Welcome to Cabernet Creek Farms, home of “vintage quality” llamas, Boer Goats and Boutique fine wines
A small, select operation, Cabernet Creek specializes in producing animals with superb dispositions and great conformation. The owners, Debi and Rich Garvin, both have backgrounds in genetics – hers in Animal Science – his in plants and viticulture. When moving to this pristine location a compromise was reached – in lieu of a vineyard, a llama farm was started, satisfying Debi’s breeding and animal obsession and pacifying Rich’s viticulture background and passion (by naming the llamas after wine varieties). Little did we know that one day Rich would have his own winery!! One comment Rich made after acquiring our first llamas (which escaped the fence) was that at least vines did not move. That was many years ago and now we are on our fifth and sixth generation of llamas, producing some of the best fibered animals in the country. We added Boer Goats to the farm in 1998 and have been focusing on the 4H and FFA markets. In 2008, Rich began leasing a vineyard with several different varieties of grapes. The initial venture was to simply make some wine for our consumption and to give to friends. After a great vintage in 2009 and numerous requests to purchase our wine, Rich “bit the bullet” and obtained his commercial license in the summer of 2010.
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LLAMAS
Like many llama breeders, we started on a very limited budget (never paying more than $1,500.00 for a llama) and have vastly improved our herd. For a small farm (20-25 llamas) our show record rivals that of many big ranches. We hand selected the parents of Cabernet’s Pinot Blanc the 1999 National Grand Champion, and are now showing his grandkids. He consistently produced show winners and ALSA ROMs and Champions. In 2005, Cabernet Creek Farms produced the ALSA Western Regional Grand Champion Medium Wool Male, Heavy Wool Female and Non-breeder. As a founding member of the Traditional Llama Coalition, we have refused to jump on the suri/huarizo bandwagon, and continue to breed real llamas with exquisite fiber. Most of our herd has the rare silky fiber – easy to clean, great to spin and with luster, uniformity and low micron counts. All of our llamas have outstanding dispositions and are "Mallonized" at birth, making them very easy to handle.
TRADITIONAL LLAMA COALITION
As an offshoot to the llamas, we have begun marketing the exquisite fiber our llamas produce. Socks and hats are available for sale along with occasional scarves, shawls, blankets and finished yarn. We have recently purchased a few pygora goats, and now have an extraordinary yarn called Mt. Hood Llagora – a very unique blend of llama and pygora. More...
For those of you that have been waiting to place an order for products, they are now ready! Please email me for details
Boer Goats
Our first Boer goats were purchased in 1998, well before they became popular in the Northwest. With our primary emphasis on 4H and FFA Market goats, we have worked to bring in some of the top bloodlines in the country. Market animals from our farm have won Grand Champion at both the Wasco and Hood River County Fairs over the past several years. To compliment our Market Goat program, we also have fullblood and purebred Boers. Our primary herdsires come from some of the best Enobled lines in the US. More...
Wine
The winery is a very small, customized operation producing some very nice wines. Emphasis is placed on not only growing the grapes to perfection, but also picking at the optimal sugar and ripeness. All grapes are hand picked and then brought to the farm where they are crushed and allowed to ferment. They are then aged until ready to bottle. Current varieties include Chardonney, Reisling, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, Viogier, Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Syrah and Tempranio. The appropriately named llama graces each of the labels. More...
CORGI'S
We are no longer breeding Corgis. Cheyenne and Brooks are being joined by an Australian Shephard as our farm dogs. More...