Insurance costs crush tiny Red Mountain winery. But owner says that’s not why it closed

Teresa Owen transformed the property her parents homesteaded in Benton City in the early 1970s into Red Mountain Trails, a popular tourist destination.

Ag-curious guests can book horseback rides through neighboring vineyards, learn to make soap, blend tea or tour local tasting rooms by bicycle.

For a time, there was a small winery, with tastings in an old hunting tent heated by a wood stove.

But after five years, Owen and her husband, Jeff, closed down their wine making business this year.

By the end, it was a casualty of dwindling demand for wine across the globe, soaring insurance costs and of her growing realization that she enjoys wine more as a consumer than a producer.

Teresa Owen shared an unusually frank reason for the decision. Her heart is in horses, not wine.

“This doesn’t light me up,” she said.

Tiny blip in $9B industry

Red Mountain Trails Winery produced about 120 cases a year, a tiny blip in Washington’s $9.1 billion wine industry.

The departure of one tiny winery in a field of nearly 840 will make little difference in the global glut and consumption trends.

Teresa Owen shared that macro trends played a part in the decision to close the winery. But in the end, it was about her personal priorities.

Owen shared her story on her Uncorked Cowgirl YouTube channel. The winery may be closed but Red Mountain Trails is an ongoing business and part of the Tri-Cities tourism economy. Visit Tri-Cities estimates visitors spent nearly $630 million in the greater area in 2023.

Owen created Red Mountain Trails on the spot where she grew up, off Ambassador Road, about halfway between Benton City and West Richland. Her parents bought about 20 acres in 1971 and committed to a life of self sufficiency.

There was a peach orchard, walnut trees, chickens, a garden and a commitment to making the most out of every available resource.

Owen developed her love for horses there and became a fixture in the vineyards that emerged in the shadow of Red Mountain. She did odd jobs in wineries to feed her own horse.

Get more horses

Owen left the area after graduating from Kiona Benton City High School. She traveled the world, often working with horses.

She returned as and adult. She and her husband bought a portion of the family farm from her mother.

She worked as a software tester at PNNL in Richland and often took friends and acquaintances on horseback tours of the area vineyards. Jeff suggested that if she turned it into a formal business, she could get more horses.

Owen gave herself three years to create a viable business. She left PNNL when it succeeded.

The chance to add wine to the venture arrived in 2019. A neighbor had started a small winery in retirement. He was ready to retire for real and offered equipment and even bulk wine for little money.

Intrigued, the Owens decided to give it a try. They filled out the legal paperwork and went to work learning the craft.

Bordeaux varieties

Red Mountain Trails Winery produced Bordeaux varieties that do well in the Red Mountain American Viticultural Area — cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, sangiovese.

Its wines were well received and the winery hosted winemaker dinners to get the word out. Not surprising, guests wanted to discuss wine.

“I didn’t want to talk about wine. I wanted to talk about horses,” she said.

She cherishes the support she and her husband received from their neighbors and industry leaders.

They built the winery on the same working farm vibe that drives the tourism business. It adopted a “pinkies down” culture. Tasting notes avoided “hints of apricot” in favor of cheekier messages: Pairs well with food.

There were no distribution deals, just sales through the hunting tent-turned tasting room that was worlds apart from the elegant centers constructed by its larger neighbors.

“We are debt averse,” she explained.

Tell it to the insurance companies

The combination of a winery and horseback riding might sound like an opportunity for high spirited riding. It was not. Owen drew a sharp boundary between the two — no drinking and riding.

“You can’t explain this to insurance companies,” she said.

The end came as national insurers pulled back from the industry in 2023.

The trend was notable in California, where insurers were eager to reduce their exposure to wildfires. Owen felt the impact in Washington: Fewer insurers translated into higher rates.

By late 2023, it was nearly impossible to even get a quote. She spent three months trying before making the decision to let the winery go.

“If I were passionate about it, I would have found a way,” she said.

Red Mountain Trails Winery ended with a bang: It held a “Big Fat Case Sale” that cleared out its inventory.

Employees, she noted, welcomed the news.

Most signed on to work with the 10 horses attached to Red Mountain Trails — two draft horses recruited from Amish country, six riding horses, a retired mare and a horse she rescued from being sent to slaughter.

The latter proved unsuited for riding when he unexpectedly injured Owen by rolling on her. She can’t sell him or put him to work. For now, she keeps him on as something of a beloved pet whose bad actions resulted from past mistreatment.

Important to business

The winery was an important part of the Red Mountain Trails business.

Owen said it contributed about a quarter of the total revenue, which has to be replaced.

The riding business operates mostly at capacity, though demand has fallen in 2024. She traces it to a steep drop in website traffic tied to changes on the Google search engine results that increasingly favor AI-generated content.

Red Mountain Trails saw just 581 website visitors in May, compared to 8,000 in the same month in 2023 and 8,500 the year prior.

While she works to sort it out — and direct prospective visitors to go directly to her website, redmountaintrails.com — Owen said Red Mountain Trails is leaning on its classes and other activities, including a small gift shop, to replace the winery revenue.

Want to ride?

Previous riding experience is not required to participate in vineyard tours. However there are age and weight limits — six years and about 245 pounds.

All riders mount the horses from a riding block, as much for the ease of inexperienced riders as for the comfort of the horses themselves. A one hour ride is $80 for adults, $60 for children 16 and under.

Tours take riders through private neighboring vineyards thanks to Owen’s longstanding relationships with her neighbors, such as Kiona, Frichette and Ciel du Cheval and others. One even installed horse crossing signs in her honor.

For reservation information, go to redmountaintrails.com/reservations/ or call 509-948-0080 or email [email protected].

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