Montana vineyard name raises conflict with Washington state vintner

MISSOULA, Mont. — Owners of a vineyard here are seeking a new name for it now that a Washington state winery has demanded they abandon the name Rattlesnake Creek Vineyard.

"At first I thought, 'How dare they?"' said Montanan Andy Sponseller, who owns the vineyard with Connie Poten. But after consulting a lawyer specializing in trademark law, Sponseller concluded his case for keeping the name was thin.

Portteus Winery of Zillah, Wash., has been making a wine called Rattlesnake Ridge since 1989 and registered the name as a trademark about eight years ago.

Sponseller and Poten, whose vineyard is near Rattlesnake Creek, are taking name suggestions from the public. They are offering a free case of wine annually to the person who submits a name that is adopted. The offer is open to people 21 and older.

Poten bought the land near Rattlesnake Creek in 1991, when Montana Power Co. sold its holdings in that area. She and Sponseller got together six years later. Soon afterward, they decided to start a vineyard.

Poten and Sponseller got a federal wine license, established their business as Rattlesnake Valley Farm LLC and began planting grapes for wine to be sold under the label Rattlesnake Creek Vineyard.

They did not consult the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, but Sponseller said he did check names of other wineries and did not find Rattlesnake Creek. He was able to secure an Internet domain name that combined the words "rattlesnake," "creek" and "vineyard."

Poten and Sponseller make two wines with grapes from the Rattlesnake vineyard. They make others from grapes grown elsewhere, and from cherries. Sponseller put this year's production at about 4,000 cases.

Washington winery owner Paul Portteus and his wife, Marilyn, bought land in 1980 and planted grapes two years later. In 1989 they bottled and sold a wine called Spaghetti Red for $4. The couple then received a letter from a California winery, telling them to quit using the name Spaghetti Red.

"It was a wake-up call," Portteus told the Missoulian.

Portteus grows grapes on 75 acres and makes about 9,000 barrels of wine annually.

In responding to the trademark issue, Sponseller has requested a year in which to sell Rattlesnake wine that is in stock.

"We intend to be generous and agreeable," Portteus said.

"Basically, these people just didn't do their homework."