Saviah Cellars

Saviah Cellars was founded in 2000 by Richard and Anita Funk in the heart of the Walla Walla Valley. Both natives of Montana, the Funks moved to Walla Walla in 1991, and Richard initially worked as an Environmental Health Specialist for the Walla Walla County Health Department, where he became acquainted with local wineries while helping them work through water-quality and wastewater-management issues. The estate name is a direct family reference: Saviah Hutchens was Anita's great-grandmother, a schoolteacher, artist, and author who settled in western Montana in the early 1900s. The estate's first commercial vintage was just 300 cases, and the operation has since grown to roughly 25,000 cases per year. The Funks opened the first tasting room on the Southside of Walla Walla two years after founding the winery, and the operation was named to the Wine and Spirits Magazine Top 100 Wineries list in 2009 and again in 2022. Richard's son Jared Funk has joined the operation as a viticulturist and winemaker, training under his father as the next generation of family stewardship.

• Founded 2000 by Richard and Anita Funk; both natives of Montana, moved to Walla Walla in 1991
• Estate name from Anita's great-grandmother Saviah Hutchens (Montana schoolteacher, artist, and author who settled in western Montana in the early 1900s)
• Richard Funk: self-taught winemaker with chemistry and microbiology background; previously an Environmental Health Specialist for Walla Walla County
• Grew from 300 cases first vintage to approximately 25,000 cases per year; Jared Funk (Richard's son) works in the operation as viticulturist and winemaker

Saviah's estate vineyards anchor its fruit supply. The Funk Estate Vineyard sits at the apex of the alluvial fan in The Rocks District of Walla Walla Valley AVA at roughly 965 feet elevation, planted on the basaltic cobbles and loess that define the sub-appellation; the original five acres of Syrah were planted in 2007, and a further five acres of Cabernet Sauvignon were added in 2017. The site is LIVE Certified and Salmon-Safe Certified. The McClellan Vineyard, planted in 2003, supplies Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, and Petit Verdot, providing the Bordeaux-variety backbone of the estate's red wine program. Three wines are currently produced from the Funk Estate site: the Funk Estate Syrah, the Funk Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, and the Hunt and Gather Syrah and Cabernet blend. The Stones Speak comes from the separate Stones Speak Estate Vineyard. The estate's vineyard sources give Saviah both a distinctive Rocks District Syrah and Cabernet program from the Funk Estate site and a classic Bordeaux-variety program from the McClellan site.

• Funk Estate Vineyard (The Rocks District, ~965 ft elevation): five acres of Syrah planted 2007, five acres of Cabernet Sauvignon added 2017; LIVE and Salmon-Safe Certified
• Funk Estate wines: Funk Estate Syrah, Funk Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, and Hunt and Gather Syrah and Cabernet blend
• McClellan Vineyard (planted 2003): Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Petit Verdot for Bordeaux-style reds
• Estate vineyard sources support both a Rocks District Syrah and Cabernet program and a classic Bordeaux-variety program

Saviah's range is built around two clear tiers. 'The Jack' collection anchors the value tier and is named after Anita's great-grandfather Jack Hutchens, a Montana homesteader and trapper who married Saviah Hutchens at Star Meadows near Whitefish in the early 1900s. The Jack lineup includes a Red Wine, a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Sauvignon Blanc, a Chardonnay, a Riesling, and a Syrah, drawing on Columbia Valley and Walla Walla sources to deliver Washington character at accessible price points. The estate's premium tier is built around the Funk Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, the Funk Estate Syrah, The Stones Speak, and the Hunt and Gather blend (a 60 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 40 percent Syrah cuvée from the Funk Estate site, aged 19 months in French oak with 50 percent new wood). Richard Funk's chemistry-informed cellar approach emphasizes clean fermentations and careful microbiology, and the wines have built a quiet reputation for technical precision alongside the broader stylistic palette of Walla Walla.

• 'The Jack' value tier (named after Jack Hutchens, Anita's great-grandfather): Red Wine, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, Syrah
• Premium estate tier: Funk Estate Syrah, Funk Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, The Stones Speak, Hunt and Gather (60% Cab Sauv / 40% Syrah from Funk Estate site)
• Hunt and Gather aged 19 months in French oak with 50 percent new wood; ~250 cases per vintage
• Cellar approach: chemistry-informed clean fermentations and careful microbiology consistent with Richard Funk's scientific background

The Funk Estate Vineyard sits in The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater, a small sub-appellation of the Walla Walla Valley AVA established on the Oregon side of the state line in 2015 and defined by the ancient alluvial fan of the Walla Walla River. The site soils consist of very deep, excessively drained basaltic alluvium mixed with loess at the surface, dominated by the basalt cobbles for which the appellation is named, with a distinctive geochemical signature including higher iron levels. The Funk Estate sits near the apex of the alluvial fan at approximately 965 feet, one of the warmer positions within the district. Syrah excels on these basalt cobbles and produces the savory, umami, smoked-meat aromatic profile that has become the Rocks District signature variety expression, and the more recent Cabernet Sauvignon planting from 2017 extends the estate's red-wine program into Bordeaux-variety territory from the same distinctive site.

• The Rocks District AVA: established 2015 on the Oregon side of the Walla Walla Valley; defined by the ancient alluvial fan of the Walla Walla River
• Soils: deep, excessively drained basaltic alluvium with loess surface; dominated by basalt cobbles with distinctive geochemistry including higher iron
• Funk Estate sits near the apex of the alluvial fan at ~965 feet, one of the warmer positions in the district
• Syrah is the signature Rocks variety (savory, umami, smoked-meat profile); 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon planting extends program into Bordeaux territory from the same site

Saviah Cellars takes a chemistry-informed approach in the cellar, with Richard Funk's self-taught chemistry-and-microbiology background shaping clean fermentations and careful microbiology. The estate's value-priced 'The Jack' tier has widened distribution and helped introduce many consumers to Walla Walla as a region, while the Funk Estate Vineyard provides Rocks District Syrah and Cabernet at competitive premium-tier price points. The site's Wine and Spirits Top 100 Wineries recognition in both 2009 and 2022 reflects the longevity of the operation's quality across two decades of production. For drinkers tracking Walla Walla's mid-priced workhorses alongside the appellation's distinctive Rocks District Syrah program, Saviah is a useful reference and a quiet reminder that the region's seriousness extends well below the cult-pricing tier.

• Technically rigorous estate with Richard Funk's chemistry-and-microbiology approach informing cellar work
• 'The Jack' value tier has helped introduce many consumers to Walla Walla
• Funk Estate Vineyard provides Rocks District Syrah and Cabernet at competitive premium-tier price points
• Named to Wine and Spirits Top 100 Wineries in both 2009 and 2022; reference for the appellation's mid-priced workhorses and serious value-end programming