Dunham Cellars

Eric Dunham served in the U.S. Navy, stationed at Moffett Field in Santa Clara County, before deciding to make wine. He completed a six-month internship at Hogue Cellars in Prosser, Washington, and was then hired as assistant winemaker at L'Ecole No. 41 in the Walla Walla Valley. With winemaker Marty Clubb's blessing, he began making small lots of Dunham wine at L'Ecole; the first bottling was the 1995 Dunham Cabernet Sauvignon I. Eric founded Dunham Cellars in 1995 with his father, Mike, and his stepmother, Joanne. After the first few vintages, Eric found warehouse space in an old World War II airplane hangar in Walla Walla, and in 1999 he and his father converted the hangar, at Walla Walla Regional Airport, into the winery that is still its home. Dunham and Reininger were the first of dozens of wineries to start out in the airport's industrial park, a repurposed World War II army air base. David and Cheryll Blair were later introduced to the Dunhams and joined them in the business. In 2015 the winery accommodated a 27,000-case production. The winery celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2025.

• Owners: Joanne Dunham (founder, managing partner), John Blair (president and co-owner), Cheryll Blair and David Blair (managing partners)
• Founders: Mike Dunham (1944-2013), Joanne Dunham, and founding winemaker Eric Dunham (1970-2014)
• First bottling: 1995 Dunham Cabernet Sauvignon I, made at L'Ecole No. 41 with Marty Clubb's blessing
• Home since 1999: a converted World War II airplane hangar at Walla Walla Regional Airport, 150 E. Boeing Avenue

Dan Wampfler was Dunham's winemaker from 2008, and in 2015 he led the winemaking team. Robert Campisi joined Dunham Cellars in 2008 and learned the craft under founding winemaker Eric Dunham and Dan Wampfler; starting as a cellar technician, he worked as cellar master and assistant winemaker before being named winemaker in 2018. The winemaking team lists Robert Campisi as winemaker and Alie Zagata-Pearson as enologist, and Ken Hart is vineyard manager.

• Eric Dunham: founder and founding winemaker
• Dan Wampfler: winemaker from 2008; led the winemaking team in 2015
• Robert Campisi: joined in 2008, named winemaker in 2018
• John Blair: president and co-owner

Dunham Cellars sources fruit from vineyards around the Walla Walla and Columbia Valley appellations, and has two estate vineyards, Kenny Hill and Lewis. Kenny Hill Estate Vineyard, in the Walla Walla Valley, is a sloped, south-facing 70-acre property purchased in the summer of 2008 as a joint venture between Dunham Cellars and viticulturalists Bill and Andy Den Hoed. It lies 5 miles east of the winery up the Mill Creek drainage in the Blue Mountain foothills, at an elevation of 1450 feet, and its precipitation, elevation, slope and breezes give a low incidence of frost and the opportunity to grow non-irrigated grapes. The land was previously farmed with wheat and legumes; the first half of the vineyard was planted in the spring of 2010, and as of 2023 it is fully planted with 60 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Grenache, Petit Verdot and Chardonnay. Before the purchase, sister company Appellation Management Group planted Yellow Bird Vineyard, a dryland vineyard on the east side of Kenny Hill. Lewis Estate Vineyard lies in the foothills of Rattlesnake Ridge in the Columbia Valley appellation at 1200 feet; it is a small family-owned vineyard managed by Betty Lewis and her son, Ken Jr., with Dunham's vineyard manager, Ken Hart. First planted in 1996 with a few acres of Syrah, it now comprises 80 acres of Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Riesling and Chardonnay on sandy loam, with drip irrigation.

