Ask the Walla Walla Wineries!

Annette Bergevin loves the wine business—everything about it. The craft of winemaking. The almost magical way it makes any meal or moment memorable. Good friends to drink it with—and sell it to, too!  Her family has deep roots in the Walla Walla Valley, over 150 years!  A fifth-generation Walla Walla native, co-founding Bergevin Lane Vineyards in 2002 was the fulfillment of a long-time dream, one that started with her father. “In my younger days he would share amazing wines from his collection,” she says. “That’s when I discovered how wonderful the wine world could be.”

Since founding Buty Winery in 2000, Nina Buty has helped to define the vision for the winery’s acclaimed blends, the philosophy that guides their creation and the aesthetic sensibility that informs every aspect of Buty. In addition to the big picture elements that have shaped the success of Buty, Nina has been responsible for establishing Buty’s sales program, opening its Walla Walla tasting room, and building the Buty mailing list and Friends of the Beast Wine Club. Today, Nina oversees every aspect of the winery, working side-by-side with a handpicked team that includes acclaimed winemaker Chris Dowsett and Iegendary consulting winemaker Zelma Long. In the winery, she is instrumental in the evaluation of all wine lots, and the selection of the final blends. At the same time, Nina also oversees Buty’s sales, marketing and public relations programs, with a focus on developing strong and lasting relationships with customers, trade partners, and the Walla Walla Valley community.

I moved to Walla Walla in 2005 to learn more about the wine industry.  Little did I know that the small wine making project my parents started the year before would keep me in the valley for 14 years and counting.  After working for and learning more about the wine business at Pepper Bridge Winery, I moved full time to Otis Kenyon Wine in 2007. We opened up our downtown tasting room in time for Spring Release 2008 and expanded to Woodinville in 2010. I have been traveling across the country to share the Walla Walla Valley and the Otis Kenyon Wine story ever since.  The wine community in the Walla Walla Valley is truly special and I could not have asked for a better place and people to work alongside.

Brook & Bull is winemaker Ashley Trout’s latest project in the Walla Walla Valley.  Ashley began her winemaking career at 18, following her passions around the world in search of the best ways to combine a love of winemaking with a goal for community betterment. She spent the better part of a decade working harvests in Mendoza Argentina and has been an integral part of the Walla Walla Valley wine scene since 1999.  After an eight-year stint at Reininger Winery, she began Flying Trout Wines in 2006 where she focused exclusively on Malbec and Malbec driven blends.  She sold Flying Trout in 2010, staying on as winemaker for another five years with a one-year hiatus to be with her two young children.  In 2016 she launched Vital Wines and March Cellars (now known as Brook & Bull).  Ashley has two children, a wonderful husband, two dogs and now, Brook & Bull Cellars.