{"id":26,"name":"Capital Call Vintners","image_url":"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipOOA858dF8G9LDlBBknbBatkW6I1cZVDMjghBGB=w408-h271-k-no","district":"Downtown","hours":"Daily 12pm–7pm","hours_type":"open-daily","dog_friendly":false,"red_wine":true,"white_wine":true,"bubbles":true,"brewery":false,"woman_owned":false,"year_established":2022,"winemaker":"Josh Maloney","website":"https://capitalcallvintners.com/","phone":"(509) 876-2056","address":"11 N 2nd Ave, Walla Walla, WA 99362","description":"Capital Call invests in terroir; soil scientist Alan Busacca and Steve Bruere plant premium estate vineyards in Walla Walla and the Columbia Gorge, proving great wine begins with great ground","lat":46.0670806,"lng":-118.3400416,"appt_url":"https://capitalcallvintners.com/walla-walla-tasting-room/","walk_in":false,"tasting_fee":"$20 per person and are waived with a $50 wine purchase","explorer_tags":["bold reds"],"profile":"# Capital Call Vintners — Knowledge Profile\n\n## Founding Story\n\nCapital Call Vintners traces its origins to a chance encounter in 2016, when Steve Bruere and Alan Busacca met while collaborating on a large agricultural asset outside of Walla Walla, Washington. Bruere had been engaged as a real estate broker to oversee the sale of the property, while Busacca was retained to evaluate its potential for conversion to wine grapes. Their shared love of land and fine wine quickly forged a lasting friendship and, ultimately, a business partnership.\n\nThe company's name is both philosophical and self-aware. \"Capital Call\" acknowledges the many forms of capital — knowledge, effort, relationships, time, and money — required to create great wine, great moments, and a great life. The founders were inspired by the well-known adage, \"To make a small fortune in the wine business, you must first start with a large fortune,\" embracing that truth as a testament to the resilience and dedication the winemaking journey demands.\n\nThe partnership formally took shape in 2018 when Busacca invited Bruere to co-own Windhorse Vineyard in the Columbia Gorge AVA. That same year, the pair bottled their first wines — a 2016 Merlot and a 2016 Zinfandel — under the Heart Catcher brand. In 2020, they expanded into the Walla Walla Valley AVA by acquiring Wheatfield Vines Vineyard. The Capital Call label itself debuted on a 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, produced by winemaker Rick Cushman. In 2022, the venture was formally renamed the Capital Call Wine Group, and by 2023, the winery launched its first wine club, the Founder's Club. In 2024, Capital Call purchased the well-regarded Barons label and began renovations on a downtown Walla Walla tasting room. The brand has since continued to expand, acquiring the Dixie & Bass label in 2026 and building retail and hospitality distribution throughout Iowa.\n\n## Winemaker\n\nJosh Maloney is listed as the winemaker for Capital Call Vintners. The scraped website content does not provide additional detail regarding his background, training, career history, or winemaking philosophy beyond his title. Additional sourcing would be required to expand this section.\n\nThe winery also lists Eli Pynch and John Stehlik in association with Mt. Hood Winery, suggesting a collaborative or multi-site winemaking structure, though specifics are not detailed.\n\n## Founders & Key Team\n\n**Steve and Nikki Bruere** are co-founders who grew up in Central Iowa with deep roots in agriculture. Steve built his career as President of Peoples Company, a full-service agricultural land transaction firm serving the country's largest landowners. As Peoples Company expanded into the Pacific Northwest and established a Walla Walla office, Steve and Nikki deepened their engagement with the region's wine culture and vineyards. Their background in farmland and entrepreneurship underpins the winery's land-first philosophy.\n\n**Alan Busacca**, widely known as \"Doctor Dirt,\" is a soil scientist and geologist with an extensive academic career. He served as a professor of soil science, agriculture, and geology at Washington State University from 1982 to 2006, before leaving to pursue vineyard consulting full-time. He now owns Vinitas Vineyard Consultants, providing land evaluation, pre-purchase and pre-sale farmland assessment, and vineyard design services nationally and internationally. His deep knowledge of Pacific Northwest soils and Ice Age geology directly informs Capital Call's vineyard development strategy.\n\n## Vineyard Sources\n\nCapital Call Vintners is an estate-driven producer, sourcing exclusively from three owned vineyards across two AVAs.\n\n**Windhorse Vineyard** is located near The Dalles, Oregon, in the Columbia Gorge AVA, at an elevation of 1,200 feet. The vineyard spans 34 planted acres set within 130 acres of pristine oak-pine woodland on steep canyon land. Soils derive from ancient volcanic mudflows and are described as calcium-rich with volcanic parent material, situated within a semi-arid climate. The vineyard is LIVE and Salmon Safe certified, reflecting a commitment to environmentally and socially responsible winegrowing. Varieties planted include Grenache, Sangiovese, Cabernet Franc, Nero d'Avola, Primitivo, Syrah, and Chenin Blanc. Windhorse is notably one of the very few West Coast producers of Nero d'Avola, an Italian variety planted in honor of Alan Busacca's Sicilian heritage. The combination of volcanic soils and semi-arid conditions is described as uniquely suited to producing a varietally true, structured, and site-expressive expression of this historic grape.