Sleight of Hand Cellars

Sleight of Hand Cellars was founded in 2007 by Trey Busch with Jerry and Sandy Solomon, a married couple. The partnership traces back to a chance meeting at the 2002 Sun Valley Wine Auction trade tasting, where Busch (then a young winemaker working in Walla Walla) met the Solomons over wine. The connection developed into a friendship anchored by annual wine dinners in Sun Valley over the next several years. Jerry Solomon had spent thirty years as a real estate attorney before turning toward wine; Sandy Solomon brought hospitality and event sensibility to the partnership and takes a hands-on role on the Magician's Assistant Rose. In 2006 the Solomons visited Walla Walla on Busch's invitation; within twenty-four hours the trio had struck a deal to start a winery together. Sleight of Hand released its first wines in 2007. The producer has built its identity around a blend of Walla Walla wine credibility and a distinctive brand voice rooted in music, magic, and a sense of fun that the founders trace back to those early Sun Valley dinners.

• Founded 2007 by Trey Busch with Jerry Solomon and Sandy Solomon (Solomons a married couple)
• Origin point: 2002 Sun Valley Wine Auction trade tasting; friendship developed through annual Sun Valley wine dinners 2002 to 2006
• 2006 Walla Walla visit by the Solomons sealed the partnership; deal struck in under 24 hours
• Jerry Solomon: co-owner and Director of Winemaking, former 30-year real estate attorney; Sandy Solomon: hospitality and events side of the partnership, hands-on with the Magician's Assistant Rose

Trey Busch moved to Seattle in 1992 and worked for Nordstrom for eight years before shifting careers into wine. In 2000 he relocated to Walla Walla and began his crush experience under the late Eric Dunham of Dunham Cellars, an apprenticeship that has shaped a generation of Walla Walla winemakers. The Basel family hired Busch as the inaugural winemaker for their new Basel Cellars project starting with the 2001 vintage; he ran the Basel program for five vintages and built a reputation for ambitious Bordeaux varietal work. By 2007 he was ready for his own project, and the partnership with the Solomons gave him the structure to launch Sleight of Hand. Busch leads winemaking and splits sales and marketing travel with Jerry Solomon. Keith Johnson joined as production winemaker in 2011 and oversees the affiliated Devium label; Baily Weisinger holds an enology degree and works as assistant winemaker.

• 1992 to 2000: Trey Busch in Seattle working for Nordstrom (eight years)
• 2000: relocated to Walla Walla; first crush under Eric Dunham at Dunham Cellars
• 2001 to 2006: inaugural winemaker at Basel Cellars (five vintages); built reputation for Bordeaux varietal work
• 2007 onward: Sleight of Hand winemaker; Keith Johnson joined 2011 as production winemaker and Devium label lead; Baily Weisinger assistant winemaker

The producer name comes from Trey Busch's favorite Pearl Jam song, Sleight of Hand, on the band's 2000 album Binaural. The song's hold on Busch and the bigger idea of breaking out of a routine resonated with all three founders during the early conversations about starting a winery. Once the name was set, the visual identity followed naturally: bottle labels reference vintage 1920s and 1930s magic show posters, and individual cuvees take names from the language of stage magic. The flagship Riesling is The Magician, the flagship Syrah is Levitation, the top Bordeaux blend is The Conjurer, the mid-range red is The Spellbinder, the rose is The Magician's Assistant. The aesthetic gives Sleight of Hand a distinct presence on a Walla Walla shelf alongside the family-name and family-crest aesthetics of Leonetti Cellar, Woodward Canyon, and L'Ecole Numero 41, and it sits parallel to other bold Washington brand identities like K Vintners and Charles Smith Wines that emerged in the same era.

• Producer name: Trey Busch's favorite Pearl Jam song, Sleight of Hand, from the band's 2000 album Binaural
• Visual identity: vintage 1920s and 1930s magic show posters; cuvee names drawn from stage magic vocabulary
• Cuvee naming examples: The Magician (Riesling), Levitation (Syrah), The Conjurer (Bordeaux blend), The Spellbinder, The Magician's Assistant (Rose)
• Aesthetic contrast within Walla Walla: distinct from family-name aesthetics of Leonetti, Woodward Canyon, and L'Ecole; parallel to bold Washington brand voices like K Vintners and Charles Smith Wines

The portfolio bridges Washington's two great red traditions and stakes a real claim on serious Riesling. The Magician is a 100% Riesling from Evergreen Vineyard in the Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley AVA; the bottling shows the cool-climate Ancient Lakes register of stone fruit, citrus, and crisp acidity with around 10 grams per liter residual sugar in recent vintages. Levitation is a 100% Syrah and made Wine Spectator's Top 100 list in 2018; a Levitation Reserve Syrah sits at the top of the Syrah program. The Conjurer is a Bordeaux blend whose composition shifts vintage by vintage; the 2019 was 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Cabernet Franc, and 12% Merlot, while the 2013 was 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Cabernet Franc, and 15% Merlot. The Spellbinder, a mid-range glass-pour favorite, is a Bordeaux-style blend (a recent vintage ran 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Cabernet Franc, 17% Merlot, and 3% Petit Verdot). The Magician's Assistant is the rose program, and Sandy Solomon takes a hands-on role in its production.

• The Magician: 100% Riesling from Evergreen Vineyard (Ancient Lakes of Columbia Valley AVA); cool-climate stone fruit and citrus with around 10 g/L residual sugar
• Levitation: 100% Syrah; Wine Spectator Top 100 in 2018; Levitation Reserve Syrah at the top of the Syrah lineup
• The Conjurer: Bordeaux blend (vintage-variable Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot); 2019 was 46% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Cabernet Franc, 12% Merlot
• The Spellbinder: Bordeaux-style blend (recent vintage 49% Cabernet Sauvignon, 31% Cabernet Franc, 17% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot); The Magician's Assistant Rose overseen by Sandy Solomon

Fruit comes from a mix of marquee Washington sites plus several estate vineyards. StoneyVine, an estate vineyard in the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater, anchors the estate program; other standouts on the sourcing list include Upland on Snipes Mountain, WeatherEye on Red Mountain, and Lewis in Yakima Valley, and the Badlands bottling draws from Borderlands Vineyard in the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA. The estate vineyards span Washington and include Blue Mountain Vineyard in the Walla Walla foothills and a block at Phinny Hill in the Horse Heaven Hills. The Sleight of Hand tasting room sits on the Southside corridor at 1959 JB George Road, in the cluster of producers that has built up south of town since the early 2000s. Distribution combines a robust mailing list with tasting-room sales and broader wholesale presence; the bottlings have appeared on Top 100 lists from Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, Wine and Spirits, and Jeb Dunnuck.

• Marquee sources: StoneyVine (estate, Rocks District of Milton-Freewater), Upland (Snipes Mountain), WeatherEye (Red Mountain), Lewis (Yakima Valley); Borderlands (Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA) for the Badlands bottling
• Estate vineyards across Washington, including Blue Mountain (Walla Walla foothills), StoneyVine (Rocks District), and a block at Phinny Hill (Horse Heaven Hills), supplement contracted fruit
• Tasting room: Southside Walla Walla corridor at 1959 JB George Road; cluster of producers that built up south of town from the early 2000s onward
• Distribution: mailing list, tasting-room sales, broader wholesale; Top 100 recognition from Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, Wine and Spirits, and Jeb Dunnuck