Pursued by Bear

Best known for his role in Twin Peaks, you’d be forgiven for not being aware of actor Kyle MacLachlan’s other life as owner of Washington State winery, Pursued by Bear.

Kyle grew up in Yakima, in the heart of Washington State. While he left this rural region to pursue a career in acting, the more he travelled, the more he felt himself drawn back to his roots.

His interest in wine had started with the gift of a bottle of Château Lynch-Bages from director David Lynch, when he landed a part in the 1984 film Dune. And whenever he returned to visit his dad in Yakima, he’d see the developing wine scene in his native Washington State. His passion was piqued.

In 2005, Kyle got to know Eric Dunham, owner of Dunham Cellars in Walla Walla, and decided to work with Eric to produce his own wine. He named it Pursued by Bear, in honour of Shakespeare’s most legendary stage direction, from A Winter’s Tale: “Exit, pursued by a bear.”

Since 2008, Kyle has been aided by Daniel Wampfler, who’d previously worked at Dunham Cellars and Ste Michelle Wine Estates.

They make wines from vineyards in Columbia Valley, working with growers with whom they have long-standing relationships in the sub regions of Walla Walla, Yakima Valley and the Horse Heaven Hills. As befitting someone who cut his teeth tasting old Bordeaux, these are wines with a clear old world influence, but with the clarity of fruit you’d expect from the warm days and cool nights of Washington State.