In the rolling foothills of Walla Walla’s Blue Mountains, Ken and Ginger Harrison have carefully restored a century-old farmstead to create a pristine setting for
the relentless pursuit of extraordinary Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon. Surrounding the winery are seven meticulously refurbished private cottages offering guests serene luxury alongside a modern, working winery and its estate vineyard. Carefully tended gardens, meandering creeks, wildlife and spectacular views are abundant on the 32-acre property.

VISITING THE WINERY

Due to our limited production, we offer tastings to mailing list members and guests of the inn only by scheduled appointment. Please call (509) 526-7400, ext. 111 or email wine@abeja.net in advance.

OUR WINES

Eighty five percent of our production is dedicated to producing Cabernet Sauvignon. The balance of our winemaking consists of Merlot, Chardonnay and a small amount of estate grown Syrah and Viognier sold to our mailing list members.

Stylistically, our goal is to produce wines that are a companion to food. We define this as a balanced wine with a solid framework of tannin and acidity that is filled with pure, lush, fruit, a richness in the mid palate, elegant integrated oak, moderate alcohol levels and a generous finish. This is accomplished through meticulous viticultural management; gentle handling of the fruit and the wine; customized fermentation and aging practices for every lot; and carefully selected French oak barrels.

PRODUCTION PHILOSOPHY

Our mission is total quality. To that end, we believe that any difference we can make, no matter how small, is worthwhile. This begins in the vineyard, where we carefully manage every aspect of the growing cycle or work with the grower to do so.

Once the fruit has reached optimum ripeness, it is handpicked into small bins and sorted by hand as it enters the destemmer. On the exit side of the destemmer, we sort the fruit again taking an additional opportunity to examine its quality and remove any green stem material. Our winery and equipment are state of the art and provide all available options to respond to the idiosyncrasies of the vintage so that farming for flavor always comes first. Fermentation takes place in small fermenters fitted precisely to the individual lot and the production techniques employed are determined by the profile of the fruit. Wines are barrel aged in 100% French oak sourced from several forests. New, one, and two-year-old barrels are combined to balance the influence of wood with the structure and depth of the wine.

VINEYARD SOURCES

Knowing the correlation between vineyard management and quality, Ken first set about planting our own estate vineyard, Heather Hill. This 17 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon is located just east of Seven Hills Vineyard at the south end of the Walla Walla Valley appellation and was purchased for its soil and aspect, ideal for growing fruit of the highest quality. We also work with growers in both the Walla Walla and Columbia Valleys who share our passion for quality, innovation, and the land.

OUR NAME

For almost a century, the property that is now home to Abeja (ah-BAY-ha) was a working farm. Spanish for “bee,” our name honors the honeybee’s significance in agriculture while reminding us of the property’s history, our connection to the land and importance of caring for it.