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The land where their vineyard is located was part of the ex-pansive wheat farm that had be-longed to Sheri’s family for over 100 years. When the Derbys no-ticed that the other few winer-ies were doing well, they decid-ed to turn 127 acres of their exten-sive wheat fields into a vineyard.

“Wheat is a commodity crop—you can’t say ‘this wheat makes good pasta.’ Grapes are a specialty crop,” said Dean Derby.

S h e p h e r d agrees with Der-by’s opinion that wine is more vend-ible than grain.

“The mon-ey is really in the winery, in a good name and market-ing your wine,” Shepherd said.

H o w e v e r , Derby would ar-gue that the wine speaks for itself.

“Tourism has increased primar-ily because of the premium wines be-ing produced here,” he said. “The tast-ing-rooms have just made it more c o n v e n i e n t . ”

In order to es-tablish a winery in the area, however, one must be able to pay for water rights. Vineyards must be irrigated, but there is not enough wa-ter in the area to be shared freely. This necessity immedi-ately sets up an eco-nomic barrier for aspiring vintners.

“Water is be-coming scarcer and scarcer,” said Shep-herd. “If there isn’t enough water to go around, someone isn’t going to get it.”

Addit ionally, harvesting grapes is very labor inten-sive. And accord-ing to Derby, there is not enough local labor to fill the demand, so workers are brought in. When asked if this introduction of more low income laborers affect-ed economic stratification in Wal-la Walla, Derby explained the sit-uation in the terms of capitalism.

“The key to all successful things is a free market,” said Der-by. “If a crop is doing well, but you need more people, you im-port them. That’s the way things go in this country. There’s always social problems in that because they’re not local and don’t have the same values, but it’s needed. If the economy wants to stay stagnant, then we won’t bring people in.”

And so it goes for many la-bor-intensive crops all over the country. Not only is wine a source of discussion for its tourism ben-efits, but also for its possible ef-fects on social class and econom-ic status in the city. Whether or not the industry is seen as good or bad overall, it is agreed upon that it has not eclipsed the wheat industry.

Said Shepherd, “Wine gets a lot of attention, but I don’t think it’s displaced wheat culture.”

Like wheat, onions have been a defining crop of Walla Walla for over 100 years since the first on-ion seeds were introduced to the area; however, the quality of onions in Walla Walla have come a long way and now make Walla Walla sweet onions truly a specialty item.

Whitman College Admissions

tries to show off Walla Walla’s ex-ceptional onions by delivering an entire box of Walla Walla sweet onions to each newly admitted stu-dent who will be attending Whit-man in the following academic year.

“In addition to being a nice wel-come gift and gesture, it was a way to highlight Walla Walla and cel-ebrate the famous sweet onion,”

said Dean of Admission and Fi-nancial Aid Tony Cabasco. “Peo-ple really enjoy receiving it, and our office receives many thank you notes each summer,” he said.

These onions are provided by Locati Farms, a local family farm that has worked hard to create these exceptional onions since the onion’s seed first came to the Walla Wal-la Valley in 1905. But since then, the onions have come a long way.

“Back 25 years ago, on-ions were just onions; sweet on-ions never really had a catego-ry in the retail market place, and now, they are a category,” said Mi-chael Locati of Locati Farms.

Locati Farms works hard to bring in innovative techniques that most onion farmers and pack-ers do not use. This has devel-oped an entirely new kind of onion.

Locati Farm was the first farm to integrate farming and packing rather than having the packers sep-arate from the farmers. This en-sures that the onions are packed in the ideal conditions to produce more sugars and the unique sweetness of the Walla Walla sweet onions.

There is a colossal amount of work that goes into grow-ing and producing Walla Wal-la sweet onions in order to make these onions an economically via-ble commodity in today’s economy.

“I just don’t know where it’s going to go. It’s a tough business to be in. Economically, there’s a

lot of money at risk,” Locati said.The risk lies in the strenuous

work and time put into these on-ions, as the farmers of the Wal-la Walla sweet onions do every-thing by hand. In contrast, other large farming corporations that pro-vide for grocery stores may use pes-ticides to aid the onions in a quick-er growing process and use ma-

chinery for packing. These prac-tices provide onions that are much cheaper, and therefore more ac-cessible, to many Americans.

