Woodward Canyon Winery

Rick Small was raised in an Eastern Washington wheat farming family and earned a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture at Washington State University, where he also studied in the School of Architecture, before returning to Walla Walla and the family business. Beginning in the mid-1970s he developed a personal interest in winemaking; he and Gary Figgins began fermenting purchased grapes in their garages in the 1970s and ended up with Woodward Canyon and Leonetti, respectively. In 1977 Rick began planting vines on former wheat ground on the family farm in Woodward Canyon, and he and Darcey Fugman-Small founded Woodward Canyon Winery in 1981. The winery is named for the canyon where Rick's family has farmed for generations and where the Woodward Canyon Estate Vineyard is now located. As the second winery in the Walla Walla Valley, Woodward Canyon and the Smalls were instrumental in the federal approval of the Walla Walla Valley appellation in 1984. Wine Spectator credits Figgins and Small with inspiring L'Ecole No. 41. The family has farmed the land for four generations, and the winery has been family-owned and operated since its founding; Rick and Darcey's children, Jordan and Sager, are co-owners and board members alongside their parents.

• 1977: Rick Small began planting vines on former wheat ground on the family farm in Woodward Canyon.
• 1981: Rick Small and Darcey Fugman-Small founded Woodward Canyon Winery, the second winery in the Walla Walla Valley.
• 1984: federal approval of the Walla Walla Valley appellation; Rick Small was then President of the Walla Walla Valley Wine Growers Association.
• Family-owned and operated since 1981; Jordan and Sager Small are co-owners and board members alongside their parents.

Rick Small is Founding Winemaker and co-owner and Darcey Fugman-Small is Founder and co-owner. Rick is essentially a self-taught winemaker; since Kevin Mott's employment as winemaker in 2003, he has turned his primary attention to hands-on oversight of viticulture at the Woodward Canyon Estate Vineyard and in contracted vineyards. He was President of the Walla Walla Valley Wine Growers Association when the Walla Walla Valley appellation was approved in 1984, is a former Chair member of the Washington Wine Commission, and serves on the Walla Walla Community College Viticulture and Enology Advisory Committee. Darcey worked for Walla Walla County for twenty-two years as a planner and Planning Director before taking the position of General Manager at Woodward Canyon in 2000. Their daughter Jordan Small joined the team in 2013 as Director of Direct to Consumer Sales and was General Manager from 2021 to 2026; she remains a co-owner and board member. Their son Sager Small, who managed vineyard operations alongside his father, is co-owner and Director of Education, and the estate vineyard is managed in house by Sager Small and Juan Esparza. Kathy Byrd is General Manager and Vice President, and Michelle Aichele is Director of Operations. In 2025 Kevin Mott was winemaker and one of the co-owners; Marcus Rafanelli, who previously spent six years leading the winemaking team at L'Ecole No. 41, is now winemaker, and Rafa Sifuentes, Cellar Master for 16 years, has been Assistant Winemaker since 2018.

• Co-owners (October 2026): Rick Small (Founding Winemaker), Darcey Fugman-Small (Founder), Sager Small (Director of Education) and Jordan Small (General Manager 2021 to 2026).
• Management: Kathy Byrd, General Manager and Vice President; Michelle Aichele, Director of Operations.
• Winemaking: Marcus Rafanelli, Winemaker; Rafa Sifuentes, Assistant Winemaker since 2018; Kevin Mott was employed as winemaker in 2003 and held the role in 2025.
• Rick Small is a former Chair member of the Washington Wine Commission and serves on the Walla Walla Community College Viticulture and Enology Advisory Committee.

The Woodward Canyon Estate Vineyard was planted in 1977 on what was the Small family's fourth-generation dryland wheat farm. It is the westernmost vineyard in the Walla Walla Valley AVA, on family land in Lowden roughly 15 miles west of Walla Walla, and lies about three and a half miles northwest of the winery off Woodward Canyon Road. The vineyard rests within a 320-acre farmstead containing 35 planted acres and several additional acres of greenbelts, which support native species such as Western Juniper, Ponderosa Pine, Western Sagebrush and Arrowleaf Balsamroot. It has a north-south aspect, slopes of up to 15 to 18% in places and an elevation of 750 to 850 feet, on Ritzville silt loam over fractured basalt, and is LIVE and Salmon-Safe certified. Estate varieties are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Barbera, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec and Syrah. Chardonnay was the first variety planted; the Chardonnay blends an old-vines block planted in 1978 with a newer block planted in 2011. The Clone 4 Cabernet Sauvignon was planted in 2003 on a terraced hillside, from plant material originally sourced from Mendoza, Argentina.

• Planted in 1977; 35 planted acres within a 320-acre farmstead; the westernmost vineyard in the Walla Walla Valley AVA.
• Elevation 750 to 850 feet; Ritzville silt loam over fractured basalt; LIVE and Salmon-Safe certified.
• Chardonnay was the first variety planted; the old-vines Chardonnay block dates from 1978.

