Named “tertulia” for the Spanish word meaning a social gathering of friends, Tertulia Cellars focuses on making terroir-driven wines from the finest vineyards in the region. The majority of the winery’s fruit comes from its own three sustainably farmed estate vineyards: Whistling Hills, Riviere Galets, and Elevation.
Each of these three estate vineyards is situated in a different part of the Walla Walla Valley. Whistling Hills Vineyard was the first to be planted in 2007. Its eight acres of vines, wrapped around the winery building, are nestled in deep windblown loess soil. Exposed to more than 17 hours of daylight, their fully ripe fruit yields elegantly balanced wines, like the Whistling Hills Estate Vineyard Viognier. The second estate vineyard, Riviere Galets, is situated on an ancient riverbed in the new Rocks AVA. The round topsoil stones for which the vineyard was named absorb heat during the day and warm the soil at night, providing a ripe, concentrated fruit for wonderfully complex wines, like the GSM Reserve Riviere Galets Estate Vineyard. The third estate vineyard, Elevation, provides yet another singular terroir. Located along the North Fork of the Walla Walla River, the vines are planted at elevations ranging from 1,500 to 1,700 feet, and enjoy a relatively temperate climate for the Walla Walla AVA—ideal for Bordeaux varieties.
Vineyard Manager Ryan Driver and Winemaker Ryan Raber share the conviction that the best wines have a sense of place. To achieve this end, all three of the vineyards are farmed using sustainable practices. In the cellar, Old World techniques are applied judiciously. The result is a portfolio of wines that have not gone unnoticed in top-tier competitions. In fact, three Tertulia Cellars wines recently earned Double Gold medals at the Seattle Wine Awards.
Tertulia Cellars has tasting rooms in Walla Walla and Dundee. Both are great gathering places—befitting their Spanish name