Locati, however, still believes the Walla Walla sweet onion can per-

severe and succeed, with more going for it than other onions. People seem to still appreciate the unique, amaz-ing taste of a Walla Walla sweet on-ion, and therefore still may choose them over a common yellow onion.

Andy Broda from Southern California has specifically sought out the sweet Walla Walla onions since 1970 when she was introduced

to them by a co-worker from Seattle.“I was impressed and hooked

on them once I had some,” said Bro-da. “I have Walla Wallas shipped to me every year since then. Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Broda even managed to con-vert her Vidalia onion loving sister and her husband from Southern Car-olina to Walla Walla Sweets lovers.

“They tell others about them, and since they can’t get them in Southern Carolina, they just have to listen to my sister rave about the sweetness of them,” said Broda.

In contrast to the long-lasting onion, a few crops have left the Wal-la Walla Valley, in-itially putting strain on the economy.

Across from the current Wal-la Walla Farm-er’s Co-Op used to be a cannery. They processed as-paragus and spin-ach locally accord-ing to the Co-Op’s Agronomy manag-er, Stacy Beckman.

“It has taken a lot of that market away from us here . . . but we have been able to rebound from that and put in different crops that can fill that void,” said Beckman.

Beckman men-tioned that other crops such as soy-beans, safflow-er and many oth-er types of beans have been helped sustain the market.

Walla Wal-la is capable of sus-taining its economy through a diverse array of crops, so that even with small setbacks, the sweet onion has proven to be a large asset to the economy. Ul-timately, it is well worth the farm-ers’, like Locati, la-bor and brain pow-er that goes into constantly mak-ing the onion better.

Although tour-ism does seem to spike from wine in the Wal-la Walla valley, the onion has been known to hold its

own, and is an ever-present de-fining characteristic of our town.

“You can talk to people across the state and they’ll travel to Walla Walla to pick up their bag of Walla Walla Sweet onions,” said Beckman.

Wheat has been a staple crop in the Walla Walla Valley for more than 100 years. The Sweet Onion and the burgeoning wine industry, however, are two of Walla Walla’s most visible agricultural commodities be-cause they draw tourism to the region. The impact of these industries is multilayered: sustaining a diverse economy, reinvigorating the community and remaining a source of pride for locals. Photo by Bergman

Many farms in the area convert wheat land to vineyards in order to take advantage of lucerative opportunities in the growing wine industry. Beresan Winery, owned by the Waliser Family, is an Estate Winery in the Walla Walla Valley appellation. Today, wheat and wine co-exist within the complex Valley economy. Photo by Bergman

from ECONOMY, page 1

WINE BUZZ SUSTAINSVALLEY ECONOMY

FROM PAGE 1

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For senior economics major Phuong Pham, Washington wine country doesn’t just

serve as a backdrop to her liberal arts education; it has also served her an opportunity for work while pursuing her own interest in wine.

Pham currently works at the tasting room for Charles Smith Wines (35 S Spokane St).

“I never paid attention to wine before my [freshman] year,” she said. “In fact, Carlo Rossi was actually my first wine, but I started to branch out because I was interested in it and started researching, and drinking more wines. Then, last year, I had a housemate who was really into wine, and she introduced me to a lot of the Walla Walla wines here in town.”

Then, at the end of last July, Charles Smith Wines hired Pham, thanks, in part, to a bit of serendipity.

“I had an internship in Canada that didn’t go so well, so I decided to come back to Walla Walla and try to find a job . . . and I got involved with Charles [of Charles Smith Wines] through some contacts I had developed as an advertising associate for the Pio,” she said.

Through her work, Pham has been able to cultivate a sense of the local wine community.

“The stereotypical ideas of wine people being snobbish— I don’t think it’s like that at all in Walla Walla . . . We are all very connected to all of the restaurants and the events that come through town, and I’ve learned that everyone knows everyone. There really is no animosity between businesses. It’s more about [wineries] focusing on their own brand, while at the same time coming together to make Walla Walla wine more prominent.”

