L'Ecole No. 41

Jean and Baker Ferguson founded L'Ecole No. 41 in 1983 as a retirement project, at a time when Washington was still a nascent wine region. It was the third winery in the Walla Walla Valley and predated official AVA status. Baker Ferguson was the great-grandson of Dorsey Syng Baker, a Walla Walla entrepreneur of the 1860s who founded Baker Boyer Bank. The winery's first vintage was a 1983 Merlot. The Frenchtown Schoolhouse began as a log-cabin school built in 1870 along the Walla Walla River; it was rebuilt in 1915 and renamed Lowden School, and it was retired from education in 1974. The name L'Ecole No. 41, French for 'the school' in district 41, honors the French-Canadian settlers who pioneered viticulture in the Walla Walla Valley in the 1800s. The tasting room occupies one of the original classrooms, and the painting on the current label is based on a 1915 photograph of the newly built schoolhouse. The winery is at 41 Lowden School Road in Lowden, and it also runs a tasting room in Woodinville and the Heritage Wine Bar in the Marcus Whitman Hotel in downtown Walla Walla.

• 1983: founded by Jean and Baker Ferguson as a retirement project; the first vintage was a 1983 Merlot.
• Schoolhouse: a log-cabin school of 1870, rebuilt in 1915 and renamed Lowden School; retired from education in 1974.
• Name: French for 'the school' in district 41, honoring the French-Canadian settlers who pioneered viticulture in the valley in the 1800s.
• Other locations: a Woodinville tasting room and the Heritage Wine Bar in downtown Walla Walla.

L'Ecole No. 41 is family-owned. In 1989 Megan Ferguson Clubb and her husband, Marty Clubb, took over leadership from her parents, Jean and Baker Ferguson. Marty Clubb is Co-owner and Managing Winemaker, and his primary focus is the winery's viticulture operation. Marty and Megan Clubb and their children, Riley Clubb and Rebecca Olson, are co-owners and serve on the L'Ecole No. 41 Board of Directors, and Melissa Clubb, Riley's wife, is Brand Manager. Ryan Pennington joined as Chief Operating Officer in July 2023 after ten years at Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. David Rosenthal was appointed Director of Winemaking in November 2025 and reports to Pennington; he spent 22 years in various roles at Chateau Ste. Michelle, culminating as Head White Winemaker, and launched a consultancy in 2022. Sadie Drury has been vineyard manager at Ferguson Vineyard and Seven Hills Vineyard since 2013. In December 2025, Clubb expected the transition to take a few years and planned to stay involved during harvest, especially in the vineyards. Marty Clubb was instrumental in founding the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance, serving as its first President, and is a Director of the Washington Wine Institute and WineAmerica.

• Owners: Marty and Megan Clubb with Riley Clubb and Rebecca Olson, all on the Board of Directors.
• Leadership: Marty Clubb, Co-owner and Managing Winemaker; Ryan Pennington, Chief Operating Officer since July 2023; David Rosenthal, Director of Winemaking since November 2025.
• Vineyards: Sadie Drury, vineyard manager at Ferguson and Seven Hills since 2013.
• Brand: Melissa Clubb, Brand Manager, represents the third generation of the family.

Ferguson Vineyard, named in honor of Jean and Baker Ferguson, is a 42-acre estate vineyard exclusive to L'Ecole, with 30 acres currently planted. It lies on a ridge of ancient lava flows on the southern border of the Walla Walla Valley AVA at 1,350 to 1,450 feet, and its soil is a thin mantle of wind-blown loess overlying fractured basalt. 17.4 acres were planted in 2008 and 2009 to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and smaller quantities of Cabernet Franc and Malbec; in 2016 an additional 12.6 acres were planted in mostly Bordeaux varietals, adding Petit Verdot. The first harvest from Ferguson Vineyard was in 2010. Ferguson is part of the SeVein vineyard development surrounding Seven Hills Vineyard. L'Ecole is a winery partner in the 170-acre Seven Hills Vineyard in the south-central Walla Walla Valley, at 900 to 1,100 feet on wind-deposited loess. L'Ecole has produced vineyard-designated wines from Seven Hills since 1993, and its vineyard ownership dates to 1997, when it and its partners planted 150 new acres over two years. Marty Clubb is a Managing Partner in Seven Hills Vineyard. Both estate vineyards are Certified Sustainable and Certified Salmon-Safe, and are farmed with Integrated Pest Management and no synthetic herbicides or pesticides.

• Ferguson Vineyard: 42 acres, 30 planted; 1,350 to 1,450 feet; loess over fractured basalt; planted 2008, 2009 and 2016; first vintage 2010.
• Seven Hills Vineyard: 170 acres; 900 to 1,100 feet; L'Ecole a winery partner, with vineyard ownership from 1997; first L'Ecole vintage 1993.
• Farming: both estate vineyards Certified Sustainable and Certified Salmon-Safe.

