Andrew Januik of Andrew Januik Wines, Southern Sojourn, and Novelty Hill-Januik Winery Andrew Januik’s career in wine is more like the old wine world rather than the new.  Instead of starting in wine later in life after other careers, or pursuing a degree in enology and viticulture, Andrew grew up in the industry.  His father Mike Januik was head winemaker at Chateau Ste. Michelle in the 1990s, and then after 1999 winemaker for Novelty Hill-Januik Winery.  Andrew started working in the cellar at age 13, and so learned winemaking by working alongside his father and oth ..read more

Larry and Kim Harris of Bayernmoor Cellars 9 Platinum Awards in 2023!! Washington Winery of the Year in 2024!! Larry and Kim Harris met in law school in the San Francisco Bay area, and fell in love with wine after many trips to Napa and Sonoma.  When they were ready to start a family, they moved back to Washington state to be closer to Kim’s family.  They eventually moved to the 100-acre family farm in Stanwood 50 miles north of Seattle where Kim grew up.  The land had been a dairy farm originally, but was now just waiting for someone to make it productive again.&nbs ..read more

Jason Gorski of DeLille Cellars 2021 Metier Cabernet Sauvignon ($30) #66 on Wine Spectator’s list of Top 100 wines for 2023 DeLille Cellars was founded in 1992 by Greg Lill, his father Charles, Jay Soloff, and winemaker Chris Upchurch.  From the beginning, DeLille was committed to producing high quality Bordeaux style blends, and those wines remain the core of the winery’s portfolio.  DeLille’s values are summed up with their tagline: Bordeaux inspired, distinctly Washington, uniquely DeLille.  The founders started with two wines, Chaleur Estate and D2, and imagined t ..read more

Chris Sparkman of Sparkman Cellars Sparkman Cellars co-owners Chris and Kelly Sparkman founded the winery in 2004 to focus on their family.  Their tagline is “Family. Good Livin’. Real Fine Wine.”  Long before the winery, Chris got a Master’s degree in International Environmental Policy, and spent time travelling the world for the International Whaling Commission and working as an Agroforester for the Peace Corps.  He also spent several decades managing service teams at high end restaurants in New Orleans, Los Angeles, Washington D. C., and Seattle.  At one of th ..read more

Brian Carter of Brian Carter Cellars A childhood gift sparked Brian Carter’s interest in wine.  At the age of 12, his parents gave him a microscope that several years later had him yearning to explore yeasts.  While on a blackberry picking expedition with his mother, he asked if he could have some berries to make wine.  He has been hooked on yeast and winemaking ever since.  Brian majored in microbiology in college, and eventually studied winemaking at the University of California at Davis.  In 1980, Paul Thomas lured him away from CA wineries to work in his ..read more

Erica Orr of Orr Wines and Wine Lab Orr Wines Orr Wine Lab Photo #4: Linoleum Printmaker Christie Tirado from a photo by Erica Orr Photo #6 Credits: Victoria Wright, Ramin Rahimian, Kyu Han, Katelyn Peil Erica Orr was on track to have a career as a scientist, likely working in a lab.  She received an undergraduate degree in biochemistry from the University of California at Berkeley, and worked in the lab of Nobel prize winner Elizabeth Blackburn at UC—San Francisco.  But in 1998 when she was still working in the lab, she had a chance encounter in a Napa bar with winemaker Aar ..read more

Erik Cooper of Vibe Cellars Vibe Cellars is very much a family endeavor with Erik Cooper, his twin brother Michael, and father George all involved.  But the family winemaking roots go way back in time and place to the Piedmont region of Italy.  These roots are reflected in the wines, which are mostly made in the Italian and Bordeaux styles.  Erik is the winemaker, and he sources grapes from outstanding vineyards across several different Washington AVAs.  The first Vibe wines were ready for sale in March 2020, a challenging time to start a new winery, to say the le ..read more

Jessica DellaTorre & John Erickson of Apple Valley Emporium (AVE), Central WA’s only board and bottle shop!! Jessica DellaTorre and John Erickson came to California from different sides of the US, she from Florida, he from Washington.  John grew up skateboarding, and all his jobs have involved the skateboard industry.  Jessica had a variety of jobs in CA, including at a spa, winery and other venues as a hospitality manager.  She and her family opened a bar and restaurant in Los Angeles, and that’s where she and John met.  During the pandemic, they moved to Yaki ..read more

Dusty Jenkins of Sage Rat Wine Dusty Jenkins grew up in the Yakima Valley, never imagining he would one day settle there to make wine.  He studied film in college, and spent lots of time in dark rooms in New York and elsewhere.  He had friends making wine in WA, and their more physical, outdoor life grew increasingly attractive to him with every hour he spent in the dark room.  In 2015, Dusty left the film world to enroll in Walla Walla Community College’s Enology and Viticulture Program.  Two years later he was Assistant Winemaker at Gilbert Cellars in Yakima, an ..read more

Sebastien Leroy, Product Manager with AmaWaterways Photos courtesy of AmaWaterways, used with permission. Sebastien Leroy grew up in Normandy, France where he spent many weekends during his first 10 years on his dad’s boat.  He joined AmaWaterways as a cruise manager in 2012, and ten years later became the company’s Product Manager for France, Iberia and the golf program.  Sebastien was instrumental in creating the itinerary for AMA’s Flavors of Burgundy wine river cruise, which is the focus of this interview.  In June 2025, Ellensburg Travel and I will be helping to ..read more