If you want a quick snapshot of the furnace of viniferous creativity that is the rapidly evolving Washington State wine industry these days you need look no further than the impressive story of the Milbrandt brothers, Butch and Jerry.

They are fourth generation farmers whose parents moved to eastern Washington in 1948 from Minnesota and Nebraska, and since then the family had farmed a variety of crops, most recently potatoes. It was a struggle and it’s safe to say no one got rich. Butch recalls “I remember it as barren and desolate. Mostly sagebrush and sand. No roads ran past our farm in the first year. As we worked the land and loosened the soil, the wind would create dust storms and make it impossible to see for periods of time. It was a struggle to hold the land and nurture a crop.”

Fast forward to 1997 when they learned that the state’s largest wine producer, Chateau St Michelle was looking to let more contracts for grapes. At that time eastern Washington was beginning to emerge as a fine wine region so they thought why not?

Unlike several of their fellow farmers who were content to plant vines on land they already owned, and paid a high price for their mistake, they hired consulting viticulturist James McFerran to advise them on what land to lease, and the move paid off, in spades.

Butch & Jerry Milbrandt

Their grape growing experiment has proved to be such a success, and so profitable, that in 2006 they began making their own wine, and built a brand spanking new visitor center and tasting room to showcase it.

They make a wide variety of wines but for me the standout is the Milbrandt Vineyards The Estates Merlot 2006 ($26). It’s packed with rich, dark fruit flavors, blackberries, cassis and dark chocolate, and has a lot more backbone and structure — thanks to the addition of small amounts of cabernet sauvignon and petit verdot — than its all too often flabby new world competitors. It’s an elegant, easy-drinking wine, and most definitely a cut above other merlots at this price point.

And as for Butch and Jerry, making world quality, critically acclaimed and profitable wine sure beats potato farming.

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To find the Milbrandt The Estates Merlot 2006 near you try www.wine-searcher.com.