Overbluff Cellars

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I love the names including Duality, Occult, LSD Siren and Oh Jerry. However, what does it all mean? For that, dear WineTrail trekker make a beeline to Overbluff Cellars in a space juxtaposed to downtown Spokane. The garage-like entrance might have ivy adorning the outside but it works just fine in an inviting way. Once inside, winemaker and co-owner John Caudill is often doing the pouring honors. Here you can experience the “full bodied” (read BIG) flavors of their line-up of wines including aforementioned Duality, Occult and others.

It’s not often that a small winery succeeds financially. I think too often they see the “Sommelier starts a winery video” that’s all the hit on YouTube. They launch a winery based on their heart and not with their senses (including a well thought-out business plan). However, a few minutes with John tells you that he’s a smart dude and knows that making wine is just half the battle. He knows that the other half is marketing.

Somehow, I think he’ll succeed. He and his spouse Lynnelle Caudill and their business partner Jerry Gibson seem to have a winning formula with the wine (relying on Walla Walla fruit) and seem to have the acumen for making visitors feel at ease and really getting you to take time tasting their wines. The tasting room itself is a nice venue, you add the charm of the proprietors and throw in an “Oh Jerry and by golly, they just might succeed. Well, at least I think so. But what do I know. I’ve only been to over 500 wineries throughout the Pacific Northwest since 2006 somehow you just know. It’s a little like tasting wine – you know if it’s a clunker and you know when the wine strikes a nice chord and you smack your lips. Overbluff Cellars did just that.