Some big news out of Walla Walla as the Echolands Winery group has purchased the Milk Creek Vineyard, a 340-acre site located in the upland area of the Walla Walla AVA at the foothills of the Blue Mountains. The Mill Creek site has a shared ownership structure with Echolands and is operated by the Echolands winery team under the direction of CEO Doug Frost (master sommelier and master of wine) and Winemaker Taylor Oswald. Mill Creek is the second vineyard acquisition for the Echolands group, which also owns Taggart Vineyard, a 50-acre estate in the SeVein. Previously planted to grains and other crops, the Mill Creek property has been owned by the same family since the early 1900s. This is the first time the site will be cultivated as a vineyard. Plans are also underway to build a sustainable winery and tasting room for Echolands at Mill Creek.

From my perspective, this is particularly an intriguing purchase due to the changes in the Walla Walla Valley from global warming as higher elevation sites seem to be a consistent theme for the future.