Waters Winery Announces New Facility in Walla Walla

23/10/07 Waters Winery is putting itself on the Walla Walla map -- literally -- with a new tasting room and winemaking facility.

Founder Jason Huntley, 35, who is also the Founder and Managing Partner of Huntley Thatcher Ellsworth, Ltd., a private asset management firm in Colorado, budgeted $2 million for the new facility. Huntley is banking Waters' future on being dramatically different than the other 100 plus wineries in Walla Walla by producing wines that are truly expressive of place and time.

Already having achieved a strong industry presence, the new site on JB George Road (also known as the "Fifth Avenue" of Walla Walla), nearby Va Piano and Pepper Bridge Winery, establishes the two-year-old winery as a key player in Washington.

The new 5,000-square-foot space will showcase the sustainable design of Boxwood Architects.

Boxwood, which also designed wineries for Col Solare Winery, DeLille Cellars and Brian Carter Cellars, kept the look restrained and simple with exposed structure and concrete floors. The main steel structure uses as much as 80 percent recycled content, and the steel decking, siding, and roofing use materials with as much as 30 percent recycled content.

But beauty doesn't outweigh functionality. Inside, a large linear skylight creates a bright, naturally lit workspace that could save up to 66 percent of the electricity needed to light the winery. High ceilings allow warm air to rise and keep the lower portion of the building cooler, where the wine is stored. The barrel aging rooms are surrounded by a 17-inch thick wall to help reduce temperature swings. This lowers evaporation from barrels leaving more wine for bottling.

Waters, especially known for Syrah, also produces a classic Cabernet Sauvignon, an artistic Bordeaux-style blend, Viognier and Rose.

On Friday November 2, the new facility will open to the public.