COLUMN l The Wines That Made Us
Vega Sicilia Unico for Jessica Munnell J
this what I’m going to do … forever?’ And I Ridge Estate red wine production facility as an essica Munnell intended on assistant winemaker; ultimately stepping back didn’t have an answer for that.” growing flowers. from the Ste. Michelle family to start one of A degree in horticulher own with Juan Muñoz-Oca, a winemaker Enter: Australia. ture at Washington from Argentina. No longer a pearl on the string, “I needed to find something that was a better State University, a Jessica eventually launched Wautoma Springs fit, and I loved the physical aspect of being a greenhouse to follow. with Tom Merkle, her business partner and cellar hand, the hard work of the harvest,” she A future filled with second-generation grape grower. says. “The science and art of winemaking – it dirt under her fingerWautoma Springs began small with the brought it all full circle, and I never looked nails and a beautiful 2008 vintage: 200 cases of red wine made on LIZ back. It was the little taste I needed to see that, the crushpads and in the cellars of friends and MOSS-WOERMAN bouquet of blooms on ‘Yes, this is the right thing for me to do.’ ” her kitchen table, in neighbors – something quite common in an Eight months of wine work in the Outback perpetuity. industry where formidable talents tend to break brought her clarity, but free-soloing up rickety Life, in this way, did not go to plan. And out on their own — so long as they haven’t ladders and hopping from tank to tank with a now, instead of putting ranunculus in a vase, signed a non-compete. With her own wines in bucket of dry ice in the crook of her arm wasn’t she puts longleaf phlox on the bottles of her her back pocket, she spent nearly six years in the end-all be-all, so she took off to Spain; Wautoma Springs Rosé. Prosser at Mercer Estates as head winemaker. Barcelona in particular. Her skill took Mercer to another level and “I have a memory of being at WSU, during “I took a Spanish class and shopped for earned the award for Washington Winery of the my bachelor’s degree — drinking Chateau Ste. shoes — literally spent all my Australian Year in 2016 from Wine Press Northwest magaMichelle Gewürztraminer, thinking I was very, dollars.” zine. And she made Wautoma Springs wines on very fancy. Maybe now college students are Toward the end of a summer spent soaking in the side every vintage along the way. drinking wine, but then …” the wonder that is Gaudí’s playground, she set Taking on a job as a consultant allowed her She needn’t finish this sentence. Then, and an alarm for 2 a.m. and interviewed for an enolto spend a bit more time and energy on her even after, they were likely drinking Boone’s ogist position at Snoqualmie Vineyards — then family and growing Wautoma Springs – which Farm. Or MD 20/20. Or perhaps Arbor Mist led by Joy Andersen. There, Jessica was part now boasts white wines, red wines and tapas Blackberry Merlot, on ice, in a large Nalgene of an all-female winemaking staff; something in a tasting room in Prosser’s Vintners Village, bottle. that isn’t terribly common now, let alone in the where there exists a wonderful energy within Although Jessica, who grew up in the mid-2000s. the walls. You’ll likely see Rachel Mercer Columbia Valley, describes her beginnings there. She oversees the kitchen and any pairings From Snoqualmie, she moved to the Canoe in Washington wine as “pure luck,” she earned the opportunity at WSU to intern for acclaimed researcher Robert Wample, which led to her master’s project focused on grape vines. There’s a quote attributed to the late Branch Rickey, who was responsible for Jackie Robinson breaking baseball’s color barrier, that goes, “Luck is the residue of design.” While Jessica’s first step into the world of viticulture and enology felt like chance, her subsequent career has been choice after choice, carving a decided path through the landscape of Washington wine. Post-grad, Jessica joined Ste. Michelle Wine Estates as a viticulturist, a job that built a foundational element to her career but felt more like a jumping off point than a landing spot. “As a viticulturist, I really RICHARD DUVAL IMAGES loved what I was doing. I just Winemaker Jessica Munnell and veteran grower Tom Merkle own Wautoma Springs winery in Prosser. didn’t know what was next. ‘Is
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