Wine enthusiasts are saddened by the unexpected death of Yakima Valley’s native winemaker Robert “Bob” Gamache.
72-year-old Gamache of Richland, Washington passed away unexpectedly on May 22 at Kadlec Regional Medical Center at about 1 a.m. said Franklin County coroner officials. Investigators said he fell from either a ladder or the attic.
In the early 1980’s Bob partnered with his brother Roger and started a farm in Basin City Washington. The two brothers developed the farm into vineyards and became some of the earliest wine grape growers in the area.
Their dedication to the art of wine grapes had a great impact on the growing Washington Wine Industry. With the success of their vineyards, they opened Gamache Vintners Winery with a facility located in the Prosser Wine Village.
Unfortunately, after Bob Gamache retired in 2015, they have to put their 180-acre Basin City vineyard on sale. Sagemoor Vineyards bought the property and continue to operate it.
Yakima Herald reported:
The Gamache family kept their Prosser tasting room open until the pandemic forced them to close the doors last summer, just shy of their 40th anniversary. Wit Cellars bought the tasting room.
Gamache grew up in the Yakima Valley and graduated from Marquette High School in 1968, according to his obituary. He was an Army veteran and married to his wife Cris since 1979.
Here’s what his family wrote:
“Bob is remembered by those who knew him as a kind, happy, sweet soul who always had a smile for those around him. We will all miss that smile he had for everyone, whether he had known you for 5 minutes, 5 years or 50 years.”
Services were held Friday, May 27, 2022, at Christ The King Catholic Church, 1111 Stevens Dr., Richland WA 99354.
The family wrote that Gamache cared deeply about the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which works to house veterans, and encouraged donations to the nonprofit in lieu of sending flowers.
In lieu of flowers please donate to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation (www.T2T.org), an organization that helps with housing for veterans, a cause that Bob felt strongly about.
Source: YakimaHerald
