Forgeron Cellars

Marie-Eve Gilla, born and trained in France with viticulture and oenology education in Burgundy, moved to Walla Walla in 2001 to become Forgeron's founding winemaker and managing partner. She holds the distinction of being one of the first women winemakers and winery owners in Washington. Her Burgundian training shaped Forgeron's stylistic identity from the outset: restraint over extraction, structure over richness, and aromatic complexity over fruit-forward immediacy. The Chardonnay program in particular reflected her European sensibility directly, becoming one of the most-cited Walla Walla Chardonnay bottlings of the era. Gilla also pursued varietals less common in the Walla Walla cellar, building reputation for Forgeron Zinfandel and Barbera alongside the Bordeaux-variety core. After seventeen years as Forgeron's founding winemaker, Gilla departed in 2018 to take a winemaking role at Valdemar Estates' new Walla Walla project. Her tenure established the producer's bicultural Franco-American identity and the stylistic register that the winery continues to build on.

• Marie-Eve Gilla: French-born, Burgundy-trained in viticulture and oenology; moved to Walla Walla in 2001 to launch Forgeron
• One of the first women winemakers and winery owners in Washington; founding winemaker and managing partner 2001 to 2018
• European-trained sensibility shaped Forgeron's stylistic register: restraint, structure, aromatic complexity, and a Burgundian-influenced Chardonnay program
• Departed Forgeron in 2018 to take a winemaking role at Valdemar Estates' new Walla Walla project

The Forgeron name comes directly from the building itself: a 100-plus-year-old former blacksmith shop in downtown Walla Walla at 33 W Birch Street that houses the winery's tasting room and production facility. Forgeron is the French word for blacksmith, and the producer's signature bottling lines extend that theme. The Anvil label was launched by Marie-Eve Gilla in 2008 and showcases single-vineyard varietal bottlings from premier Washington vineyard sites alongside a proprietary Bordeaux-style red blend. The Blacksmith line, comprising Blacksmith Rouge and Blacksmith Blanc, sits within the broader Artist and Blacksmith Series tier; both Blacksmith Rouge and the 2022 Blacksmith Blanc earned Double Gold at the 2024 Pacific Northwest Wine Competition, anchoring the line's reputation. The building's industrial-historic architecture (high ceilings, exposed beams, and the working-blacksmith origins) gives the downtown tasting room a distinctive character within the broader Walla Walla downtown wine tourism corridor that emerged through the 2000s and 2010s.

• Tasting room and winery at 33 W Birch Street in downtown Walla Walla, housed in a 100-plus-year-old former blacksmith shop
• Anvil label launched by Marie-Eve Gilla in 2008: single-vineyard varietals from premier Washington vineyard sites plus a proprietary Bordeaux-style red blend
• Blacksmith line (Rouge and Blanc) within the Artist and Blacksmith Series; both earned Double Gold at the 2024 Pacific Northwest Wine Competition
• Industrial-historic architecture supports both production and tasting-room character; downtown location within the Walla Walla wine tourism corridor

Forgeron sources fruit from vineyards across the Walla Walla Valley and broader Columbia Valley, supporting one of the wider varietal ranges among Walla Walla producers. The signature wines include Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Zinfandel, and Barbera, with additional bottlings of Viognier, Cabernet Franc, and Grenache appearing in the lineup. The Zinfandel and Barbera bottlings are particularly notable because neither variety is commonly produced in the Walla Walla area, and Marie-Eve Gilla earned wide accolades for both alongside the producer-defining Chardonnay during her tenure. Recent recognition includes a Double Gold for the 2021 Grenache and Gold medals for the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2021 Barbera at the Pacific Northwest Wine Competition. The Burgundian-influenced Chardonnay continues to be produced with lees aging and judicious oak, reflecting the European stylistic register established at the founding. The varietal breadth, combined with the Anvil single-vineyard tier and the Blacksmith Rouge and Blanc bottlings, gives Forgeron's tasting room one of the more diverse offerings in the downtown Walla Walla district.

