The Tero Estates - Flying Tout Partnership

I have been following Ashley Trout's Flying Trout Winery for over a year now, since she was sharing her space with Spencer Sievers' El Corazon on Palouse Street in downtown Walla Walla. Then, shortly before Spring Release Weekend this year, I learned that Flying Trout had moved to a new location near Milton-Freewater, sharing space with Tero Estates. So I visited the winery during Spring Release, and one of the things I asked was how this came about. The Palouse Street location was a difficult one for wine production. Then the opportunity came up to partner with Tero Estates at its location amid the Windrow Vineyard. This was a great fit, sharing winemaking facilities and expertise. It was a win, win, win situation: for the two partners and for El Corazon, which was left with room to grow as well.

Tero Estates is a partnership between longtime friends Mike TEmbruell and Doug ROskelley. They learned that the Windrow Vineyard was for sale. So Doug and Jan Roskelley traveled to Milton-Freewater, Oregon to see it. The purchase was finalized June 1, 2007. It was planted in 1981, as part of the original Seven Hills Vineyard by Dr. Herb Hendricks and Dr. James McClellan. In 1994, the vineyard was split and the eastern part sold with the Seven Hills name. Situated on a bench where the Lower Dry Creek empties into the southern Walla Walla Valley, the vineyard varies from deep deposits of windblown loess to shallow layers of gravelly cobble. It is planted mainly with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc with a bit of Malbec and a few other varieties. These grapes compose the Tero Estate wines.

Flying Trout is aptly named as Ashley flies down to Argentina for part of the year working in the Mendoza region, making wine. Her main focus in Walla Walla is on Malbec, which is Argentina's principal grape and which is gaining a greater presence in Washington State. She also makes distinctive blends with Malbec and other grapes, as well as some varietal bottlings. She also has imported a crisp, dry Torrontes from Argentina. She has been involved in winemaking ever since she arrived from the D.C. area to attend Whitman College.

The Tero Estates - Flying Trout partnership is a remarkable one, which admirably reflects the spirit of cooperation and friendship that characterizes the Walla Walla Valley winemaking community. The winery is located at 52015 Seven Hills Road. It is open for Special Events and Thursdays from 3:00 to 6:30 for "Happy Hour" on the veranda. Phone: 541 203-0020.

No Blogs for the Next Two Weeks

On Thursday, June 3, I will be flying to New York City and will be there, and then in the Washington D.C. area, until June 16. I will have sporadic internet connectivity during that time and a busy schedule of activities. So I have determined that it would be best to suspend the posting of my blogs for the duration of this trip. I'll get back to you when I return!