“It’s where you will meet so many different types of people from every part of the world,” she said speaking about her work in the tasting room.

“More often than not, these people are the ones who love wine and the ones who love talking about wine. You have to love people in order to work in the wine industry.”

Pham’s experience of working with customers also speaks to the vitality of Walla Walla’s wine scene.

“It amazes me every single day I work in the tasting room,” she said, “and I find people from Scandinavia and Latin America, and here we are in a tiny little town in the middle of nowhere.”

Yet while the wine industry is a boom to Walla Walla’s economy, it can also be beneficial to Whitman students.

“Within the Whitman community, the wine industry helps expose us to Walla Walla, and it creates a lot of part-time jobs for students. I know a lot of Whitman graduates who still work in the wine industry because they got a part-time job [at a winery] in college,” she said.

And in regards to students trying to pursue an interest in wine on a non-professional basis, Pham also had some advice.

“Wine is just booze— just drink it! Don’t think that you have to smell a certain smell or anything, because when you first start out, you probably can’t smell anything [but the alcohol] . . . Wine is an acquired taste, and it will take you a while to actually smell anything, but in the meantime, just think of it as booze and nothing out of the ordinary,” said Pham, partially quoting one of Charles Smith Wines’ slogans.

At the end of a follow-up email interview, Pham shared what she’s currently sipping on.

“I am a cab-girl [meaning Cabernet Sauvignon],” she wrote, “and Charles made a killer Shield 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon. As for white, my favorite for this past year has been Cadaretta’s 2008 Cabernet Blanc/Semillon Blend. [And] for the sweet tooth and more affordable wine, [I would recommend] Long Shadow 2010 ‘Leap Poet’ Riesling.”

Founded in 1983, L’Ecole No 41 is one of the oldest wineries in the Walla Walla Valley. The family-owned winery is located in the historic Frenchtown School in Lowden.

Next year will be the 30th anniversary of L’Ecole. Marty and Megan Clubb, the current owners of L’Ecole, have built on what Megan’s parents, Jean and Baker Ferguson, set in place. Jean Ferguson was L’Ecole’s first winemaker, while Baker’s primary role was the varietal selection, marketing and sales.

L’Ecole has a strong connection to Whitman. Baker Ferguson was a student, faculty member, a longtime governing board member and Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Megan also attended Whitman, as did she and Marty’s son Riley who graduated in 2009. L’Ecole even released L’Erudite, or the scholar; a special 2008 release of a wine honoring family connections to Whitman and with the profits going directly to the Whitman Institute for Scholastic Enrichment.

Named one of Wine Spirits Magazine’s top 100 wineries 10 years in a row,

L’Ecole has truly become a unique Walla Walla Valley destination.

“When people come to visit, people stop on the way in and they stop on the way out,” said Marty Clubb, Owner and Managing Winemaker. “We really built our name—built a destination.”

Yet, L’Ecole winery is much more than just rave reviews in wine magazines. As one of the pioneering wineries in the region, it has helped build the wine industry, while promoting community and sustainability.

The job description of a winery owner encompasses a wide array of tasks.

“Every day is different,” said Clubb. “We grow grapes. So in some sense, we’re a farmer. . . but of something that ultimately turns into a bottle of wine.”

Clubb is also a winemaker, which entails everything that goes into production, making sure the wines are stable, balanced and will have longevity. He is also a marketer and a purveyor of wine.

“You’re building a brand,” said Clubb. “You’re building an identity for your winery, and that comes with patience, perseverance and consistency.”

The work depends on the day and the season—slower in the winter, and busy during the spring, following not only the life cycle of the wines, but also the life cycle of the barrel and the bottling.

Beyond this, Clubb and his team have created an artisan winery that promotes environmental sustainability.

As a brick and mortar winery, L’Ecole is considered traditionalist in that they grow all their own fruit and produce and bottle and sell all their own wine. Clubb notes that in today’s increasing complex economy, their approach is also more complex but ultimately important.

