Buty

Rebirth and revival are clear.

Passion comes from Caleb's* love of winegrowing and winemaking. After graduating from Whitman College in 1991, he started working on small farms in the Walla Walla Valley, discovering an interest in wine. Hired by Rick Small at Woodward Canyon to help with harvest," I was hooked,” Caleb recalls. “It was so fun—a job I actually looked forward to each day. Later I learned how phenomenal Woodward Canyon is and felt so fortunate to luck into working at a place so brilliant.” Caleb stayed at Woodward Canyon for eight years, eventually becoming Director of Production.

The year that he and Nina Buty married, they decided to combine their love of wine and travel. They left the Valley for Woodinville while Caleb worked on white wines at Chateau Ste. Michelle. They spent the harvest of March 2000 in the Marlborough region of New Zealand at Rapaura Vintners. “They made wines on contract, so I was able to smell, taste and work with 15 different wines all under one roof,” says Caleb.

They returned to start their own winery with their own money, founding Buty in 2000. “We were going to start something on the west side, but instead chose to return to Walla Walla where I had good will and contacts,” explains Caleb. While at Woodward Canyon, Caleb met Zelma Long in 1994, a winemaker with an amazing history and long list of awards. She “retired” to work on her own and with husband Dr. Phil Freese, who spent 13 years as Vice President of Wine Growing at Mondavi, and developed the first Opus One vineyards. Zelma became Buty's consulting winemaker in 2001 and still is to this day. In 2001, they produced their first vintage of Rediviva of the Stones and Columbia Rediviva.

Caleb un-burying canes in spring

In addition to Buty wines, Caleb helped launch Abeja winery (the former Millcreek Cellars) from May 2001-May 2002. Zelma also connected Nina and Caleb to Quoin Rock near Stellenbosch, South Africa, where they spent eight weeks in March-April 2002. “We knew this would be our last opportunity to really travel. Our reds were in barrel and we had sold out our whites. We went to South Africa with Zelma. It was a beautiful area and we were given free rein to make wines,” says Caleb. “We got to experience making wines in new regions, new environments and conditions.” On returning, he assisted Glen Fiona's transition to new owners from 2002-2003. From that point on, his attention was solely on Buty.

Winemakers and growers often have a basic difference. Artisan and quality winemakers want the best grapes, which means smaller crop loads. Growers make their money by the pound and generally want to produce the most fruit possible. In the 90s, winemakers realized this was a fight they couldn't win; they needed to figure out how to get growers to stop linking money to volume. What they came up with was “by the acre contracts,” where a price is set to rent the land. Winemakers pay growers more than what they would get for the largest crop load, and growers farm the way the winemakers want, plus they know what they will make each year. “Some growers rent all their land, some have a mix,” explains Caleb. “I watched winemakers like Rick Small usher in a new era of quality for Washington wine. As a result, we rent our land and direct the growing of the fruit to our style and specifications”

While making wines from the finest quality grapes, Nina and Caleb were also researching land for their estate vines. “We knew exactly what we wanted, and that was land in the highest part of the famous cobblestones section of the Milton-Freewater Fan region of Walla Walla Valley. It is the most highly prized wine growing land in the area. In essence, it is Walla Walla's grand cru. We were also aware of water rights and frost issues, which are important. There is about a square mile in a small section of cobblestones that is more frost-free than elsewhere. But growers know this and property rarely comes up for sale. When we heard the land we wanted was for sale, it was impossible to believe. We were the first to know about it and jumped at the opportunity.”

Rockgarden Estate sorting in the vineyard fresh harvest 2010
Caleb (l), assistant winemaker Chris Dowsett, and vineyard crew

In 2006, they bought 10 acres. In 2008, they had Dr. Phil Freese consult. “It was so great to work with someone like Phil,” says Caleb. “He brought the most current and best practices to design, groundwork, varietals, clonal selections, vine density, row direction, water needs, everything. We have densely planted clones of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon Grenache, Mourvëdre, Marsanne, and Roussanne.”

Buty's wines have a rich, aromatically driven style that emphasizes balance, lower alcohol levels and subdued tannins and, much like great European wines, they have a deep “sense of a place.” They come from the same vines and same property each year and can be found in restaurants, wine shops, and a few grocery stores with sommeliers. For the love and fun of making wine and pushing the envelope, Caleb also makes BEAST wines (Buty and the BEAST, of course). These change each year and are available in top restaurants, wine shops, or by calling/emailing the winery. Buty also produces two private-label wines, one is a Syrah blend called Peter Canlis for Canlis Restaurant, the other is called Designee, a Cabernet Franc made for the Herb Farm.

Connie Adams/May 2012

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