OUR WALLA WALLA TASTING ROOM IS OPEN.
STOP BY THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY 12-5PM OR BOOK YOUR TASTING HERE.
20 years of
WINEMAKING EXCELLENCE
Our mission remains the same.
To produce small-lot, artisan wines that accurately display each vineyard and varietal.
OUR HISTORY
Est. 2001
Forgeron Cellars was born out of a quest to produce site-specific wines that illustrate the diversity found amongst Columbia Valley's different viticultural appellations. Our mission is to produce small-lot, artisan wines that accurately display each vineyard, varietal, and appellation. We believe that much of winemaking occurs in the vineyard and adhere to traditional techniques while utilizing the benefits of modern innovation. Forgeron Cellars is a true urban winery and is located in an old blacksmith building in Walla Walla, Washington. Long established, the winery continues to work with many of the region's top grape growers to ensure the production of some of the most appealing wines the valley has to offer.
Forgeron Cellars was founded by more than two-dozen local Walla Walla business leaders, many of whom successfully founded and sold Canoe Ridge Winery. The idea was to build a winery in downtown Walla Walla that would help anchor local business and contribute towards the reinvigoration of the downtown area. Their search for an ideal location ended when they came upon an old blacksmith building located at 33 Birch Street, and just two blocks off Main. The building provided the perfect foundation and ultimately influenced the name for the winery - Forgeron is the French word for blacksmith. After months of renovations, the old blacksmith building was transformed into a cozy tasting room and office, while a new building was constructed for barrel storage and fermentation, and a state-of-the-art crush facility built for processing grapes.
MEET OUR WINEMAKING AND MANAGEMENT TEAM
ENRIQUE IBARRA
Lead Winemaker
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Enrique started working at Tamarack Cellars in 2016. He took the job as a means to make money but in doing so, fell in love with the art of winemaking. So much so, that he changed his career goal of becoming a math teacher and immediately applied to the Walla Walla Community College's Oenology and Viticulture program in 2017 (graduating in 2019). Enrique worked two jobs during his time at the WWCC, one in the cellar and one as a caregiver.
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Enrique loves Petite Verdot, and laments that more producers aren't varietally bottling it in Washington State. "If you ever catch me at a tasting room and they have Petite Verdot on the menu, it will already be in my glass." He loves Lasagna and Pozole Rojo and feels that his greatest life achievement, by far, is being a father to his 2 year-old son named Lucas, who is a character. When not working he spends his days with Lucas at the park.
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