“When we say brick and mortar, what me mean is come see us,” he said. “Because we’re engaged in growing our fruit, we grow for the quality we want to make. When you control every aspect of what ultimately lands in the bottle, you become the artist.”

L’Ecole competes in the national market because it comes from a unique valley with a distinct cultural identity, which produces family-owned artisan brands.

This control extends towards efforts to farm and make wine sustainable. The climate of eastern Washington is distinctive because it’s relatively dry, has low rainfall and has harder winters. This climate reduces both mildew problems and pest pressures. Because of this there has been an effort in the wine industry to farm organically and bio-dynamically.

Clubb notes that L’Ecole uses organic practices and composts in the vineyards to create a healthier environment for the vines that result in less human input. Sustainability also expands to the winery itself with recycling programs.

L’Ecole is part of Vinea, the wine growers’ sustainable trust, which includes 75 percent of the vineyards in Walla Walla, and most of the key wineries.

“I won’t even say that we’re at the forefront of this,” said Clubb. “There are others such as Jean-Francois at Pepper Bridge that really push [sustainability.] But we are an advocate for the program.”

L’Ecole’s Walla Walla wines now highlight their sustainable efforts on the label.

“We are a collective part of a group of passionate, committed viticulturists and winemakers that are trying to encourage growth and sustainable practices,” said Clubb.

Clubb also emphasized the importance of community in the wine industry, and the relationship between the industry and the Walla Walla community.

One example of this, is Clubb’s

participation in creating the Center for Enology and Viticulture at Walla Walla Community College. The vision to create a teaching winery began in around 2000 as a collaboration between the Community College Foundation Board and the College’s President, Steven VanAusdle.

“When I say a teaching winery, it’s more than just creating a teaching program,” said Clubb. “It’s a facility that would really teach classic, commercial wine making. They actually make wine there.”

Clubb emphasized the need for education and research to support the growing wine industry in Walla Walla.

“Without a work force to funnel into that industry we are crippled,” he said.

Clubb argues that because Washington State has such a unique climate and faces such specific viticultural issues, the need for Washington specific programs is of the utmost importance.

“The people that have come out of this program are now in the industry in some form or fashion, whether it be in Walla Walla, or Woodinville; they are supporting Washington State winemaking,” said Clubb. “This is a really important program to nurture our expertise and to train people to really help us build a world class industry.”

This growing world class industry has shaped the Walla Walla community in important ways. Clubb notes that in 1990, downtown was dead.

“A synergy of a growing wine community brought tourists to town, [along with] a commitment of the business to reinvigorate downtown,” said Clubb.

This, along with a burgeoning art and education culture, worked to create what is today the unique destination of Walla Walla.

There has been a noticeable increase in the number of hotels, restaurants and bed and breakfasts. While this is not due solely to the arrival of the wine industry, viticulture has had its impact in the region.

“The wine industry has had a significant impact on that because it created the energy to build tourism off of,” said Clubb. “I mean Walla Walla is still a cool town, but what would people have been coming to see?”

by SAM ADLERStaff Reporter

by ALYSSA FAIRBANKSFeature Editor

Walla Walla local Phuong Pham ‘12, never paid attention to wine before her first year at Whitman College. Since work-ing at Charles Smith Wines she has developed a love of Cabernet Sauvignon and local wine culture. Photo by Bergman

Phuong Pham ’12 gains appreciation for wine industry, incites more student involvement

Beyond grapes: L’Ecole No 41 extends influence to community

AGRICULTUREFOrESTrY, HUNTING& FISHING AVErAGE

13%OF WALLA WALLA

EMpLOYMENT.

IN WINTER,AGrICULTUrE rEprESENTSLESS THAN

10%OF WALLA WALLA

EMpLOYMENT.

15.1% 12.4%

10.6%

POVERTYRATES

WA STATE

UNITED STATES

WALLA WALLA COUNTY INFOGRAPHIC BY BERFIELD

Walla WallaStat Sheet

Data courtesy of WA Employment Security Dept.

(IN SUMMER THIS RISES TO 17%)

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