More than a dozen students, some retirees, at least one as young as 18, grab a bucket with loops that hang on their shoulders like the straps of overalls, and get to work picking grapes. They work their way methodically down the rows in the cold morning sunlight, clipping away dark purple clusters of Carmenere, a variety of wine grape…
Sadie Drury, general manager of North Slope Management, a vineyard operations company based in Walla Walla, Washington, in a block prepared for replanting with a rootstock trial later this spring. Growing relationships and profits
family background / Maureen graduated from Walla Walla Community College’s viticulture and enology program and joined Shaw Vineyards as a viticulturist in 2018. She is the daughter of Carol and John O’Callaghan. age/27 grower/Ephrata, Washington crops/Grapes business/Shaw Vineyards I started college originally with a chemistry focus at Washington State University, then went into soil sciences and then viticulture and enology through…
Alexis Sells, who grew up in Spokane, Wash., and graduated from Walla Walla Community College’s winemaking program, is leaving Napa icon Duckhorn Vineyards to take over the winemaking for young Fortuity Cellars in the Yakima Valley. (Photo courtesy of Fortuity Cellars) WAPATO, Wash. — Fortuity Cellars, a young brand poised to open up a new winery and tasting room in…
Walla Walla Valley is Washington State’s “reddest” appellation. A recent study shows the area is 95% planted to red wine varieties, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah leading the way. So why aren’t there more white wine grapes grown in Walla Walla? “It’s an economic thing,” says Marty Clubb, co-owner and managing winemaker at L’Ecole No. 41, one of Washington’s founding wineries. Clubb says the disparity between the…
Below are my Wine Enthusiast reviews for January 2020. Wines are listed alphabetically by winery. Read information on how I review wines here. Read about the Wine Enthusiast rating system here. Read about how to interpret my scores here. All of these reviews are freely available on-line at the Wine Enthusiast Buying Guide. See previous Wine Enthusiast reviews re-published in this space here. Search Wine Enthusiast‘s on-line database here. Read instructions on how to find Washington…
Some really good talents have come out of Walla Walla Community College’s enology and viticulture program. The list of talents continues to rise as Jason Fox is one of them that started his own Lagana Cellars in 2013. Lagana sources from some great vineyards including Sagemoor and Seven Hills vineyards. Jason is earnest, frank and highly knowledgable as I have…
Seattle-area native Marcus Rafanelli takes over as winemaker for L’Ecole No. 41 after spending the past four years as a winemaking instructor at Walla Walla Community College. (Richard Duval Images) LOWDEN, Wash. — It sounds odd to matriculate from college back to a century-old schoolhouse, but Marcus Rafanelli couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work again for Marty Clubb at storied L’Ecole No.…
Walla Walla Community College students plan to soon head to France to study winemaking and viticulture. The Washington state school has signed a five-year agreement with Bordeaux Sciences Agro which allows graduates of the two-year enology and viticulture program at Walla Walla Community College to earn a bachelor’s degree in 10 months. So far, two Walla Walla Community College students…