Beyond estate fruit, Woodward Canyon has kept long-standing partnerships with Columbia Valley growers since its early vintages. Champoux Vineyard, above the Columbia River near Alderdale in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA, was founded in 1972 by Don Mercer and originally called Mercer Ranch Vineyards; in 1996 Paul and Judy Champoux, together with Woodward Canyon, Powers Winery, Quilceda Creek Winery and Andrew Will Winery, purchased it from the Mercers. The vineyard covers 187 acres, its ownership partners include Woodward Canyon, Andrew Will Winery, Powers Winery and Quilceda Creek Winery, and it is managed by Dan Nickolaus; the original Cabernet Sauvignon plantings of its Block One are one of the key components of the Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon. Sagemoor Vineyards was founded in 1968 by Alec Bayless. Rick Small began using Sagemoor fruit in his home winemaking days, and 1972 plantings in specific rows of Blocks 3 and 9 of Sagemoor Vineyard still produce Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon. Weinbau Vineyard, established in 1981 in the Wahluke Slope AVA about 12 miles east of Mattawa, is, like Sagemoor Vineyard, managed by Sagemoor Vineyards.

• Champoux Vineyard (Horse Heaven Hills AVA): founded in 1972 as Mercer Ranch Vineyards; Woodward Canyon has been a partner since the 1996 purchase.
• Sagemoor Vineyard (Columbia Valley AVA): 1972 plantings in Blocks 3 and 9 supply the Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon.
• Weinbau Vineyard (Wahluke Slope AVA): established in 1981; managed by Sagemoor Vineyards.

The Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon began in 1992 with the intent to showcase the finest Cabernet Sauvignon in Washington State and has since become the winery's flagship; each year the label features the work of a different West Coast artist, and the average vine age for this wine is approximately 35 to 40 years. The 2022 Artist Series #31 carries 'Trinity at Daybreak' by Walla Walla artist Mary Crane Nutter; it is 98% Cabernet Sauvignon from the Weinbau, Sagemoor and Woodward Canyon Estate vineyards, aged 20 months in 92% new French and Hungarian oak, with 1,342 cases made. The Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon began as the Dedication Series with the founding of the winery in 1981; for the first twenty-five years the label featured a different pioneer of the Walla Walla Valley each year, and it has since featured A.P. Woodward, for whom Woodward Canyon is named. It is sourced primarily from the Champoux and Sagemoor vineyards; the 2022 drew on the Sagemoor, Weinbau and Woodward Canyon Estate vineyards, is 93% Cabernet Sauvignon with 4% Malbec and 3% Petit Verdot, and spent 23 months in 100% new French barrels, with 637 cases made. The 2024 Washington State Chardonnay comes from the Woodward Canyon Estate Vineyard; it is whole-cluster pressed and barrel fermented for eight months in French oak, 10% new. The current range also includes an Estate Sauvignon Blanc, Estate Merlot, Estate Cabernet Franc, Estate Petit Verdot, an Estate Grenache-Mourvèdre-Syrah-Malbec, Estate Clone 4 and Clone 191 Cabernet Sauvignons and the Estate Reserve Red Wine, along with a Washington State Barbera and a Non-Vintage Red Wine. The 1987 Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley was No. 10 on Wine Spectator's Top 10 Wines of 1990, at 95 points.

• Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon: since 1992 and now the flagship; a different West Coast artist on each year's label.
• Old Vines Cabernet Sauvignon: since 1981, first as the Dedication Series; sourced primarily from the Champoux and Sagemoor vineyards.
• Washington State Chardonnay (2024): estate fruit, whole-cluster pressed, barrel fermented eight months in French oak, 10% new.
• 1987 Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley: No. 10 on Wine Spectator's Top 10 Wines of 1990, at 95 points.

Woodward Canyon describes its range as 'wines defined by elegance, structure and a sense of place,' and states that from the outset 'quality would always take precedence over quantity.' The winery presents its Chardonnay as having 'vibrant aromas with understated oak, inspired by the Grand Crus of Burgundy.' Of the estate, Rick Small has said: 'When my kids come out, I'm going to leave this soil more alive than when I got this from my dad.'

The tasting room is at 11920 Old Hwy 12 in Lowden and is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm, closed on some major holidays. It occupies an 1870s farmhouse, moved twice, that served as the residence for the superintendent and teacher of the Lowden schoolhouse next door; it was acquired and refurbished as the tasting room in 2000. The Reserve House was built on the property in 2008 and houses space for private tastings and winemaker dinners.

• Tasting room: 11920 Old Hwy 12, Lowden; open daily 10 am to 5 pm.
• An 1870s farmhouse, refurbished as the tasting room in 2000; the Reserve House followed in 2008.

Primary sources (producer's own site and storefront): https://woodwardcanyon.com/, https://woodwardcanyon.com/about-us/, https://woodwardcanyon.com/our-team/, https://woodwardcanyon.com/vineyard/, https://woodwardcanyon.com/about-our-old-vines/, https://woodwardcanyon.com/about-our-artist-series/, https://woodwardcanyon.com/visit-us/, https://woodwardcanyon.com/trade-media/, https://woodwardcanyon.orderport.net/wines/our-wines, and the winery's documents (PDF): https://woodwardcanyon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2025-Fact-Sheet.pdf, https://woodwardcanyon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/2022-Old-Vines-Cab-Sauv.pdf, https://woodwardcanyon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/2022-Artist-Series-Cab-Sauv.pdf, https://woodwardcanyon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/2024-WA-State-Chardonnay.pdf, https://woodwardcanyon.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Woodward-Canyon-Celebrates-40th-Anniversary.pdf. Secondary sources: Washington State Wine Commission (https://www.washingtonwine.org/alumni-series-sager-small/) and Wine Spectator (https://www.winespectator.com/articles/from-wheat-to-wine-1839, https://www.winespectator.com/articles/the-top-10-wines-of-1990-1131). Last verified 2026-10-18. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.