WALLA WALLA, Wash. — Woodward Canyon Winery was founded in 1981, the second to plant its flag in the Walla Walla Valley.

“The vineyards were planted a few years before that,” said Jordan Small, whose parents, Rick and Darcey Small, started the business.

The winery was named for the canyon where Rick’s family farmed for several generations and where Woodward Canyon Estate Vineyard is now located.

The winery is 12 miles west of Walla Walla and the vineyard is a few miles north of the winery.

Rick Small planted the first of 35 acres of vines in 1977 on his family’s dryland wheat ranch.

“This is a unique location. There are very few vineyards this far west. We are on the western edge of the valley,” Jordan said.

The Smalls were instrumental in obtaining federal approval for the Walla Walla Valley Appellation in 1984. Their winery has consistently produced premium Cabernet Sauvignons, Bordeaux-style blends and Merlots as well as Chardonnays.

Their priority is quality rather than quantity.

“Even though our AVA has been around for 40 years, we are still learning, with trial-and-error on different grapes and sites to see what works best. These are some of the growing pains as our industry grows,” Jordan said.

Her parents have also experimented with organic and regenerative farming practices.

The winery purchases grapes from select growers and is a partner in Champoux Vineyard above the Columbia River in the Horse Heaven Hills appellation.

The quality of a wine begins in the vineyards.

“My brother, Sager, and I grew up here, helping with the winery, and it’s been great to see the winery evolve into what it is today,” Jordan said. “We celebrated the 40th anniversary of the winery a few years ago. It was during COVID so we couldn’t do a big celebration but we still did some fun things.”

The winery has stayed true to its initial mission.

“We focus on what we are well known for,” she said.

“Over the years we have expanded our distribution throughout the U.S. as far as Chicago and New York and export to a few other countries,” she said. “We also have a strong direct-to-consumer program through our tasting room, website and wine club.”

Their best markets are the Washington-Oregon-California region, she said.

“We enjoy relationships with our customers. Some like to come to our tasting room, which is a restored 1870s farm house,” she said. “Another building we built in 2008 is used for private tastings, winemaker dinners, etc. We also have nice outdoor gardens, patio and porch for people who enjoy being outside.”

She and her brother share in ownership of Woodward Canyon and have taken leadership roles in the winery and vineyard as their parents retired from the day-to-day operations.

“I am the general manager and my brother is our vineyard manager. Our winemaker, Kevin Mott, became a partner in 2011,” she said.

“We are taking the winery forward as a family business. There are not many wineries that get to make that transition, and we’ve worked hard at it,” she said. “We hired a consultant, did succession planning, and worked with our bank and attorneys to get it accomplished and make it as smooth as possible.”

Mott, their winemaker, came on board with a strong background in management.

“He has been valuable as a leader in our company as well. We have a CFO who has been with us 10 years so we have a solid base — and a good sales team. Our entire team is awesome and everyone is like family,” Jordan said.

She and Sager plan to keep the dream of their parents alive and celebrate the hard work that went into building the winery and creating wines of influence.

“Now it’s our turn to run our family business, after all those years we spent running in the vineyards as kids,” she said. “We’re committed to leading our family business into the future with that same commitment to quality and integrity. We always have and always will make wine with one foot in the vineyard.”

On the cover

Woodward Canyon Winery near Walla Walla, Wash. (Photo courtesy of the winery)