Gramercy Cellars

Greg Harrington's path to Walla Walla winemaking is distinctive among Washington producers. Harrington trained as a sommelier through the late 1980s and 1990s and earned his Master Sommelier certification in 1996 at age 26, making him one of the youngest MS-credentialed sommeliers in the world at that time. The Court of Master Sommeliers credential requires comprehensive wine knowledge across all major global wine regions plus rigorous tasting, theoretical, and service examinations; the MS qualification has historically been considered the premier sommelier-track wine credential. Harrington's pre-Gramercy career included sommelier roles and beverage director responsibilities at prominent New York hospitality operations, where he oversaw major wine programs and developed the deep wine-region knowledge that would later inform his winemaking. The MS background gives Harrington a sommelier-buyer perspective on stylistic identity: his deep admiration for Northern Rhone Syrah (particularly Cornas) shapes Gramercy's stylistic register, his palate-driven approach prioritizes balance and restraint over extraction or oak, and his global tasting experience informs varietal selection across the Gramercy lineup including the unusual (for Washington) Tempranillo focus.

• Greg Harrington: trained as sommelier through late 1980s-1990s; Master Sommelier certification 1996 at age 26; one of the youngest MS-credentialed sommeliers globally at that time
• Court of Master Sommeliers: requires comprehensive global wine knowledge plus rigorous tasting, theoretical, and service examinations; premier sommelier-track wine credential
• Pre-Gramercy career: sommelier and beverage director roles at prominent New York hospitality operations; major wine program oversight
• MS background shapes Gramercy: Northern Rhone Syrah admiration (Cornas register), palate-driven balance-and-restraint approach, varietal selection including Tempranillo focus

The Harringtons lived in Manhattan's Gramercy Park neighborhood during Greg's New York hospitality career; the Gramercy Cellars name directly references that Manhattan neighborhood. Greg and Pam Harrington moved from New York to Walla Walla in the early 2000s to pursue winemaking, representing a significant career shift from sommelier and hospitality work to wine production. They established Gramercy Cellars in 2005 with an initial focus on Syrah and Rhone varieties using contracted Walla Walla and Yakima Valley fruit. Brandon Moss, a Walla Walla native, joined the operation as assistant winemaker after working harvests at King Estate in Oregon and in New Zealand and serving as cellar master at Waters Winery in Walla Walla. In 2011 Moss became a partner in Gramercy Cellars and is now formally credited as co-winemaker. The Harrington-Moss partnership combines Harrington's sommelier-buyer perspective and varietal direction with Moss's hands-on Walla Walla cellar experience and viticultural relationships. The Harringtons' New York hospitality background and Harrington's MS credential distinguish Gramercy from producers founded by farming or production-side backgrounds; the model parallels other professional-to-Walla-Walla career shifts that have shaped the appellation's contemporary producer landscape.

• Gramercy name: references Manhattan's Gramercy Park neighborhood where the Harringtons lived during Greg's New York hospitality career
• Greg and Pam Harrington moved from New York to Walla Walla in the early 2000s; established Gramercy Cellars in 2005 with initial Syrah and Rhone focus
• Brandon Moss (Walla Walla native, prior King Estate and New Zealand harvest work, Waters Winery cellar master): joined as assistant winemaker, became a partner in 2011, and is now co-winemaker
• Harrington-Moss partnership: combines sommelier-buyer perspective and varietal direction with hands-on Walla Walla cellar experience and viticultural relationships

Gramercy's single-vineyard Syrah program draws on estate and contracted vineyards across Walla Walla Valley and Yakima Valley, with each bottling expressing a distinct site character within Harrington's Cornas-influenced stylistic register. Forgotten Hills Vineyard, which Harrington purchased in 2015 as a Gramercy estate site, is a 7.5 acre cool-climate basalt-cobblestone site at the base of the Blue Mountains near Les Collines in Walla Walla, planted in 1999 at approximately 1000 feet elevation; the cool air drainage off the Blue Mountains makes this site substantially cooler than typical Walla Walla vineyards, and the resulting Syrah shows pronounced acidity, smoked meat, blood, iron, and white pepper character in a hardcore Old World register, typically aged in neutral French puncheons and Stockinger foudre with whole-cluster fermentation. The Lagniappe Syrah (Cajun French for an extra gift) is the flagship reserve bottling, sourced primarily from Red Willow Vineyard in Yakima Valley, the historic Mike Sauer site that planted the first Syrah in Washington State in 1986; Lagniappe is typically co-fermented with a small portion of Viognier in the Northern Rhone style and aged in neutral French oak. The Boushey Vineyard Syrah, when produced, draws from Dick Boushey's premium Yakima Valley site near Grandview, and the DuBrul Vineyard Syrah from the Shiels family Rattlesnake Hills site; both have delivered distinct Yakima Valley expressions of Gramercy's structured cool-climate Syrah register.

• Forgotten Hills Vineyard: 7.5 acre cool basalt-cobblestone site near Les Collines in Walla Walla, planted 1999 at ~1000 feet; substantially cooler than typical Walla Walla; hardcore Old World register
• Lagniappe Syrah (Cajun French 'extra gift'): flagship reserve, primarily from Red Willow Vineyard in Yakima Valley (Mike Sauer's historic site, planted first Washington Syrah in 1986); typically Viognier co-fermentation in Northern Rhone style
• Boushey Vineyard Syrah: Dick Boushey's premium Yakima Valley grower site near Grandview; one of Washington's most-cited Yakima Valley Syrah bottlings
• DuBrul Vineyard Syrah: Shiels family Rattlesnake Hills site; structured cool-climate Yakima Valley Syrah expression within Gramercy's Cornas-influenced register

The Inigo Montoya Tempranillo is Greg Harrington's signature Tempranillo bottling and one of the most distinctive Spanish-variety wines in Washington State. The name references the Princess Bride character Inigo Montoya, reflecting the Harringtons' affection for the film; the wine is sourced from Walla Walla Valley Tempranillo plantings (sometimes with a small Syrah co-ferment) and aged in a combination of American and French oak in a register that bridges Rioja Reserva tradition and New World Tempranillo expression. Beyond Syrah and Tempranillo, the Gramercy lineup includes a range of Rhone and other varieties. The Picpoul is sourced from a block at Olsen Vineyard in Yakima Valley; Gramercy continues bottling this rare-for-Washington white variety. The Rose comes from a single block at Olsen Vineyard and follows a Provence-inspired blend; the 2021 vintage was named the best rose in the world by Vinepair. The L'Idiot du Village Mourvedre (from Olsen Vineyard) extends the Rhone-variety range, and the Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon program extends the range into Bordeaux varieties. The combined portfolio supports Gramercy's positioning as a Rhone and Tempranillo specialist with broader regional and varietal exploration.

• Inigo Montoya Tempranillo: named for the Princess Bride character; Harrington's signature Tempranillo bottling from Walla Walla Valley; American and French oak aging bridging Rioja Reserva and New World Tempranillo registers
• Picpoul: sourced from Olsen Vineyard block in Yakima Valley; rare-for-Washington white variety
• Rose (Olsen Vineyard Provence-inspired blend): 2021 vintage named best rose in the world by Vinepair; L'Idiot du Village Mourvedre (from Olsen Vineyard)
• Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: extends Gramercy beyond Rhone and Tempranillo into Bordeaux varieties

Gramercy's stylistic identity reflects Harrington's deep Northern Rhone admiration combined with the cool-climate site selection that supports a restrained register. The Syrah bottlings typically show restrained alcohol (notably low for Washington State), savory mid-palate, smoked meat and olive brine aromatics, and ferrous mineral character; the use of neutral French oak puncheons, foudre, and concrete fermentation supports the savory soil-driven expression. The Tempranillo, Picpoul, Rose, Mourvedre, and Cabernet Sauvignon all share the balance-and-restraint philosophy that distinguishes Gramercy from more extracted or oak-driven Washington producers. Critical reception has been consistently strong across publications including Wine Advocate, Wine Enthusiast, and Wine Spectator, with the Forgotten Hills Syrah and Lagniappe Syrah regularly cited as benchmark Washington cool-climate Syrah expressions. Production remains modest at approximately 8,000 cases per year through mailing-list and specialty wholesale distribution. Within the Walla Walla and broader Washington producer landscape, Gramercy occupies a distinctive position: a sommelier-led Rhone and Tempranillo specialist with an Old-World-leaning stylistic register that complements the more extracted or modernist registers of producers like Reynvaan, Cayuse, and Charles Smith's various ventures, and provides a cool-climate counterpoint within the broader Washington Syrah category.

• Stylistic register: restrained alcohol (notably low for Washington), savory mid-palate, smoked meat and olive brine aromatics, ferrous mineral character
• Cellar approach: neutral French oak puncheons and foudre, concrete fermentation, whole-cluster on cool-climate bottlings; supports savory soil-driven expression
• Critical reception: consistently strong across Wine Advocate, Wine Enthusiast, Wine Spectator; Forgotten Hills and Lagniappe Syrah regularly cited as benchmark Washington cool-climate Syrah
• Production ~8,000 cases per year; mailing-list and specialty wholesale; sommelier-led Rhone and Tempranillo specialist within the Walla Walla and broader Washington producer landscape