History

Cadaretta is owned and operated by the Middleton family and our Anderson & Middleton Company.
Albert Middleton and his father-in-law, Henry Neff Anderson, traveled from Michigan to Grays Harbor, Washington, in 1898, and purchased a lumber mill. This was the beginning of the Anderson & Middleton Company.
We began with timber, and over time expanded our business to include table grapes, wine grapes, and wine. Because we’ve had five generations in the family business, we’re interested in building things of quality that will last, growing from our family’s heritage.
Cadaretta is named for a lumber schooner we operated on the Pacific coast in the first part of the 20th Century. Southwind, our estate vineyard, is named for the same lumber schooner: rechristened from “Cadaretta” to “Southwind” when it served in World War II.

Winery

When our family decided to establish a new winery in the Walla Walla Valley, we knew we wanted the best facility possible. But since we didn’t yet have a complete picture of the range and quantity of wines we’d make, building the perfect winery required some creative thinking.

Ultimately, we partnered with our friends, Norm McKibben and Jean-Francois Pellet, to build an attractive, practical, and well-equipped winery. We named our winery “Artifex” — from a Latin term meaning “made skillfully.”
Artifex is the Cadaretta winery, and, with its capacity and capabilities, it is a custom-crush winery supporting new wine ventures in the Walla Walla Valley.

For Cadaretta, Artifex is a perfect winemaking solution. It’s a great place for Cadaretta winemaker Kendall Mix to make great wine. And, because he’s not the only one making wine at Artifex, we have a unique, sharing connection with the broader community of Walla Walla winemaking.

Artifex is distinctive in another way: It’s location. The winery is one tenant in the large red brick and beam building originally contructed in 1941 for the Continental Can Company. Later, the property became home to Crown Cork & Seal. When that business closed, the Port of Walla Walla acquired this spot on the intersection of Dell Avenue and N. 13th Avenue, to redevelop into small production spaces. The old brick walls, exposed beams, and high glass windows seem to suit the shiny stainless steel tanks, state-of-the art winemaking equipment, and wine-stained oak barrels that fill this active winery space.