Precept Wine, a Washington-based privately owned winery, has purchased 174 acres of land near the Red Mountain American Viticultural Area (AVA) for an undisclosed amount.

The winery will use the purchased land to expand its recently renamed Skyfall Vineyard to nearly 145 acres.

Skyfall Vineyard, which is located in the Yakima Valley AVA, currently has 32 acres of vineyards planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling, reported Great Northwest Wine.

Precept Wine vice president and Yakima Valley winemaker David Minick was quoted by the website as saying that he expects Skyfall Vineyard near Benton City will be the earliest ripening site in the company’s expanding portfolio.

"I know the Sauvignon Blanc from that site is one of the first grapes in the state of Washington to get picked, and it will probably be the first site that we own to get picked each year," Minick added.

"Our Canoe Ridge Vineyard is picked fairly early, but that’s in the Horse Heaven Hills, so this will probably beat it."

The winery also has a three-year conversion plan, which includes introducing Chardonnay to the portfolio.

Minick said, "We have some high-end Chardonnay programs that are just gathering steam."

He also expects to produce vineyard-designate wines from Precept’s latest acquired land.

Besides vineyards, the new land also has 66 acres of cherries and 22 acres of other fruit.

According to Minick, Precept plans to keep 15-20 acres of the cherry orchard for additional revenue.

The winery does not plan to build any winery or tasting room at the site.