Inside the U.S. Wine Distribution Maze: How Capital Call Gets to Your Glass

Steve Bruere remembers well the fateful phone call. Alan Busacca, his partner in Windhorse Vineyard, was on the line. The business needed a quick cash infusion. The two had spoken the day before. On that call, Steve had brought up the fact that harvest at their vineyard was running below expectations. The way things were looking, the vineyard was going to run in the red that year. “I don’t think we’re making any money,” he remembered telling his partner.

Creating and executing the vision for Capital Call Vintners’ new Walla Walla tasting room has been a delightful challenge for local designer Melanie Jaques. Having spent many years living and working in Walla Walla and the Tri-cities, she understands that while the wine is the draw, a welcoming and charming environment is vital to why guests choose to stay.

Creating a World Class Cabernet With our 2022 vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon, winemaker Josh Maloney employed a time-intensive, old-world technique

When you think about Italian wine grapes, the mind turns to warm afternoons sipping Chianti in Tuscany or glasses of chilled Pinot Grigio in the foothills of the Italian Alps. You don’t think inky dark Nero d’Avola in Oregon’s Columbia Gorge. Until now, that is.

Many of you know the Capital Call Vintners origin story: Iowa farm boy/entrepreneur meets Oregon viticulturist/visionary and they bond over their shared love of wine, land, and possibilities. A Northwest/Midwestern partnership and winery are born.

Lily Perry, an associate in our Walla Walla tasting room, has been awarded a $2,000 scholarship from the Washington Wine Industry Foundation. Lily is a first-year student at Walla Walla Community College where she is studying for both a BS in Agricultural Systems and a two-year degree in Enology and Viticulture.