Since 1993 L'Ecole has sourced Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec from select blocks at Pepper Bridge Vineyard, where it holds acreage contracts on 15 acres; the vineyard was first planted in 1991. Marty Clubb personally works with over 30 vineyards throughout the Columbia Valley. Key Columbia Valley sources include Klipsun Vineyard on Red Mountain, from which L'Ecole has bought grapes since 1998; Candy Mountain Vineyard; StoneTree Vineyard on the Wahluke Slope; and Sagemoor Vineyards, which L'Ecole began working with in its first year, 1983. Chenin Blanc comes from the Phil Church, Upland and Willard Farms vineyards, and Semillon from vineyards including Stillwater Creek on the Royal Slope.

• Pepper Bridge Vineyard: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec since 1993, under acreage contracts on 15 acres.
• Columbia Valley: Klipsun (since 1998), Candy Mountain, StoneTree and Sagemoor (since 1983), among others.
• Whites: Chenin Blanc from Phil Church, Upland and Willard Farms; Semillon from sites including Stillwater Creek.

The Vineyard Collection comprises three single-vineyard Bordeaux blends: Ferguson from Estate Ferguson Vineyard, Perigee from Estate Seven Hills Vineyard, and Apogee from Pepper Bridge Vineyard. Perigee is Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant. DSB, named for Dorsey Syng Baker, is a two-barrel selection of Cabernet Sauvignon from Ferguson Vineyard. The red range also includes Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from the estate vineyards, the Walla Walla Valley and the Columbia Valley, Syrah, Grenache, a GSM, Cabernet Franc/Merlot, Malbec and Frenchtown Red Wine. Luminesce, a white Bordeaux blend of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc, is made exclusively from Estate Seven Hills fruit. The other whites are Semillon from the Columbia Valley and from Stillwater Creek Vineyard, Frenchtown Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, three Chenin Blancs from the Yakima Valley and Snipes Mountain, and Grenache Blanc, alongside a Grenache Rosé. All L'Ecole wines are vegan. As of December 2025, annual production was about 45,000 cases.

• Vineyard Collection: Ferguson (Estate Ferguson), Perigee (Estate Seven Hills) and Apogee (Pepper Bridge).
• DSB: a two-barrel selection of Ferguson Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.
• Whites: Luminesce (Estate Seven Hills Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc), Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc and Grenache Blanc.
• Production: about 45,000 cases a year as of December 2025.

L'Ecole sets out to make 'pure, ripe, expressive, and aromatic wines that showcase the unique characteristics of each vineyard site,' with 'bright acidity, polished tannins, minimal new oak and vibrant fruit and aromas.' In the cellar, fruit moves by gravity rather than pumps; reds ferment in small 1.5 to 5 ton fermenters and are punched down by hand; whites are whole-cluster pressed; and filtration is light. The winery's own aging guide puts DSB, Ferguson, Perigee, Apogee and the Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignons at 15 to 25 years, and Luminesce and the Semillons at 3 to 7 years.

The 2011 Ferguson, the first vintage from Ferguson Vineyard, won the International Trophy for Best in Show Red Bordeaux Varietals over £15 at the 2014 Decanter World Wine Awards; 845 cases were produced. Wine Spectator's Tim Fish rated the 2021 Ferguson 93 points.

• 2014 Decanter World Wine Awards: International Trophy, Red Bordeaux Varietals over £15, for the 2011 Ferguson.
• Wine Spectator: 93 points for the 2021 Ferguson (Tim Fish).

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.lecole.com/, https://www.lecole.com/our-story/, https://www.lecole.com/our-story/family/, https://www.lecole.com/our-story/lecole-team/, https://www.lecole.com/vineyards/, https://www.lecole.com/visit-us/our-schoolhouse/, https://www.lecole.com/our-wines/, https://www.lecole.com/our-wines/red-wines/, https://www.lecole.com/our-wines/white-wines/, https://www.lecole.com/our-wines/winemaking-philosophy/, https://www.lecole.com/wine-family/estate-ferguson-vineyard/, https://www.lecole.com/wine-family/estate-seven-hills-vineyard/, https://www.lecole.com/wine-family/pepper-bridge-vineyard/, https://www.lecole.com/vineyards/sustainability/, https://www.lecole.com/wine-family/columbia-valley/, https://www.lecole.com/wine/2025-estate-luminesce/, https://www.lecole.com/our-wines/ageability/, https://www.lecole.com/woodinville/, https://www.lecole.com/heritage-wine-bar/, https://www.lecole.com/blog/press-release-david-rosenthal/. Secondary sources: Washington State Wine Commission (https://www.washingtonwine.org/lecole-no-41/), Wine Spectator (Tim Fish, 16 December 2025, https://www.winespectator.com/articles/washington-ecole-no-41-winery-new-winemaker) and Decanter (DWWA 2014 International Trophies, last updated 1 July 2015, https://www.decanter.com/decanter-world-wine-awards/latest-coverage/dwwa-2014-international-trophies-red-bordeaux-varietals-over-15-11023/). Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs. Last verified 2026-10-18