Walla Walla Vintners

Walla Walla Vintners is a limited production winery specializing in handcrafted, premium red wines. Myles Anderson and Gordon Venneri, who play dual roles as owners and winemakers, celebrated their tenth anniversary of commercial production back in 2005. However, the story of Walla Walla Vintners began much earlier than a decade ago.

Humble Roots

Starting as a simple backyard hobby, Gordon and Myles (the now-retired Director of the Walla Walla Institute for Enology and Viticulture) began hand-crafting wine over ten years before moving onto commercial production.

Using borrowed and makeshift equipment as well as guidebooks for direction, the two explored the world of wine making with a passion. They began by producing white and red table wines and experimented with different techniques—from oak chips to beer kegs (and even tried a Coca-Cola stainless steel barrel as one of their pieces of equipment!).

Over the years they improved their craft, and after purchasing their first French oak barrel, they were hooked. The year was 1995 and together they decided to take a chance to become the eighth bonded winery in the Walla Walla Valley. Even though Walla Walla Vintners today produces 3,500 to 4,000 cases of wine every year, their goal is to remain true to their roots.

By focusing on making premium world-class wines for customers who seek out quality wines from small producers, they have created a niche for themselves and a loyal following from their customers.

Behind the Barn Doors

The winery is in the foothills of the Blue Mountains east of downtown Walla Walla. Set in a rural environment surrounded by wheat fields and vineyards, the property offers beautiful views of the Blue Mountains. Combined with the simplicity of country life, and the personal attention from Myles and Gordon, Walla Walla Vintners offers a wine tasting experience that may start you thinking about establishing your own winery down the road.

The winery and tasting facility is housed in a barn built in 1995. With the tasting facility in a corner of this working winery, guests get a good sense of the overall process of making wine—from manually punching down the fruit in open-top fermentors, to the gentle squeeze of the basket press, to the individual topping off of barrels each month, and the hand racking of each barrel four times a year.

Get the Story Behind these Inspired Reds

Using grapes from the Columbia Valley and Walla Walla Valley, the winery produces Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sangiovese, Syrah, Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc and has earned excellent reviews from The Wine Enthusiast, The Wine Spectator and The WinePress Northwest. The wines are unfiltered and unfined, and cellared in separate vineyard lots in American, French, and Hungarian oak barrels. The "free run" and "pressed wines" are also placed in separate barrels for aging, and later blended by discerning palates.

Tasting hours are every Saturday (or by appointment). Group tours can be arranged in advance and may include barrel tastings of future wines, if available. Whether you come for a tasting or a tour, in addition to enjoying fine wine, you will also enjoy hearing the interesting story behind the wine.