Buty Winery

Caleb Foster began his Washington winemaking career in the early 1990s as assistant winemaker to Rick Small at Woodward Canyon in Lowden, where he spent about eight years. Small was named Wine Spectator's Winemaker of the Year in 1992, appearing on the magazine's cover after three Woodward Canyon wines (the 1990 Chardonnay, the 1988 Cabernet Sauvignon and the 1988 Charbonneau) landed on its Top 100 list. The idea for Buty was sketched out on a napkin in 1998 during a backpacking trip in the Cascade Mountains with Nina Buty, then a recent graduate of Walla Walla's Whitman College. The original blueprint centered on a pioneering Washington blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah and a Semillon-based white blend with Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle, alongside a wish list of vineyard partners that included Champoux and Conner Lee. After two more years of planning, including a trip to New Zealand to learn about making great Sauvignon Blanc, Foster and Buty launched the winery in 2000 with a debut release of five wines and opened a Walla Walla tasting room in 2001. Nina Buty and Caleb Foster were married when they founded the winery; Wine Spectator and the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin later described Foster, who left the winery in 2012, as Buty's former husband.

• Caleb Foster: assistant winemaker to Rick Small at Woodward Canyon for about eight years in the 1990s, during the run that included Small's 1992 Wine Spectator Winemaker of the Year award
• Buty concept sketched on a napkin in 1998 on a Cascades backpacking trip; debut 2000 release of five wines; tasting room opened 2001
• Nina Buty: Whitman College graduate, 24 years old at founding; co-founder and, after 2012, sole owner
• Nina Buty and Caleb Foster were married at Buty's founding; later press described Foster as her former husband

Buty began as a sourcing-driven winery, contracting fruit from established Walla Walla and Columbia Valley vineyards, including Rocks District fruit from Cayuse's Cailloux Vineyard starting in 2000. In late 2006, Nina Buty and Caleb Foster purchased a 10-acre former apple orchard in Milton-Freewater, on the Oregon side of the Walla Walla Valley. Buty's own site described the parcel as sitting in the 5 percent highest elevation of the cobblestones, calling it a "Grand Cru" section that had been the most prized farming ground since the valley was settled more than a century earlier. The couple organically prepared and planted the site, called Rockgarden Estate, in 2008, with viticultural consultant Dr. Phil Freese advising on varietal choice, clonal selection, vine density, row orientation, canopy design and water needs. Rockgarden was planted to syrah, cabernet sauvignon, grenache, mourvedre, marsanne and roussanne, and the vineyard earned Oregon Tilth organic certification by 2010. The surrounding cobblestone territory was designated the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA in 2015; Wine Spectator credited Nina Buty as among the vintners, alongside Cayuse's Christophe Baron, instrumental in establishing it. Buty also drew long-term fruit from Conner Lee Vineyard in the Columbia Valley (merlot, cabernet franc, and its single-varietal Chardonnay from 1989 plantings), Phinny Hill Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills (for Columbia Rediviva), Spring Creek Vineyard in the Yakima Valley (Sauvignon Blanc for the white blend), Lonesome Spring River Ranch (Muscadelle), and Champoux Vineyard (a portion of cabernet franc and a Champoux-designated Cabernet Sauvignon bottling).

• Rockgarden Estate: 10-acre former apple orchard purchased late 2006, organically planted 2008 in the cobblestone section of Milton-Freewater that became the Rocks District AVA in 2015; Oregon Tilth organic-certified by 2010
• Rockgarden plantings: syrah, cabernet sauvignon, grenache, mourvedre, marsanne and roussanne, consulted on by viticulturist Dr. Phil Freese
• Prior to planting Rockgarden, Buty sourced Rocks District fruit from Cayuse's Cailloux Vineyard beginning in 2000
• Other long-term vineyard sources: Conner Lee Vineyard (Columbia Valley), Phinny Hill Vineyard (Horse Heaven Hills), Spring Creek Vineyard (Yakima Valley), Lonesome Spring River Ranch, and Champoux Vineyard

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, beginning with the 2001 vintage. Rediviva of the Stones is a syrah-dominant blend with cabernet sauvignon, grown in the ancestral riverbed cobblestones of the Walla Walla Valley and aged entirely in French cooperage without new oak; Buty's own site described it as crafted much like a great Pinot Noir to showcase aromatics. Columbia Rediviva, by contrast, is a cabernet sauvignon-dominant blend with syrah from Phinny Hill Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills, aged two years in French Chateau barrels and bottle-aged a further year before release at three years old. Both wines take their name from the sloop Columbia Rediviva, piloted up the Columbia River in 1792 by Captain Robert Gray, who hoped the river would prove to be the Northwest Passage; prior to that voyage the ship had been the first American vessel to circumnavigate the globe. Buty also made a Champoux Vineyard-designated Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc blend, aged in 100 percent new Taransaud Chateau cooperage. BEAST was Buty's alter-ego line: a rotating, exploratory series released most years around Halloween and some years also on April Fool's Day, presenting new varietals or vineyards outside the core Buty portfolio. In spring 2010, Buty released a second generation of BEAST wines named Wildebeest, Hartebeest and Sphinx.