• Signature wines: Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Zinfandel, Barbera; additional bottlings of Viognier, Cabernet Franc, Grenache
• Zinfandel and Barbera bottlings notable for Walla Walla, where neither variety is commonly produced
• Recent recognition: Double Gold for 2021 Grenache, Gold medals for 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2021 Barbera at the Pacific Northwest Wine Competition
• Burgundian-influenced Chardonnay (lees aging, judicious oak) continues as a producer-defining bottling reflecting the founding European register

Marie-Eve Gilla's 2018 departure to Valdemar Estates marked a generational handoff for Forgeron after seventeen years under its founding winemaker. Cody Janett, who joined Forgeron in 2011 and worked as assistant winemaker under Gilla, was promoted to head winemaker in 2018 and continues in that role. The winery has continued operations from the same downtown Walla Walla blacksmith building, with Kim Gammond, who grew up with the winery and whose family was among its founders, serving as General Manager since 2024. The Anvil and Blacksmith bottling lines that Gilla originated have remained central to the producer's identity through the post-2018 chapter, with the Blacksmith Rouge and 2022 Blacksmith Blanc both earning Double Gold at the 2024 Pacific Northwest Wine Competition. Forgeron's broader Walla Walla position sits alongside the downtown tasting room cohort that includes producers like L'Ecole No. 41 and others occupying historic downtown buildings. As one of only two true urban wineries in Walla Walla, Forgeron owns no vineyard equity and purchases its fruit from regional growers, including Seven Hills Vineyard in the Walla Walla Valley. The combination of the historic blacksmith building, the bicultural Franco-American founding identity, the unusually broad varietal range for the appellation, and the continued Anvil and Blacksmith program keeps Forgeron a distinctive entry in the downtown Walla Walla wine tourism corridor.

• Marie-Eve Gilla departed in 2018 after seventeen years as founding winemaker; moved to Valdemar Estates' new Walla Walla project
• Cody Janett has been head winemaker since 2018, joining in 2011 and serving as assistant winemaker under Gilla; Kim Gammond is General Manager, with her family among the winery's founders
• Anvil and Blacksmith bottling lines remain central to the producer identity; both Blacksmith Rouge and 2022 Blacksmith Blanc earned Double Gold at the 2024 Pacific Northwest Wine Competition
• Downtown Walla Walla winery that owns no vineyard equity and sources purchased fruit, including from Seven Hills Vineyard

Forgeron's bottling structure spans three broad tiers that map to price, ambition, and sourcing. The core Forgeron Cellars label covers the producer's signature varietal range (Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Zinfandel, Barbera, plus Viognier, Cabernet Franc, and Grenache) at moderate price points and represents the bulk of tasting-room offerings. The Anvil tier, launched in 2008, sits above the core label and focuses on single-vineyard varietals from premier Washington vineyard sites plus a proprietary Bordeaux-style red blend; the Anvil bottlings represent the more ambitious site-specific work. The Blacksmith line, encompassing Blacksmith Rouge and Blacksmith Blanc within the Artist and Blacksmith Series, occupies a prestige tier and has anchored recent competition recognition (Double Gold for both at the 2024 Pacific Northwest Wine Competition). The dual signature-blend identity of Anvil (Bordeaux-style red) and Blacksmith (Rouge and Blanc) ties the producer's blending program directly back to the blacksmith building heritage that gives the winery its name and visual identity, while the core Forgeron Cellars label provides the broader varietal access point.

• Core Forgeron Cellars label: signature varietal range at moderate price points, the bulk of tasting-room offerings
• Anvil tier (launched 2008): single-vineyard varietals from premier Washington vineyards plus a proprietary Bordeaux-style red blend
• Blacksmith line (Rouge and Blanc) within the Artist and Blacksmith Series: prestige tier with 2024 PNW Wine Competition Double Gold recognition for both bottlings
• Anvil and Blacksmith naming ties directly back to the blacksmith building heritage that gives Forgeron its name and visual identity