• Kenny Hill Estate Vineyard: Walla Walla Valley, 70-acre property bought in 2008, 60 acres planted as of 2023, elevation 1450 feet
• Yellow Bird Vineyard: dryland vineyard on the east side of Kenny Hill, planted by sister company Appellation Management Group
• Lewis Estate Vineyard: Columbia Valley, Rattlesnake Ridge foothills, first planted 1996, 80 acres, elevation 1200 feet
• Other vineyards named on recent tech sheets: Los Oidos, Weinbau, Phinny Hill, Sagemoor and Tokar

The lineup comprises Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Trutina (a Bordeaux-style blend), Three Legged Red (a red table wine), rosé, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. The Cabernet Sauvignon carries a Roman numeral: the first, from 1995, was Cabernet Sauvignon I, a 200-case, 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Portteus, Seven Hills and Canoe Ridge vineyards released in November 1997, and the 2022 is Cabernet Sauvignon XXVIII, a Columbia Valley wine of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon with Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec. Trutina takes its name from the Latin word for balance; the winery's tech sheets for it run back to the 1998 vintage, and the 2022 blends 50% Merlot, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Malbec and 3% Petit Verdot. Three Legged Red is a Washington State red table wine into which the winery blends a portion of its wines each year, inspired by Port, Eric Dunham's three-legged dog. The Shirley Mays Chardonnay honors the founding winemaker's grandmother. The inaugural 1999 Syrah came from the first crop at Lewis Vineyard and was the winery's first vineyard-designated wine; Lewis Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot are bottled every vintage under the Artist Series labels. Eric Dunham's original artwork appears on the labels of vineyard-designated and special bottlings, including the 2021 Lewis Vineyard Syrah.

• Cabernet Sauvignon numbering: 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon I; 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon XXVIII
• Trutina: Bordeaux-style blend; 2022 is 50% Merlot, 36% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Malbec, 3% Petit Verdot
• Artist Series: Lewis Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Merlot, bottled every vintage
• Wine club exclusives in 2026: 2022 Wine Club Super Tuscan and 2022 Wine Club Petit Verdot
• Earlier bottlings with tech sheets on the winery's site: Riesling, Late Harvest Riesling, Four Legged White, Late Harvest Semillon, Ice Wine, Double River Syrah and Frenchtown Syrah

Dunham Cellars describes its winemaking philosophy as rooted in 'a commitment to minimal intervention and an unwavering dedication to expressing the unique terroir of the Walla Walla and Columbia Valley AVAs.' In 2015 Dan Wampfler, then winemaker, called the Dunham style 'fruit-forward and balanced, with an Old World structure to New World flavors.' The winery's profile of Robert Campisi states that his approach 'emphasizes balance, elegance, and a genuine expression of site and vintage.' The winery uses sustainable growing practices in all its vineyards.

• Self-described philosophy: minimal intervention and expression of Walla Walla and Columbia Valley terroir
• Style in Wampfler's 2015 words: fruit-forward and balanced, Old World structure to New World flavors
• Sustainable growing practices in all vineyards

As of October 2026 the winery and tasting room at 150 E. Boeing Avenue, in Walla Walla's Airport District, is open daily for tastings from 11am to 4pm, with walk-ins welcome. Tastings are served indoors in the Hangar Lounge or in the outdoor courtyard. A private production tour and the Founders Room Experience, a cellar tour that ends with a tasting in the Founders Room, are offered by appointment.

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://dunhamcellars.com/about-us/, https://dunhamcellars.com/owners-founders/, https://dunhamcellars.com/winemaking-team/, https://dunhamcellars.com/winery-family/, https://dunhamcellars.com/vineyards/, https://dunhamcellars.com/visit-us/, https://dunhamcellars.com/acs-shop/, https://dunhamcellars.com/trade-tech-sheets/, https://dunhamcellars.com/product/2025-shirley-mays-chardonnay/, https://dunhamcellars.com/product/2021-lewis-vineyard-syrah/, https://dunhamcellars.com/product/2022-trutina/, and the winery's tech sheets (PDF): https://dunhamcellars.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/95_Cab_Sauv_I.pdf, https://dunhamcellars.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Non-Vintage-TLR-Full-Page-new-label.pdf, https://dunhamcellars.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2022-Trutina-Full-Page.pdf, https://dunhamcellars.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2022-CV-Cab-Full-Page.pdf. Secondary sources: Wine Spectator (https://www.winespectator.com/articles/dunham-cellars-one-year-later-52058). Last verified 2026-10-18. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.