Steve Kenyon and Dave Stephenson of Otis Kenyon Wine
Otis Kenyon Wine has the most dramatic backstory of any winery in Washington state. I don’t want to ruin the interview, so will just say the drama involves some F words: fire, family, forgiveness, and fine wine. The star of the story is James Otis Kenyon, a practicing dentist near Milton Freewater in the 1920s. The winery logo is his silhouette, complete with bowtie and bowler hat. His grandson Steve Otis Kenyon started the winery in 2004, and is still the owner along with his daughter Muriel. They have tasting rooms in Walla Walla and Woodinville that celebrate James’s story in a variety of ways, including by offering free matches the way restaurants used to do. The fire theme is reinforced by the wines, which have such names as Incendiary, Backdraft, Matchless, and Incandescent. Visitors to the Walla Walla tasting room can enhance the story by adding to the tasting room wall devoted to tasters’ writings and drawings.
Dave Stephenson enjoyed wine as a college student in California, but never thought of it as a career. Instead, he studied craft brewing with the goal of opening a brewery. It was an idea before its time, at least in Bellingham, as there was little to no interest. In the late 1990s Dave moved to Walla Walla to work in the wine industry, and has never looked back. He has worked or consulted for various wineries, has his own label Stephenson Cellars, and has been the winemaker at Otis Kenyon since the first vintage in 2004. Dave’s Otis Kenyon wines are Bordeaux and Rhone style ones, mostly from the Walla Walla Valley. He does a single varietal Carmenère that is a favorite. Otis Kenyon wines are great for sipping or pairing with food, and are approachable and affordable.
Listen to the Interview: