Shirley and Gail Puryear opened Bonair Winery more than 25 years ago and have created a pleasent outdoor setting with a warm, welcoming wine tasting area for wine goers to experience. Chris Thorn photos

By CHRIS THORN

Back when Shirley and Gail Puryear decided to pursue their dream of opening a winery, it wasn’t popular. In fact, some questioned how successful they could be.

“We started it as a hobby,” said Shirley. “We were surprised when a [wine tour] bus rolled down our dusty road.”

More than two decades later the Puryear’s are sitting in very good shape with a beautiful winery tucked in the Rattlesnake Hills. They also are among one of the first few wineries in the area.

However, back when Shirley and Gail were in college they had no idea this would be their career path. The couple was traveling in Chile as exchange students when their wine adventures really began.

“We didn’t drink the water [but] there was wine, it was romantic,” they said.

They couple finished their trip and came back to Southern California where Gail worked as a teacher and Shirley was a social worker. It didn’t take long before the Puryear’s chose to move to the Pacific Northwest.

“We wanted to raise our kids close to grandparents,” Shirley said.

That brought them to Zillah and after working in the local school districts for a period of time the couple saved up enough money to begin their hobby, to be later known as Bonair Winery.

The couple began by growing 100 different Riesling, Cabernet, and Chardonnay, plants. In 1985, the Puryear’s officially opened as the 29th winery in Washington State. Now, there are more than 700 wineries.

A year after opening, the Shirley and Gail decided to add a tasting room to their winery and over the years everything began to snowball into a bit more than a fun job on the side.

In 1988, Shirley quit to work at the winery full-time and just a couple years later Gail followed the same path.

Bonair Winery stretched across five acres for the first 15 years they were established. But in 2002 the Puryear’s expanded their winery by more than 700 percent, growing to 35 acres when they bought Morrison Vineyards.

Just a handful of years later Shirley and Gail expanded their winery once again, this time creating an entire hospitality building.

“The evolution has been from a production facility to a tourist attraction,” the couple said.

Shirley said their goal was to create an atmosphere where people can spend an afternoon relaxing.

“The cool thing is people are always happy coming to us,” Shirley said. “We keep them happy.”

One of the ways the Puryear’s have kept wine enthusiasts in good spirits and entertained over the years is to establish the popular Rattlesnake Hills event, “Thanksgiving in Wine Country.” They said it’s the last big hoorah of the season for the valley when it comes to wine.

The event is from Nov. 25-26 and many wineries in the Yakima Valley participate.

Bonair Winery has four full-time employees and about six part-time employees. They produce between 7,000 and 8,000 cases of wine per year. Numerous types of wines are produced there including dry reds, whites, sweet wines, and desert wines. All in all they have 13 varieties.

“We like a lot of different wines,” the couple said. “If you specialize, you limit yourself.”

For more information about Bonair Winery and upcoming events call (509) 829-6027, visit their website at www.bonairwinery.com, or stop by their winery located at 500 S. Bonair Road.