloyd had acquired the site where our estate vineyard is located today. At that time, the property did not have access to irrigation water. Over time, H. Lloyd became instrumental in bringing irrigation water to the higher regions of the Yakima Valley. He met directly with President Roosevelt and acquired the political support necessary to get the Roza Canal Project funded.
In 1941, H. Lloyd leased a portion of our family property to the Olympia Air Transport Corporation, which constructed a flight school for hundreds of Army Air Corps pilots during World War II. The buildings erected on the site included a 70-foot water tower, several airplane hangars, a mess hall, barracks, and several smaller storage buildings. Three dirt runways were also formed, each of which was over a half mile long.
The airbase closed in 1944, and in 1946, the buildings were auctioned off to H. Lloyd Miller for $1. This marked the beginning of Airport Ranch. H. Lloyd converted the site of the airbase into his farm headquarters. Shortly thereafter, our property gained access to irrigation water. And Airport Ranch became quite diversified with cattle, hogs, alfalfa, asparagus, potatoes, onions, and oats.
The beginning stages of our estate vineyard took shape when our grandfather, Don Miller, became interested in growing wine grapes. In 1967, Don purchased 3 different varietals, Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Cabernet Sauvignon. He planted them the following spring to see what would grow best with the ranch’s climate and soil. The year after that, Don partnered with a local nursery planting 20 different wine grape varietals in greenhouses for propagation. By 1971, our first commercial planting was established.
Our father, Mike Miller, joined the family farm in 1974. He became highly involved in wine grape production and transitioned our farm into what it is today – 830 acres of wine grapes and 350 acres of Concord juice grapes. We sold our wine grapes exclusively to other wineries until 2005 when Mike founded Airfield Estates Winery.

Family

Brother-sister duo Marcus Miller and Lori Stevens oversee the day-to-day operations of Airfield Estates Winery. Raised on the family farm, Marcus and Lori developed a great connection with the land and spent many summers toiling in the vineyard. But it wasn’t until they moved away and spent some time broadening their horizons that they truly appreciated their family farm and all the potential opportunities that it had to offer.
Marcus and Lori both majored in Business Administration from a small, private college in the Midwest. Marcus went on to pursue an MBA in Finance from North Texas University and a degree in Viticulture and Enology from Walla Walla Community College. He interned at Canoe Ridge in Walla Walla, worked as a winemaker at Tsillan Cellars in Chelan, and spent a harvest abroad working at Montana Brancott Winery in Marlborough, New Zealand. Meanwhile, Lori worked in retail distribution management before obtaining a Master’s in Wine Business from the University of Adelaide in Adelaide, South Australia.
As in many families, the glue that holds us all together is Kristeen Miller – mother, grandmother, and the one that keeps our busy lives in check. Now that the fifth generation has hit the ground running, we are excited for the future of our next family farmers and winemakers.

Country USA - WA
Region Columbia Valley - Washington
Serendipity Markets California, Texas

Philosophy

Producing extremely great wines that over deliver for the price

Biography

Airfield Estates vineyard is situated in the heart of the Yakima Valley – Washington State’s first established AVA. Nestled along the foothills of the Rattlesnake Mountains, it spans 830 acres and includes over 20 different varietals.
Wine grapes were initially planted by our grandfather, Don Miller, in 1968. This led to the establishment of our commercial vineyard in 1971 – one of the first commercial vineyards in Washington State. Farming in one place for an extensive period of time has provided us with a high level of knowledge and a more experienced approach to viticulture.
We are firm believers that great wines begin in the vineyard. At Airfield Estates, we use 100% estate grown fruit that produce well-balanced wines with true varietal characteristics showcasing the subtleties of the terroir. From lava-layered mountains to glacier-cut valleys, followed by sediment-deposited soil from epic ice age floods, the terroir of this region is unique and ideal for growing vitis vinifera vines.

Wines from Airfield Estates

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