Buty Winery

Caleb Foster began his Washington winemaking career in 1991 as assistant winemaker to Rick Small at Woodward Canyon in Lowden, where he worked for roughly eight vintages through 1999. The Woodward Canyon period was formative: Rick Small was named Wine Spectator's Winemaker of the Year in 1992, and the house emphasis on structural Cabernet, Merlot, and Chardonnay shaped Foster's approach. The idea for Buty was sketched out in 1998 on a backpacking trip in the Cascades with Nina Buty, then a recent Whitman College graduate. After additional consulting and travel experience including time in New Zealand and South Africa, Foster and Buty launched the winery in 2000 with a debut release of five wines and opened a Walla Walla tasting room in 2001. The brand name uses Nina's maiden surname Buty, pronounced byoo-TEE, giving the label a distinctive identity among Walla Walla producers.

• Caleb Foster: assistant winemaker to Rick Small at Woodward Canyon 1991-1999; foundational training during Woodward Canyon's Winemaker of the Year era
• Buty concept developed in 1998; debut 2000 release of five wines; tasting room opened 2001
• Nina Buty: Whitman College graduate; co-founder and president; her maiden surname (byoo-TEE) became the brand
• Foster gained additional experience consulting and working internationally including New Zealand and South Africa before founding Buty

Buty was a sourcing-driven winery for its first years, contracting fruit from established Walla Walla and Columbia Valley vineyards. In late 2006 Caleb and Nina purchased a 10-acre former apple orchard in Milton-Freewater on the Oregon side of the Walla Walla Valley, organically prepared the site, and planted Rockgarden Estate in 2008. The vineyard sits on the alluvial basalt cobblestone fan that the AVA petitioners called The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater, which earned official AVA status in 2015. Rockgarden was planted to Syrah and Mourvèdre alongside Cabernet Sauvignon, supplying the estate-grown fruit for the Rediviva of the Stones blend. Buty also drew long-term fruit from Conner Lee Vineyard in the Columbia Valley (Chardonnay), Phinny Hill Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills (Cabernet Sauvignon and other Bordeaux varieties for Columbia Rediviva and the Beast bottlings), and Boushey Vineyard plus Lonesome Spring Ranch for the white blend.

• Rockgarden Estate: 10-acre former apple orchard purchased late 2006, organically planted 2008, located in The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA (designated 2015)
• Rockgarden plantings included Syrah, Mourvèdre, and Cabernet Sauvignon on basalt cobblestone alluvium; the vineyard supplied Rediviva of the Stones
• Conner Lee Vineyard (Columbia Valley): long-term source for the Chardonnay; one of Washington's most-cited Chardonnay growers
• Phinny Hill Vineyard (Horse Heaven Hills, adjacent to Champoux): source for Columbia Rediviva and Beast Phinny Hill Cabernet Sauvignon

Buty's signature was the Cabernet Sauvignon-Syrah blend, a pairing Buty and Foster were among the first Washington producers to commercialize at premium pricing. The first Rediviva of the Stones and Columbia Rediviva bottlings debuted in 2001. Rediviva of the Stones evolved into a Syrah-dominant blend from estate Rockgarden fruit, leading with Syrah alongside Cabernet Sauvignon and Mourvèdre; the wine reflects the cobblestone-driven savory and meaty character of The Rocks District. Columbia Rediviva, by contrast, is Cabernet-dominant from Phinny Hill in the Horse Heaven Hills, leading with dark fruit and more polished tannin. The Beast Wildebeest is a more accessibly priced Bordeaux-Rhône blend across the same vineyard sources, and the Beast Phinny Hill Cabernet Sauvignon is a single-vineyard Horse Heaven Hills Cabernet. Rediviva means 'reborn' or 'living again' in Latin, a reference to the project's blend-as-a-new-thing premise.

• Rediviva of the Stones: estate Rockgarden Syrah-dominant blend (Syrah with Cab Sauv and Mourvèdre); first vintage 2001
• Columbia Rediviva: Cabernet-dominant blend from Phinny Hill Vineyard in Horse Heaven Hills; debuted 2001
• Beast Wildebeest: accessibly priced Bordeaux-Rhône blend (Cab, Merlot, Malbec, Cab Franc plus Syrah, Mourvèdre, Grenache)
• Buty was among the first Washington producers to commercialize Cab-Syrah blends at premium pricing; 'Rediviva' means 'reborn' in Latin

Buty's white program centered on a Bordeaux-style white blend of Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle (typically around 60 percent Sémillon, with Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle filling the balance). Sémillon came from Boushey Vineyard in Yakima Valley, and the Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle came from Lonesome Spring Ranch. The wine was aged in a mix of Nomblot concrete and old Bordeaux barrels with lees contact, an approach uncommon in Washington at the time. The Conner Lee Vineyard Chardonnay was a 100 percent Chardonnay bottling from Conner Lee Vineyard in the Columbia Valley, restrained and balanced in style. The red lineup also included a Columbia Valley Merlot-Cabernet Franc blend in a right-bank Bordeaux idiom. Consulting winemaker Zelma Long, a Napa Valley pioneer and former Simi Winery winemaker, joined the project in 2001 and stayed on through Buty's run, evaluating lots and selecting final blends alongside longtime resident winemaker Chris Dowsett.

• Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc-Muscadelle: Bordeaux-blanc inspired white (~60% Sémillon); Boushey Vineyard for Sémillon, Lonesome Spring Ranch for SB and Muscadelle; concrete plus old Bordeaux barrel aging
• Conner Lee Vineyard Chardonnay: 100% Chardonnay from Conner Lee Vineyard in the Columbia Valley; restrained style
• Merlot-Cabernet Franc: Columbia Valley blend in right-bank Bordeaux idiom
• Zelma Long (consulting winemaker from 2001) and Chris Dowsett (resident winemaker) shaped the blends through the winery's run

Caleb Foster left Buty in 2012, leaving Nina Buty as sole owner and operator. The winery continued producing through 2018, after which it stopped making new wine and worked through its existing library and inventory. In early 2020, Nina sold the Rockgarden Estate vineyard to Mike Martin of The Walls, ending Buty's direct connection to The Rocks District fruit that had defined Rediviva of the Stones. On January 19, 2022, Nina Buty closed the custom-crush space and shuttered the winery after 22 years of operation, with Wine Spectator and the regional press treating the closure as the end of one of the Walla Walla Valley's more distinctive small-production projects. At peak the winery had produced about 3,500 cases annually, the majority Cabernet-Syrah blends.

• Caleb Foster departed Buty in 2012; Nina Buty continued as sole owner
• Winery stopped making new wine in 2018; sold off much of the library through closure
• Rockgarden Estate sold early 2020 to Mike Martin of The Walls, ending Buty's tie to The Rocks District fruit
• Closed January 19, 2022 after 22 years; peak production ~3,500 cases/year