Dusted Valley Vintners
Named by Wine Press Northwest as 2010 Washington Winery of the Year, Dusted Valley Vintners is the story of two families from Wisconsin—the Johnsons and the Braunels. In 2003, they moved to Walla Walla, driven by a love affair with Northwest wines. Chad Johnson’s background includes a degree in food science; Corey Braunel grew up on a ginseng farm in northern Wisconsin. In addition to sharing a passion for making wine, it turns out that Chad and Corey also share a familial connection. Chad is married to Janet, and Corey is married to her sister Cindy.
Given their Badger background, it may come as no surprise that Corey and Chad use white oak (Quercus alba; aka American oak) from Wisconsin to barrel-age some of their wines. Although other well-established wineries outside Walla Walla rely on American oak (e.g., the renowned Silver Oak Winery in California uses American oak exclusively), it is rare to find a winery in the valley venturing beyond the standard French oak. But Corey and Chad must be on to something with this American oak thing. Their 2006 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, which features oak from Wisconsin, grabbed a gold medal at the 2009 Seattle Wine Awards, leading many to speculate that the exceptionally tightly grained American oak imparts unique flavors to the Walla Walla reds.
In addition to the winery, the families own 90 acres of vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley, giving them control over their growing portfolio of wines, from bud break to bottling. The fact that the 90 acres of vineyards are scattered among four different locations provides distinct flavor profiles for their fundamental ingredient — the grapes.
With a wide assortment of Dusted Valley Vintners wines to sample — including my personal favorite, the “Stained Tooth” syrah — you’ll want to budget plenty of time to taste. If time permits, you can retreat to the outside patio and enjoy a bottle of wine with the Blue Mountains in the background. No worries if you forgot your corkscrew. This is a cork-free zone. Chad and Corey elected to go with a screw-cap closure on all their wines for quality purposes. As the fun-loving brothers-in-law like to say, “Crack that cap and enjoy a bottle of Dusted Valley wine.” However, if you find yourself imbibing their wine sans food, there is one edible you may wish you had packed. Yep, you guessed it, Wisconsin cheese.
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Dusted Valley Vintners was featured in WineTrails of Washington as part of the Walla Walla WineTrail South on page 530!
