Dusted Valley

Thought and care in every sip

From a couple of Wisconsin guys ready to exit corporate America in 2003 to one of Wine & Spirits 100 Wineries of the Year in 2013, Corey Braunel (left) and Chad Johnson of Dusted Valley have an interesting story to tell.

Starting a winery wasn't an instantaneous decision, but looking back, it did happen quickly. As Chad explains, "We were from Wisconsin, but Janet and I had lived in Portland for five years and Cindy and Corey had visited. We'd toured the Willamette Valley. In my youth, I toured California for 5 years before finishing college and then later the families vacationed there and enjoyed the wine." Their interest in wine grew over the years with Chad sending wines to Corey to try. "We knew we didn't want to make just single vineyard Pinot Noir like some Willamette wineries (although we love it!), we knew we couldn't afford to make wine in California, and we were enjoying the eastern Washington wines. We made a reconnaissance trip to Walla Walla and within a month and a half we had moved there. It was just time to do it." Lack of experience wasn't a concern, according to Corey. "We believed in this and have been truly fortunate. You've heard of blind enthusiasm, the tireless entrepreneurial spirit. Failure wasn't an option for us. It doesn't mean you don't trip along the way, but Chad and I were absolute sponges. We soaked up every detail and spent time in the vineyards and learned how to make better wine each and every year. He won't say this, but I will: Chad spends more time in vineyards than 98% of most Northwest winemakers. Our wine is all about attention to details."

Photo by Richard Duvall

'Winemaking by committee' is how they describe what they do and their titles are "winegrowers and owners." "Winemaking is a continuous process. You don't just 'make' wine. It starts with the grapes," says Chad (right). Corey agrees, saying "Winegrower seems to encompass the whole job. Depending on the size of the winery, you do different jobs. We didn't want to put "plumber" or "bottle washer" down as titles." In August 2014, they hired Griffin Frey (center) as their portfolio winemaker. He started transitioning before harvest and over the next year will also learn about Boomtown, their second label. Griffin is from California, studied history at the University of Washington, and worked in California at Ramey Wine Cellars in Healdsburg and then the Sonoma Coast. His interest in the Walla Walla wine industry brought him back in 2010. "Our way of winemaking won't change; we'll still make decisions together," says Corey. "But it will allows us more time on the road marketing our wine. There's so much competition. It's a special time in the wine industry and a great time to be a consumer of wine."

Photo by Joe Tierney

"The US is a $36 billion dollar marketplace for wine and Washington has 5 share points of that," explains Chad. "There's lots of space for us to grow. We do export less than 5% of our wine internationally, primarily to Canada-Ontario and Quebec. I'm still waiting for the marketing trip to Bermuda."

Chad and Corey are brothers-in-law with agricultural backgrounds. "We know that Mother Nature is not always nice. So for the first three years we purchased grapes. Then we had the opportunity to buy Sconni Block ("sconni" being an affectionate name for "Wisconsin") and started farming. We always wanted to do the whole process from beginning to end," says Chad. "It was a circuitous route," adds Corey. "We leased and managed vineyards for five years. Then we built relationships outside the Valley with growers for better logistics. We didn't want all the grapes coming in at once, we wanted harvest to last for a month and a half so we could handle it. We bought an orchard in 2007 in the Rocks district and called it Stoney Vine. The wines coming out of the area were distinct and different. We then worked with the Middleton family, Cadaretta, on the Southwind Vineyard which has an 1100-1500 foot elevation. We've planted 18 acres and will plant 15 more over the next two years." Sconni is on the Washington side of the AVA, and Stoney Vine (photo) and Southwind are on the Oregon side. "We didn't want all our eggs in one basket."

Chad and Corey look at plants per acre and prefer one cluster per shoot. "We get great fruit doing it our way and can guarantee the quality from the beginning. The fruit costs more doing it this way, but we're willing to do that. We still get 15-20% more fruit than we can use for Dusted Valley. The rest we sell in bulk." Boomtown is made with the same attention to detail as Dusted Valley, but the fruit is contracted and has higher yields. It's made at the Wahluke Wine Company. For 2015, they envision 5000 cases for Dusted Valley and 25,000 for Boomtown. Both are on a growth trend, Dusted Valley slightly slower than Boomtown at 20% per year.

Their wine club, the Stained Tooth Society, or STS, is unique in that a large percentage of their product is only available at the tasting rooms or through the wine club, and members get to choose which wines they want in the spring and fall. It's a minimum selection of six bottles at both times, with further volume discounts.

"Walla Walla is a great place to live and grow, and the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance has done a great job of telling the Walla Walla story," says Chad. "And now Corey is president of the Wine Alliance." They've also hired a full-time marketing/communications manager to help tell their story and "keep us on the rails."

Having fun, enjoying what they do and sharing the thought, care and craft that goes into their wines keeps Chad and Corey happy. And with the increased number of cases of Dusted Valley and Boomtown, the rest of us will be, too.

Dusted Valley Tasting Rooms

1248 Old Milton Highway
Walla Walla, WA 99362
509-525-1337

14465 Woodinville-Redmond Rd NE
Woodinville, WA 98072
425-488-7373

www.dustedvalley.com

December 2014