New Crop - Ten New Walla Walla Wineries

The excitement this time around came from talking with the new crop of winemakers in Walla Walla. Trey Busch, of course, is not a new winemaker, but his current avatar as a Magician is. Trey is now owner and winemaker at "Sleight of Hand". We will conjure up some more about this new magician in a future post. Ned Morris worked with John Abbott at Abeja when he was called to Amaurice by Tom & Kathy Shafer. Ned wasn't sure if he was ready, but it is clear from the wines he is making that he is more than ready. Devin Stinger at Adamant Cellars was adamant that the winery name had nothing to do with being adamant, but rather was named after the semiprecious stone Adamentine. Trio Vintners, right next door to Adamant, is a collaboration of among three recent graduates from the Enology and Viticulture Program at Walla Walla Community College. Tim Boushay, Denise Slattery, and Steve Michener pooled their talents to produce three new wines at their new "startup" winery at the Walla Walla Airport wine incubator - no Quonset huts for these folks. At Tertulia, Christina Peet runs the tasting room for winemaker Ryan Raber. Steve Brooks at "Trust" is a refugee from the corporate media world. Thomas Glase winemaker at Balboa Winery hails from Puget Sound. Dawn Kammer and Mary Derby at DaMa aren't actually winemakers. They describe themselves as " negociants" the French term for people who buy wine and market it. Radio Moguls, Tom and Cheryl Hodgins own Skylite Cellars with two good tourist locations - one on 2nd street in Walla Walla and the other on highway twelve on the way into town. Troy Lewick, a good ol'boy from the South, makes wine at Hence Cellars. Tune in for posts on specific new Walla Walla wineries.