How the Armstrong Family Winery is Producing Cabernet the “Old-Way”

ld-world methods are making a comeback in American winemaking, and Washington’s Armstrong Family Winery is a case study in doing it well. Founded by Tim and Jennifer Armstrong, the family-run label built its reputation on Bordeaux-style blends and a standout Cabernet Franc, starting in the urban warehouses of Woodinville before moving production to the Walla Walla Valley to farm its own estate vineyards. Here is how they make Cabernet the old way, with New World fruit and Old World finesse.

In This Article

Who is Armstrong Family Winery?

Armstrong Family Winery is the work of Tim and Jennifer Armstrong, who came to wine as enthusiasts long before they made it. While living in Chicago, the couple started buying Bordeaux and asking why neighboring châteaux, vintages, and varietals tasted so different. The questions turned into winemaking classes through UC Davis, and the more they learned, the more they wanted in. When Tim’s job at Microsoft offered a move to the Seattle area, they took it, arriving just before harvest.

Before the furniture had even arrived, Tim was volunteering nights and weekends with Woodinville winemakers, who took him under their wing. He worked harvests while going through the viticulture and enology program at Washington State University, and began making the couple’s own wine in leased space. Their first vintage came in 2011, and in 2013 they opened a winery and tasting room in Woodinville’s warehouse winery district.

What makes their Cabernet Franc special?

For Jennifer, it started with a single bottle, a 1998 Cabernet Franc that became the first wine she ever fell in love with. The couple’s affection for the grape ran so deep that “I want my Fronk!” became a household phrase, and the name stuck to the winery’s Cabernet Franc to this day. Cab Franc is an important Bordeaux grape but usually plays a supporting role in blends rather than taking the lead. Armstrong has flipped that from the start, building Cabernet Franc-dominant blends every year.

“I want my Fronk!”

— Jennifer Armstrong, on the family’s love of Cabernet Franc

One year, while blending, the Armstrongs tasted a Cabernet Franc they decided was beautiful on its own and bottled it as a rare 100% varietal. Part had aged in American oak, which lends a sweeter, vanilla note, and part in French oak, which adds an elegant creaminess. Together the grape offered black cherry and currant, the variety’s characteristic spice, dried herbs and olive, and a creamy, almost chocolatey character from the wood. It took Double Gold at the Seattle Wine Awards, and it sold out right away.

What’s the story behind their blends?

The Armstrongs were wine lovers first, and what they loved most were Old World wines, which are nearly all blends. They are drawn to the way different varieties bring out the best in one another, layering flavor and, when it works, creating a synergy greater than the parts. One of their most popular bottlings is a white blend called Wild Angels, named for their daughters, that pairs Chardonnay with Viognier, a combination that has won over even people who say they don’t like Chardonnay or white wine at all.

“We were wine lovers first.”

— Jennifer Armstrong

Their Cabernet Sauvignon shows another kind of blending. Rather than mixing only varietals, Armstrong blended the same grape from different Washington regions: bold, ripe Cabernet from Red Mountain, one of the hottest spots in eastern Washington, and more acidic, savory Cabernet from the cooler-nighted Rattlesnake Hills, rounded out with Merlot from the Wahluke Slope. The result became one of their most popular and highly rated wines, earning a 91-point score from Wine Spectator.

Specific bottlings, vintages, and sourcing evolve over time; check the winery for current releases.

Where is the winery today, and where is it headed?

Armstrong’s guiding aim has stayed constant: world-class wines with New World character and Old World finesse. As the operation grew, the Armstrongs invested in quality at every step, from gentle crush equipment that protects the fruit during sorting and destemming to a careful, restrained winemaking style meant to complement a meal rather than overpower it.

After outgrowing their Woodinville space, in 2017 the family moved wine production, and themselves, to the Walla Walla Valley, one of the country’s most celebrated wine regions, to be close to the grapes and to farm their own estate vineyards. They still pour at their original Woodinville tasting room and have a presence in downtown Walla Walla as well. The throughline runs from that first 1998 Cabernet Franc to the estate fruit they grow today: a love of Bordeaux, a love of blends, and an enduring soft spot for Cab Franc. You can find current releases at armstrongwinery.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

🍷 Armstrong Family Winery at a Glance

Key facts about the Washington producer.