Led by Doug Frost, Master of Wine and Master Sommelier, and Conservationist Brad Bergman, the new Echolands Estate in Mill Creek will welcome guests with a sustainably designed production facility and unique hospitality experience in the Blue Mountain foothills
WALLA WALLA, Wash., March 13, 2024 — Echolands Winery of Walla Walla will welcome guests to its new state-of-the-art facility, Echolands Estate, with doors open to the public on April 3. The stunning 341-acre site, located in the Mill Creek area of the Walla Walla Valley AVA in the foothills of the Blue Mountains, features the highest-elevation winery in Walla Walla and some of the highest elevations in Washington State. At the cutting edge of sustainable building design, Echolands Estate houses a dedicated production and barrel facility together with a breathtaking tasting room and visitors’ center. Shaped by the shared vision of co-owners Doug Frost, Master of Wine and Master Sommelier, and Conservationist Brad Bergman, Echolands Estate will showcase the full potential of terroir-driven Walla Walla wines across many sub-appellations and styles, with a special focus on hospitality and making wine accessible for all. Lending years of experience to the team mission, Winemaker & General Manager Brian Rudin and Hospitality Director Jenna Bicknell are leading all operations for the new estate, including viticulture, winemaking and guest experience.
“We knew Mill Creek was special from day one, and we can’t wait to open our doors to the world,” says Brad Bergman, Chairman and Co-owner of Echolands Winery. “Our goal is to create a welcoming space that echoes the natural beauty of the Blue Mountains, as well as our commitment to environmental stewardship in every endeavor. We aim to explore the differences in terroir between Mill Creek, the SeVein and other local sites to develop a unique range of wines that honor this spectacular place.”
“The opening of Echolands Estate represents the culmination of a five-year vision to welcome guests to experience this special corner of our valley,” shares Doug Frost, Echolands CEO & Co-owner. “As a sommelier and winery owner, my mission is to work with the team to deliver a hospitality experience that’s as memorable as our wines. We’re honored to be surrounded by inspiring neighbors like Leonetti’s Mill Creek-Uplands Vineyard, Aluvé, Walla Walla Vintners, Abeja, Armstrong Family, Bledsoe-McDaniels, Figgins Family and others who have paved the way to make Walla Walla an incredible wine destination.”
The singular character of the Mill Creek area was a driving factor behind the Echolands site selection in 2019. The estate extends over 341 acres from 1,400 to 1,800 feet. The soils are principally silt-loam over basaltic bedrock with depths from only a few inches up to 20 feet. Echolands plans to develop the first 25 acres of vineyard along ideal hillside exposures with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Grenache, Grenache Blanc and Cinsaut. Echolands also sources grapes from their own 50-acre Taggart Vineyard in the SeVein Water Project, supplemented by purchased grapes from Les Collines Vineyard and other premier growers.
The development of Echolands Estate is led by Soderstrom Architects and Mountain States Construction Company. Production facilities will debut with a 27,000-square-foot winemaking facility and barrel room equipped with open-top stainless steel and concrete tanks of varying sizes, along with larger-format casks for fermentation and ageing. Equipped for small-production and highly detailed winemaking, initial production will target 6,000 cases, with most bottlings at 300 cases or fewer. The principal development area also features a spectacular hospitality center centered around a public tasting room, cantilevered over the winery grounds and outfitted with glass walls that offer a breathtaking view of the Blue Mountains.
In keeping with Echolands’ commitment to sustainability in and outside of the vineyards, green design features implemented by the Echolands and Soderstrom teams include temperature- and humidity-controlled barrel rooms with insulated concrete tilt-up construction; photovoltaic solar panels; triple-glazed windows and other daylighting features to reduce solar heat gain in the facility’s public spaces; and a roof deck with a planted living roof to reduce stormwater runoff and enhance biodiversity. In addition to its environmentally-conscious building design, Echolands Estate will adopt proven sustainability initiatives first practiced at their Taggart Vineyard, such as on-site water filtration; an earthworm farm to naturally clean and filter wastewater (which is then used to irrigate the vineyards); stormwater infiltration swales; water usage tracking; composting with spent grape skins, seeds and stems; cover-cropping to reintroduce vital nutrients to vineyard soil; and eco-conscious packaging design for Echolands bottles. Echolands Estate’s natural assets include a high amount of rainfall that allows for dry farming without irrigation, a key element of responsible water management. Taggart was one of the first vineyards to receive the “Sustainable WA” certification, a designation that Echolands will also strive for at its new estate.
Echolands Estate is located at 3281 Mill Creek Road and is owned by Walla Squared LLC. Reservations are now available for April visits.
About Echolands Winery
Echolands Winery was founded in 2018 by renowned wine expert Doug Frost, one of only three people in the world to hold both the Master of Wine and Master Sommelier titles, in partnership with investor and conservationist Brad Bergman. Winemaker & General Manager Brian Rudin manages vineyard relations and winemaking, working with Taggart Vineyard Manager Sadie Drury, Echolands Vineyard Manager Results Partners, and Hospitality Director Jenna Bicknell to operate Echolands’ two sites, Taggart Vineyard and Echolands Estate. Scheduled to open in April 2024, Echolands Estate will house a dedicated winemaking, hospitality and barrel facility featuring state-of-the-art sustainable design. Visitors to Walla Walla are also welcome to taste Echolands’ full portfolio at their downtown tasting room (7 West Alder St). Read more and connect with Echolands at echolandswinery.com, or on social media @echolandswinery (Facebook & Twitter) and @EcholandsWine (Instagram).
