Pepper Bridge Winery

As you approach Pepper Bridge Winery, you are likely to spot a Swiss flag flying above this handsome tri-level estate and winery. No, you haven’t left the U.S.; the flag honors the home country of Pepper Bridge winemaker Jean-François Pellet. It was in Switzerland that Jean-François honed his winemaking skills, beginning at his family’s winery/vineyard and later working in Spain.

The wonderful thing about Pepper Bridge is the team of people who have come together to create an integrated winery, working cohesively from “grape buds to bottle.” This team is composed of managing partners, viticulturists, winemakers, marketing and sales staff, and tasting-room hosts. Whomever you visit with, you are struck by their professionalism and dedication to Pepper Bridge Winery. You come to understand that the winery is more than the personality of one individual — it is about an organization.

The winery/tasting room sits on a hill on the southern edge of Walla Walla, with Northstar Winery within view to the northeast. The hill provides a panoramic vista of the Blue Mountains, but the location was chosen to take advantage of gravity’s force. The three-story production facility allows harvested grapes to gently flow from top to bottom, from destemming to fermentation. It is this design and attention to detail that is responsible for Pepper Bridge’s award-winning 100 percent Walla Walla estate merlots and cabernet sauvignons.

Pepper Bridge’s quaint tasting room, which sits next to the production facility, possesses a charming “French country” feel inside and out. The absence of a gift shop is intentional — the wine is center stage here. At $8, the tasting fee here is a bit steep, but it goes toward any purchases made. Tasting-room manager Lisa Schmidt can speak in-depth about Pepper Bridge wines, as well as Walla Walla winemaking in general, having spent most of her life in Walla Walla Valley.

WineTrails Northwest rarely advocates joining a particular winery’s wine club, but we make an exception with the Pepper Bridge Vine Club. Using an innovative approach, Pepper Bridge Winery sells vines to its Vine Club members at the cost of $150 per year. For that fee, members receive a bottle of wine, a certificate of ownership, and a “hands-on“ day in the Pepper Bridge Vineyard, where they learn pruning, thinning, and harvesting techniques. What’s more, your name is prominently displayed on your vine. Now that’s a different kind of wine club … vive la différence!

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  Order the book!

  Pepper Bridge Winery was featured in WineTrails of Washington as part of the Walla Walla WineTrail South on page 520!

• 

  Order the book!

  Pepper Bridge Winery was featured in WineTrails of Walla Walla (coming November 2010) as part of the Walla Walla WineTrail South on page 520!