Doctor Dirt is Alan Busacca. And Alan Busacca is many things.

Educator. Alan spent 25 years as a geologist and soil scientist at Washington State University specializing in soil management and the geologic history of Pacific Northwest soils reaching back to the Ice Age. Few wine growers on earth understand as much about the ground they farm as our very own  Doctor Dirt.

Vineyard Pioneer. Alan combined his expert knowledge of soils with his love of wine when he started Vinitas Vineyard Consultants in 2006. Through Vinitas, he has evaluated land all over the world for vineyard development, resulting in more than 5,000 acres of new vineyards. His work has also helped establish seven different American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) in Washington and Idaho. In 2004, he discovered the property that would become Capital Call Vintners’ prized estate vineyard, Windhorse Vineyard.

Outdoorsman. Since leaving the classroom, Alan spends almost no time indoors. When not tending to his vineyard, you can find him exploring the many hills and valleys of the Columbia Gorge on his bike, whitewater rafting on the White Salmon and Klickitat Rivers, or cross-country skiing on Mount Hood and Mount Adams.

Friend. Alan is a great friend to many, but his friendship with Steve Bruere was instrumental in the founding of Capital Call Vintners. Alan met Steve in 2016 while consulting on a vineyard property and the two became fast friends. Alan’s passion for terroir and viticulture was inspirational to Steve, and the two partnered in 2017 to found Capital Call Vintners, pledging to spare no expense in the pursuit of making world-class wines.

The fruits of that friendship and Alan’s decades in the wine world are inside every bottle of Doctor Dirt.