On Monday there was some huge news out of the Walla Walla Valley as it was announced that Ryan Pennington was named COO of L’Ecole No. 41. Pennington has a wealth of experience in the Washington wine industry as I have known him for a decade. Pennington joins L’Ecole No 41 after ten years at Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, most recently serving as Vice President, Communications & Corporate Affairs. Prior to Ste. Michelle, Pennington served for five years as Communications Director for the Washington Wine Commission. Speaking today with Pennington he is exceedingly excited for this new challenge. Here is my interview with Ryan Pennington, COO of L’Ecole No. 41 Winery.
OB: How did you decide to join L’Ecole?
RP: It came up fairly quickly. and I wasn’t necessarily looking to leave Ste. Michelle, and it was a hard decision, but this was an opportunity I just simply couldn’t pass up. About five or six years ago, when Debbie Frol retired, Marty Clubb was looking for a replacement and he approached me about the job. At the time my kids were much younger and relocation to Walla Walla wasn’t an option. When it came up again, the process went quickly, and I think this is the right move for me at the right time. I am going to be based in Walla Walla and I will do a lot of back and forth to Seattle this year, which gives us time to figure out a permanent arrangement. I have always had such respect for Marty and for L’Ecole. There are so few brands in Washington that have this pedigree but also this platform to build from, and I really believe that this brand can be a real flagship for Walla Walla and Washington — and we can raise the bar even more.
OB: Can you talk about your experience at Ste. Michelle and the value that brings value to L’Ecole?
RP: I had the great fortune of being involved in a lot of aspects of the Ste. Michelle business. On the brand side and all across the portfolio from the behemoth of Chateau Ste. Michelle to the boutique of Col Solare, and even on the import side. And then functionally in marketing, PR, brand strategy, and trade relations. I like to think that I earned my MBA in Washington wine from the University of Ste. Michelle. With L’Ecole’s portfolio, they have everything from 20 dollar Chenin Blanc to 70 dollar Ferguson Vineyard Red Wine. I am familiar with managing a broad portfolio, and L’Ecole is already in 49 states and 11 different countries.
OB: How do you get L’Ecole more involved in international markets?
RP: Being in 11 international markets now is a good achievement, but it is a big world and we have great opportunity. I think what we need to do is focus on Washington, Walla Walla, and L’Ecole at that ultra- premium level and putting our best wines out there on the world stage and competing on quality and character and not competing on price. Around the world there are a lot of good wines from Spain, Italy and France that we can’t compete with on with price. But nobody can compete with our terroir and the quality that we can express from that terroir. I think we can complete with the best wines in the world. Now it is just a matter of getting out there and making the effort to work these markets and sell both the region and the brand.
OB: Can you share some seminal moments that you have had with L’Ecole?
RP: I feel so thrilled at the potential from Ferguson Vineyard. I think that wine is one of the most distinctive wines from Washington and I think that it already is and yet still can be an even greater benchmark for what’s possible from Washington. I am excited about leading the brand from the top, and this wine has such intense fractured basalt character and beautiful minerality. I love Merlot and I think that the quality of Merlot from L’Ecole matches the great wines of Bordeaux and Bolgheri. I have had the chance to taste some of the older wines from the L’Ecole library which showed such longevity and were just outstanding.
OB: L’Ecole has been synonymous with value just as many of the wines that you worked with at Chateau Ste. Michelle. Can you talk about working with one of the great value brands on the west coast, the entry level wines by L’Ecole?
RP: L’Ecole is able to deliver some of the best wines at great prices. Marty is looking at vineyard sourcing for those wines and we want to get the best fruit to express Washington at that introductory level. We will continue to focus on the quality and the expression of those wines even at that entry level. The broad sourcing and scale allows us to maintain the approachable price point. Ste. Michelle does this, as well, but I want to put a finer point on it at L’Ecole, building the winery at the top of the portfolio. The top wines are always going to be limited in quantity, but thinking about Ferguson, Apogee, and Perigee, I want to help make sure that those are absolutely the best that they can be each year. That will reinforce the quality that we are able to reinforce for our Columbia Valley wines, as well. I never want to be distracted by chasing volume on the Columbia Valley wines. And I am so fortunate that L’Ecole has a 40 year history of producing amazing wines.