Sep 16, 2019
Eric McKibben grew up in Walla Walla,
where his dad, Norm, is a 
founding father of the most
important side of Walla Walla – the vineyard side. Norm is known to
have helped grow the Walla Walla industry from a few dozen acres in
1989 to 2800 today, around the idea of impeccable quality in the
vineyard.
The business is truly a family business. Norm is still involved but Eric is a partner. Eric worked for 11 years in Seattle in the telecom industry, earned an MBA and then returned to Walla Walla in 2003, where he is an active partner at Amavi Cellars and Pepper Bridge Winery. In 2004, he assumed the duty of General Manager at Amavi Cellars.
He also taught me pretty much everything I know about Walla Walla and is one of the best advocates for the region there is! If you get a chance to try these wines, you should do it -- they are pure Walla Walla and purely excellent!
Here are the show notes:
- Eric tells us about the Missoula Floods and why Walla Walla is such a unique growing region, unlike any other in the world. If you want to see a cool PBS documentary on the Missoula Floods, here it is.
- We learn about the early days of Walla Walla -- what was here,
how grapes supplanted apples, and
who the early players were and what they accomplished. We talk
about Jean-Francois Pellet, winemaker and partner for both Pepper
Bridge and Amavi, and why he was such a believer in this region
when he came from Heitz in Napa for a job interview with Amavi and
Pepper Bridge.
- We discuss the "bowl" valley that is Walla Walla, the soil types and and the styles that different parts of Walla Walla yield. We do a bit of compare and contrast on Napa v Walla Walla styles
- Because it's timely, Eric settles our fears about phylloxera that was recently reported on in the wine pubs
- Then we spend time dorking out about the flavors that you'll find in Walla Walla -- Syrahs that taste plush, some that taste like licking rocks. Cabernet that expresses terroir without being too full or rich. Semillon that has beautiful acidity. All of these things and how they are achieved.
- Finally we dip into the thorny question of why so
many wineries are based in Walla Walla that don't make any wines from Walla Walla fruit only (they blend it with things from other part of Columbia Valley) and what that means for the AVA from a marketing and reputational standpoint.
Amavi and Pepper Bridge will be at this
year's 
Underground Wine Event in Washington
DC. For tickets, go to www.undergroundwineevents.com
Don't forget to order your Wine For Normal People book today too!!
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