Wawawai Canyon Winery: Small-Batch Wines Executed with ‘Technical Expertise and Deep Intuition’

Benjamin Moffett is the owner and winemaker at Wawawai Canyon Winery, the first commercial vineyard planted in Whitman County since Prohibition. Raised among the vines, Ben combines hands-on experience with a degree in Viticulture and Enology, bringing both technical expertise and a deep intuition to his craft. He continues his family's legacy by producing small-batch wines grown, harvested, and bottled on-site, rooted in the rich agricultural history of Wawawai Canyon. DeliveryRank features an exclusive interview.

Wawawai Canyon Winery is the first commercial vineyard planted in Whitman County since prohibition. What were some of the key challenges and successes in re-establishing viticulture in this region?

Viticulture never really got established in the region before Prohibition came along, so there was no wine culture in Eastern Washington before some leaders associated with WSU began trying to promote it.  Challenges include the fact that grape vines are very sensitive to the herbicides used in wheat farming and the fact that the acreage associated with grapes is vastly outnumbered by that associated with dryland farming, so it gets very little consideration from many of our neighbors.  In our tasting room we often conduct events that seek to introduce wine to the public and educate the local population to the beauty of wine as a part of the food culture.

Your vineyard practices sustainable management on steep canyon slopes, producing small berries with intense, concentrated flavors. How do these unique terroir characteristics influence your winemaking approach and the profile of your wines?

Our growing conditions are admittedly challenging, with steep slopes and windy conditions, but the grapes seem to like it.  We are content with low yields from our crop because the quality is premium.  Our site has reliably produced crops when others have been hurt by late spring freezes (the cold drains off the steep slopes) and we have been lucky to have avoided exposure to smoke from wildfires at crucial times in the ripening. We are using ducks to “weed” and fertilize the vineyard and as protection from grasshoppers and other pests.  This means that we stay connected with the vineyard throughout the growing season.  When the grapes are ready for harvest, I am sensitive to their unique characteristics in the winemaking process and let it be expressed in the varietals and blends we release. 

The winery offers a diverse portfolio, including lesser-known varietals like Rkatsiteli and unique blends such as Malbec-Carmenere. What inspires your selection of grape varieties and blending decisions, and how do you balance innovation with tradition in your wine production?

We got our start with cuttings we made from Bob Wing’s backyard vineyard.  Bob was the weatherman in Lewiston for many years and during that time, he was engaged in an experiment the State of Idaho was supporting – before they pulled the support.  Bob was curious enough to continue on his own, and it was he who supplied us with the varieties we trialed in our initial planting.  Classic wine grapes, the cabernets and syrah, the rkatsiteli and sauvignon blanc were then supplemented with varieties often used in bordeaux  blends, including malbec, carmenere and petit verdot.  These we use in blends that are well-rounded and distinctive.  We have built up a library of red wines that we age in our cellar, and a unique feature of our current red offerings is the aging.  We offer wines from vintages as old as 2008.  We typically release one white wine each year that is slightly sweet or more sweet, depending on the growing conditions that year, and this nicely rounds out our offerings in the tasting room.

As a family-owned and operated winery, with members bringing formal education in Viticulture and Enology, how does your collective expertise and personal involvement shape the winery’s philosophy and operations?

My training in the Walla Walla Community College Viticulture and Enology program has now been supplemented by over 20 years of experience with making wine from our grapes.  My approach is driven by an appreciation of what these grapes can do and a desire to let them find full expression in the wines.  I have excellent support from my family and welcome the involvement of friends in the processes of pruning and harvest.

The wine industry is constantly evolving with trends such as natural winemaking, low-intervention techniques, and consumer demand for sustainability. How do you see these trends shaping the future of winemaking, and how is Wawawai Canyon Winery adapting to these industry shifts? 

Because of our relatively small size, and because we care about the people in the field (ourselves) we have always employed gentler approaches such as natural controls for mildew and insects.  The pest control  industry has been responsive to the need for organic or sustainable products that do not knock out beneficials and these products are supplementing what is used on larger vineyards.  The ducks are part of this approach in our vineyard and planting into the natural vegetation has meant that the grapes are a part of the hillside, surrounded by natural ecosystems that tend to provide the balance that is at the heart of sustainability.

If you would like to find out more about Wawawai Canyon Winery, please visit https://www.wawawaicanyon.com/