Reynvaan Family Vineyards

Reynvaan Family Vineyards was established in 2004 when Mike Reynvaan, a Seattle attorney with a longstanding interest in wine, and his wife Gale acquired a 37-acre parcel of land on Cottonwood Road at the base of the Blue Mountains in the Walla Walla Valley. What began as a personal project quickly evolved into a serious estate, with the Reynvaans planting the Foothills Vineyard primarily to Rhône varieties and recruiting their son Matt as winemaker. The estate's focus on Rhône-style reds and whites from Walla Walla, rather than the Bordeaux-leaning Cabernet and Merlot programs that dominate the appellation, gave the project a distinctive identity from the outset.

• Established 2004 by Mike (Seattle attorney) and Gale Reynvaan; original 37-acre Foothills Vineyard at the base of the Blue Mountains
• Son Matt Reynvaan serves as winemaker and has led the cellar from early years
• Single-grape-family focus on Rhône varieties unusual within Bordeaux-dominant Walla Walla Valley
• Foothills Vineyard sits on Walla Walla Valley AVA's Washington side at the base of the Blue Mountains

Reynvaan works two primary vineyard sources, each with a distinct terroir signature. The Foothills Vineyard, the original 2004 site, sits at the base of the Blue Mountains in the Washington portion of the Walla Walla Valley AVA, with elevation, cooler nights, and well-drained soils that favor Syrah, Grenache, and Viognier. The second site, the 'In The Rocks' Vineyard in Milton-Freewater, Oregon, sits in the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA, a sub-AVA of the Walla Walla Valley defined by ancient Missoula Flood basalt cobblestone soils. The Rocks vineyard is a striking visual: rather than soil with rocks scattered through it, the surface is essentially uniform fist-sized cobblestone, with no visible soil at all, and vine roots push through the rock fissures to reach the underlying minerals. This geology produces the savory, smoky, distinctly meaty Syrah profile the Rocks District has become famous for.

• Foothills Vineyard: Washington side of Walla Walla Valley AVA at the base of the Blue Mountains; cooler-nights site favoring Rhône varieties
• 'In The Rocks' Vineyard: Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA on the Oregon side of the state line
• Rocks District soils are ancient Missoula Flood basalt cobblestone, with no visible soil between the rocks
• The Stonessence Syrah from 'In The Rocks' shows the savory, smoky, meaty profile typical of the sub-AVA

Reynvaan's Rhône-focused range covers Syrah, Grenache, Viognier, and small quantities of Mourvèdre and other Rhône varieties, all sourced from the two estate vineyards. The two flagship Syrahs are 'In The Rocks' from the Rocks District and 'The Classic' from Foothills, providing a direct comparison between Washington-side foothills Syrah and Oregon-side cobblestone Syrah from a single producer. The Stonessence designation marks the most distinctive Rocks District bottlings. Cellar work follows the Walla Walla Rhône school: gentle handling, partial whole-cluster fermentation in selected lots, and aging in French oak with measured new-barrel use. The wines have built one of the most aggressive Washington allocation lists, with bottles trading on the secondary market at multiples of release pricing.

• Range: Syrah, Grenache, Viognier, and small quantities of other Rhône varieties from the two estate vineyards
• Flagship Syrahs: 'In The Rocks' (Rocks District, Oregon) and 'The Classic' (Foothills, Washington)
• Stonessence designation marks the most distinctive Rocks District bottlings
• Cellar approach: gentle handling, partial whole-cluster fermentation, aging in French oak with measured new-barrel use

Reynvaan is one of the central producers in the modern Washington Rhône conversation, alongside Cayuse, Cayuse-spinoff Horsepower, and No Girls. The estate's split between Washington-side Foothills and Oregon-side Rocks District vineyards gives drinkers a single-producer cross-section of the Walla Walla Valley AVA's geological diversity, and the In The Rocks Syrah has become one of the bottles that defines the Rocks District's distinctive savory, smoky Syrah profile. The estate operates at small commercial scale relative to its critical reputation, which has driven the heavy allocation and secondary market activity that surrounds the wines today.

• Central producer in the modern Washington Rhône conversation alongside Cayuse, Horsepower, and No Girls
• Single-producer cross-section of Walla Walla Valley's Washington and Oregon-side terroirs
• In The Rocks Syrah is a defining bottle of the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA
• Heavy allocation and secondary market activity reflect the small commercial scale relative to critical reputation