Bradley N.
Yelp
Sometimes when visiting a winery whose wines routinely sell for $50 and up, it is easy to forget that real people with ordinary lives work there. Especially in tourist-heavy wine country hot spots, the "Disneyland effect" can be particularly intense: beautiful people, artwork-encrusted walls, soft music, gleaming stemware, immediately approachable wines that don't require a seasoned palate to appreciate. But it's facade, not the reality of a working winery, where dirty fingernails, sleep-deprived mornings, and stained teeth are all part of the process.
That's what makes a visit to a first tier but down-to-earth Walla Walla winery like Pepper Bridge special: the chance to meet friendly people, taste well-made, site-specific wines, and realize that there is more to wine county than idle fantasies of the good life.
A visit here is a chance to appreciate the simple things in life. Things like watering your lavender bushes and potted plants before the searing heat of a springtime afternoon arrives. Like getting licked and chewed on by a 4-month old puppy whose playground just happens to be prime vineyard real estate. Like enjoying a refreshing glass of white wine from the shade of an outdoor deck while enjoying the views of distant mountains whose higher peaks are still speckled with melting snow.
If any of this sounds appealing to you, my advice is to call ahead of time to arrange a short tour of Pepper Bridge's innovative gravity-flow winery, the first of its kind in Washington. This will be followed by tasting room pours of the Bordeaux-style red and white wines that are the trademark here: a Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon white aged in a combination of neutral French oak and concrete egg; a Cabernet Franc-based red blend; a single varietal Merlot; and a classic Cabernet Sauvignon made for aging 10 years+, blended with small amounts of estate Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec, and Cab Franc.
The wines all are sourced from estate vineyards located on the hills above Walla Walla, as well as from the vineyards on the valley floor that surround the winery. Taking the tour allows you to look out from the deck at the distant hillside vineyards, essential sources for Pepper Bridge wines that balance fruit, spice, acid, and mineral elements in ways that mimic Old World wines without sacrificing the local terroir and characteristic richness of fruit in the process.
Pepper Bridge is one of the valley's founding fathers, when Cabernet Sauvignon was still considered the king of red wines. Later winemakers to the valley have had greater critical success with Rhone-style Syrah and are experimenting with Tempranillo, Sangiovese, Grenache, and Carménère. Like the Napa, Sonoma, and Paso giants with which PB compares, the focus remains on the classic reds, although the current (2016) vintage of Sauvignon Blanc is especially good: expertly made with many layers of complexity, but also a sprightliness of touch that makes it taste downright delicious.
People who have never tasted good Merlot are likely to be happy here, as the Merlot is quite exceptional. My preference, however, was for their Cabernet Sauvignon, especially the 2013 vintage I tasted, for its dark berry core and unfolding layers of fruit, spice, and earth, and for its ageworthy tannic structure enhanced with subtle oak. It was the best Bordeaux-style red wine I've sampled in Walla Walla wineries, on par with elegant yet restrained Napa Valleys Cabs in the $50 range, such as those made by Honig and Frog's Leap. While you won't be mistaking them for a Ridge Monte Bello anytime soon, these world-class wines deserve extensive cellaring and patience to unlock their innermost secrets.
There is a vision here at Pepper Bridge that is appealing, especially if you enjoy comparing different wine growing regions. I think this vision is best experienced up close and personal, not at a Woodinville tasting room or a Michelin-starred steakhouse. Taking the tour with a staff member, hanging out on the deck with the tasting room puppy, walking among the vines and gazing out upon the distant hills where vineyards share space with wheat fields and wind turbines, it all makes Pepper Bridge more of a "place" rather than merely a 90+ award-winning wine. You can always pair your visit with other stops in the area, including PB's sister winery, Amavi, whose portfolio of wines is more varied and playful.
Pepper Bridge takes its wines seriously. But not at the expense, I think, of laughter or lightness of heart. Visit and decide for yourselves!
