Camas Cove Cellars

Dennis and Nancy Parr have a passion for nurturing and growing plants. Dennis grew up in a farming family in Janesville, Wisconsin. Nancy was raised in a gardening-fishing-hunting family in Kalispell, MT.In 2001 both went nuts and grew Giant Pumpkins and transported them to competitions in Oregon and in western Washington for official weigh-offs. Dennis’s top pumpkin weighed in at 780 lbs and Nancy’s weighed in at 685 lbs. After the competitions were finished they brought them back to Moses Lake, hollowed them out, attached electric motors and invited their friends and the community to Pumpkin Regatta on Moses Lake. Watching grown adults dressed in pirate costumes maneuvering giant pumpkins on the lake generated much delight in the community and in the press for a few years. The owners then chose to plant wine grapes because they wished to work their land, utilizing the acreage plus the idea of growing grapes had a romantic appeal to the wine lovers. A test plot of different varieties was first planted to determine if the idea was feasible. Then they planted Syrah, Roussanne and Chardonnay and Counoise wine grapes on 2 acres in 2004. They hired an expert wine consultant to assist them with the wine making process after their first harvest in 2008. Next they converted their barn into a winery with a tasting-room and gift shop. They opened their doors to the public Thanksgiving 2011.