A Swiss winemaker plants roots at Pepper Bridge and grows

JEAN-FRANÇOIS PELLET remembers well his thoughts upon arriving in Walla Walla 10 years ago this summer. "It was like a tumbleweed town," he says. "There was no place to eat!"

A third-generation winemaker from a Swiss grape-growing family, Pellet held degrees in viticulture and oenology and had been traveling the globe, managing vineyards and making wine in Switzerland, Germany, Spain and Napa, never staying in one place more than a few years.

He was working at Joseph Heitz Cellars when Norm McKibben recruited him to become winemaker for a new Pepper Bridge winery being built adjacent to the vineyard of the same name. Pellet drove north with his wife, Katherine, and as they wound their way through the dusty fields west of town he ruefully told her, "Maybe I've pushed things a little too far; it's all just wheat." They unloaded their belongings and quickly took off for a mini-holiday in Switzerland, telling friends there that it was just a two-year contract, and they'd be coming back home shortly after.

"Now, we don't want to leave," Pellet says, in charming, French-accented English. In just a decade, he has built an enterprising life that he admits would be impossible in Europe. "All my friends who stayed in Europe have no freedom," he explains. "Their fathers are still telling them how to do things."

The most recent Pepper Bridge wines are from the excellent 2006 vintage. Pellet makes just a few wines here, and his focus is on that elusive, expressive complexity that comes from an intimate knowledge of your vineyards. In French, it's called terroir.

"After 10 years I'm talking terroir," Pellet tells me, with a little shy pride. "We all want that sense of place. It's a vague word, but it means a lot to me." Terroir shows up in little ways, rarely obvious, but the sort of subtle harmonics that turn a one-note wine into a symphony. Working with just two vineyards — Pepper Bridge and Seven Hills — Pellet can reach for details that are easily lost when too many grape sources, grapes that are too ripe, maceration that goes on too long, too much new oak, etc. impact the winemaking.

"Jean-François really, truly believes that a winemaker who doesn't show his terroir is not doing the right job," says McKibben. "I'm not so sure the general public cares that much about it. But to him it's a big thing to show consistently that terroir."

Along with his Pepper Bridge merlot, cabernet sauvignon and Seven Hills vineyard red blend — all highly recommended — Pellet makes wines for Amavi Cellars. That winery is closely tied to Les Collines, another McKibben vineyard project, and is about to build a new production facility and tasting room across the road from Pepper Bridge. In many respects the Amavi wines keep pace with their pricier relatives. The 2008 Amavi sémillon ($20), 2006 Amavi Les Collines Syrah ($34) and 2007 Amavi Cabernet Sauvignon ($28) are all 91- to 92-point wines, in my view.

Pellet is also a partner in the custom-crush facility called Artifex, and in the recently planted Octave vineyard, whose first grapes will be harvested this fall. Another business — a mobile bottling line — is his latest venture, with partner John Abbott (Abeja). "We learned so much in the last 10 years," he says. "But I think the next 10 will be way better!"

My guess (and hope) is that Pellet is here to stay.

Paul Gregutt is the author of "Washington Wines & Wineries." Find him at www.paulgregutt.com or write to paulgwine@me.com.