• Rediviva of the Stones: syrah-dominant blend with cabernet sauvignon from the Walla Walla Valley cobblestones; aged entirely in French cooperage with no new oak; first vintage 2001
• Columbia Rediviva: cabernet sauvignon-dominant blend with syrah from Phinny Hill Vineyard, Horse Heaven Hills; aged two years in French Chateau barrels, released at three years old
• Both Rediviva wines are named for the sloop Columbia Rediviva, captained by Robert Gray on his 1792 Columbia River exploration and previously the first American ship to circumnavigate the globe
• Champoux Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc: a smaller-production, Champoux-designated bottling aged in 100% new Taransaud Chateau cooperage
• BEAST: a rotating alter-ego series released around Halloween (and some years April Fool's Day); spring 2010's second generation was Wildebeest, Hartebeest and Sphinx

Buty's white program centered on a Bordeaux-style blend led by Semillon, with Sauvignon Blanc from Spring Creek Vineyard in the Yakima Valley and Muscadelle from Lonesome Spring River Ranch; part of the wine was lees-aged in mature oak and the balance aged in a concrete tank. Nina Buty said Buty was at the forefront of using Muscadelle in Washington's Bordeaux-blanc-style wines, a variety few other Washington wineries had explored. The Conner Lee Vineyard Chardonnay was Buty's only unblended wine: 100 percent Chardonnay from 1989 plantings at Conner Lee Vineyard in the Columbia Valley, native-yeast fermented, lees-stirred with partial malolactic fermentation, and aged in French cooperage with only about 5 percent new oak. The red lineup also included a Merlot and Cabernet Franc blend, with the estate-grown merlot and most of the cabernet franc from Conner Lee Vineyard's silt-sand soils and a smaller portion of cabernet franc from Champoux Vineyard, aged in new and used Taransaud Chateau barrels. Consulting winemaker Zelma Long, who became Simi Winery's vice president in 1979 and served as its president and CEO from 1989 to 1996, the first woman to lead senior management of a California winery, joined the project in 2001 and stayed on through Buty's run, working alongside winemaker Chris Dowsett to evaluate lots and select final blends.

• White blend: Semillon-led, with Sauvignon Blanc from Spring Creek Vineyard (Yakima Valley) and Muscadelle from Lonesome Spring River Ranch; aged partly in mature oak, partly in concrete
• Buty was an early Washington adopter of Muscadelle in Bordeaux-blanc-style white blending, per Nina Buty
• Conner Lee Vineyard Chardonnay: Buty's only unblended wine, 100% Chardonnay from 1989 plantings, native-yeast fermented with about 5% new French oak
• Merlot and Cabernet Franc: estate merlot and most cabernet franc from Conner Lee Vineyard, remainder of cabernet franc from Champoux Vineyard, aged in Taransaud Chateau cooperage
• Zelma Long (consulting winemaker from 2001), previously winemaker and later president at Simi Winery in Sonoma County, 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, holding a library sale in fall 2021. In early 2020, Nina Buty sold the Rockgarden Estate vineyard to Mike Martin of The Walls, ending Buty's direct connection to the estate fruit that had defined Rediviva of the Stones. Most of the winemaking team left before the 2021 harvest: Chris Dowsett became production winemaker at Dusted Valley, Paul Boen joined him there as cellar master, Lindsey Dennis moved to the administrative team at Pepper Bridge Winery, and Tyson Crudup started Sage Brewing Company in the Tri-Cities. On January 19, 2022, Nina Buty closed the custom-crush space and shuttered the winery after 22 years, describing the decision as personal and unrelated to the pandemic; Wine Spectator's Tim Fish and the regional press covered the closure as the end of one of the Walla Walla Valley's distinctive small-production projects. At its peak the winery produced about 3,500 cases annually, the majority Cabernet Sauvignon-Syrah blends.

• Caleb Foster departed Buty in 2012; Nina Buty continued as sole owner
• Winery stopped making new wine in 2018; held a library wine sale in fall 2021 ahead of closure
• Rockgarden Estate sold early 2020 to Mike Martin of The Walls, ending Buty's tie to its Rocks District estate fruit
• Team departures before the 2021 harvest: Chris Dowsett and Paul Boen to Dusted Valley, Lindsey Dennis to Pepper Bridge Winery, Tyson Crudup to found Sage Brewing Company
• Closed January 19, 2022 after 22 years; Nina Buty called it a personal decision unrelated to the pandemic; peak production about 3,500 cases per year

Primary source: Buty Winery's own site (butywinery.com), archived via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine (the winery closed in 2022 and its former domain is no longer under the producer's control). Snapshots used: History, Philosophy, People, Our Estate, Our Vineyards, Our Portfolio and The Story pages, captured March 2016. Secondary sources: Wine Spectator, "Saying Goodbye to Washington's Buty Winery" (Tim Fish, Jan. 26, 2022); Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, "Buty Winery closes after 22 years in Walla Walla Valley"; Northwest Wine Report, "Walla Walla's Buty Winery to close" (Sean P. Sullivan, Jan. 12, 2022); The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater winery directory (rocksdistrict.com); HistoryLink.org biography of Rick Small; IntoWine Q&A with Caleb Foster (May 24, 2012). Last verified 2026-09-14. Where the producer's archived site and a secondary source disagree, the archived site governs for self-knowledge facts.