Luke Bradford of Cor Cellars
Photos Courtesy of Cor Cellars
A rock climbing trip in Italy changed the course of Luke Bradford’s life. When he finished the climbs, a family member invited Luke to his winery south of Siena in Tuscany. The rolling bucolic Tuscan countryside, thousand-year old buildings, and romantic lifestyle sucked him in until he was hooked. Luke took a job at the winery during harvest for his remaining years at Evergreen State College, cobbling together an independent study program in chemistry, winemaking, and working harvests in Italy. After graduating, he went back to Italy to work harvests for the family in Tuscany and Sicily. He returned to WA state in 2002 to search for a winery job, which he found fortuitously at Wind River Cellars in the Columbia Gorge. Another happy accident led him to property in Lyle, WA where he founded Cor Cellars in 2004.
Today, Luke and his wife Meg are both fully involved in owning and operating Cor Cellars. In 2016, they opened a stunningly beautiful tasting room and winery facility overlooking the Gorge with Mt. Hood in view. The focus at Cor Cellars is on Alpine grape varieties from the Gorge for sparkling and white wines, and Bordeaux varieties from the Horse Heaven Hills and Yakima Valley for red wines. Visitors will find some unique wines such as a delightful chillable red carbonic Primitivo and a white Friulano, both of which are very refreshing in summer. The star red wine at Cor Cellars is Cabernet Franc, which Luke has been making since 2005. A fun thing at Cor is how wines are paired with music, and often described in relation to a song, rather than such things as earth and leather. Don’t miss Cor Cellars on your next trip to the Columbia Gorge, one of the most beautiful, unique and exciting wine regions in the US.
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