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TOP: The Basel Cellars tasting room in Walla Walla, overlooks the estate vineyard,
providing picturesque views of the Blue Mountains.
Photograph by Mark Myers
MIDDLE: The 14,000 square foot estate house and tasting room and the 9,600
square foot underground temperature controlled cellar are unique features of
the winery
Photograph by Ali Walker
BOTTOM: Guests who rent the estate house can enjoy these views of the vineyard
team, this underground space is where all of their wine is produced.
In 2004, Greg invited Steve and Jo Marie Hansen, acquaintances from
earlier careers, to visit Basel Cellars and experience the still-young
operation with an eye towards becoming partners in the future. As it
turns out, it proved to be a good match. Steve, a long-time construction
manager of major bridge and highway projects in the western US, grew
up in a farming family in Yakima, Washington. He not only brought an
entrepreneurial spirit with him, but also a love for the land and the sunny
side of the state. The couple began their partnership with a fifty percent
ownership of the winery.
