Patit Creek Cellars

“Sure!” I blurted to the question “Would you like to try our 2008 Semillon Ice Wine?” As I watched Ed Dudley pour a golden sample of Patit Creek Cellars’ dessert wine, I reflected that until recently, Patit Creek Cellars had produced just two wines — cabernet sauvignon and merlot. But that was the focus of the former ownership group, before Ed and his business partner, Karen La Bonté, purchased the winery in 2007.

Prior to acquiring Patit Creek Cellars, Ed and Karen worked in the communications industry: he in Virginia, and she in California. Both had more than a mere interest in wine; they shared something closer to a fervor. They studied all aspects of the wine industry, read books, volunteered at crush, and bent the ears of winemakers from coast to coast. Their desire to purchase an existing winery eventually led to the purchase of Patit Creek Cellars. Papers were signed, dollars transferred, and Ed and Karen were the proud parents of a Walla Walla winery. As part of the team, Ed is the numbers guy handling the myriad paperwork duties, and Karen’s natural people skills make her the winery’s goodwill ambassador and tasting room manager.

Once the ink had dried on the sales contract, one of Ed and Karen’s first moves was to relocate the downtown Walla Walla tasting room and the Dayton, Washington–based production facility into a common 6,000-square-foot facility at the Walla Walla Region Airport wine incubator complex. Visitors will ooh and ah at the Tuscan-style interior, with its warm colors and an inviting fireplace, where you can enjoy a glass of wine.

Visitors will also discover a variety of red and white wines to sample, the products of their up-and-coming winemaker, Joe Forest. Early on, the Patit Creek team added to its cabernet and merlot line-up by introducing a citrusy riesling and a barrel-fermented chardonnay, both of which pair very nicely with Northwest seafood, chicken and summer salads. Grapes were acquired from the prestigious Les Collines Vineyard to produce a wonderfully spicy dark-ruby zinfandel. Not to leave out Rhône-style wines, the team introduced a red blend of syrah, grenache, and Mourvèdre. All of them are luscious pleasures on the palate, but the semillon ice wine buckled my knees with its silky smooth finish and satisfying sweetness. With a final gulp, I felt a smile growing across my face, happy in the knowledge that Patit Creek Cellars is under good stewardship.

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  Order the book!

  Patit Creek Cellars was featured in WineTrails of Washington as part of the Walla Walla Airport WineTrail on page 504!

• 

  Order the book!

  Patit Creek Cellars was featured in WineTrails of Walla Walla (coming November 2010) as part of the Walla Walla Airport WineTrail on page 504!