\n\n**Wheatfield Vines Vineyard** is located in Milton-Freewater, Oregon, within the Walla Walla Valley AVA. The 29-acre vineyard is planted to Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, and Syrah. The broader Walla Walla Valley is characterized by well-drained loess soils, long warm growing seasons, and elevations ranging from 400 to 2,000 feet, with rainfall varying from seven inches in the west to over 22 inches near the Blue Mountains. Wheatfield Vines emphasizes connecting wine enthusiasts to the land and agricultural heritage of the valley.\n\n**Carbondale Vineyard** is also located in Milton-Freewater, Oregon, in the Walla Walla Valley AVA. Planted at the top of a foothill at 950 feet in elevation, the six-acre vineyard is currently devoted to Cabernet Sauvignon. Its elevated position provides excellent air drainage and panoramic valley views. The winery notes significant potential for future expansion and is evaluating additional variety plantings.\n\n## Signature Wines & Varietals\n\nCapital Call Vintners specializes in estate-grown red varieties reflective of both the Columbia Gorge and Walla Walla Valley AVAs. Their portfolio includes Cabernet Sauvignon (the first wine to bear the Capital Call label), Merlot, Sangiovese, Syrah, Grenache, Cabernet Franc, Primitivo, Chenin Blanc, and the distinctive Nero d'Avola. The Nero d'Avola is highlighted as a signature offering, described as structured, varietally true, and expressive of place — a rarity on the West Coast that carries personal significance tied to the Busacca family's Sicilian heritage.\n\n## Tasting Room\n\nCapital Call purchased the Barons Winery space in downtown Walla Walla in 2024 and began renovations to establish their tasting room presence. Specific hours, visitor experience details, and descriptions of the completed space are not yet detailed in the available content.\n\n## Vineyard Visitor Experience\n\nWindhorse Vineyard offers seasonal day immersions from April through September, available for parties of four to ten guests at $150 per person (waived with a purchase of six or more bottles per person). Founders List members receive the experience at $75 per person. The immersive visit includes a guided wine flight featuring selections from both Windhorse and Wheatfield Vines Vineyards, sweeping views of Mt. Hood and Mt. Adams overlooking Mill Creek Valley, and a guided conversation with Dr. Alan Busacca covering the Columbia Gorge AVA's history, geology, terroir, and farming practices. Guests are encouraged to allow up to three hours and bring comfortable walking shoes.\n\n## Wine Club\n\nCapital Call launched its Founder's Club wine club in 2023. Founder's Club members receive a discounted rate for the Windhorse Vineyard immersion experience ($75 per person versus the standard $150). Further details on allocation tiers, shipment frequency, or additional member benefits are not specified in the available content.\n\n## Winery Character\n\nCapital Call Vintners occupies a distinctive position in the Walla Walla wine landscape as an estate-only producer with a foundational philosophy rooted in soil science, geology, and land stewardship. The partnership between a farmland entrepreneur and one of the Pacific Northwest's most respected soil scientists gives the winery an unusually rigorous, science-informed approach to terroir. Their willingness to champion uncommon varieties — particularly Nero d'Avola — alongside the region's established grapes signals a commitment to both heritage and innovation. The brand's identity is one of intentional investment: in land, in relationships, and in the slow, deliberate work of building something lasting. The label design itself is described as a testament to the belief that \"true success lies","somm_notes":[{"title":"Patti's notes on Capital Call","content":"This beautiful tasting room has a cool speakeasy vibe and is the perfect spot for a glass of bubbles-or my favorite, the 'Windhorse Zinfandel.' They often have live music too, making it a great hangout spot."}],"wines":[{"name":"Rosé of Sangiovese","vintage":"2025","variety":"Sangiovese","price":""},{"name":"Gold Standard","vintage":"2025","variety":"Grüner Veltliner","price":""},{"name":"Grüner Veltliner","vintage":"2025","variety":"Grüner Veltliner","price":""},{"name":"Sauvignon Blanc","vintage":"2025","variety":"Sauvignon Blanc","price":""},{"name":"Blanc de Blancs","vintage":"2023","variety":"Blanc de Blancs","price":""},{"name":"Cabernet Franc","vintage":"2023","variety":"Cabernet Franc","price":""},{"name":"Terra Barone","vintage":"2023","variety":"Sangiovese","price":""},{"name":"Windhorse","vintage":"2023","variety":"Nero d'Avola","price":""},{"name":"Long Cork","vintage":"2023","variety":"Merlot","price":""},{"name":"Sangiovese","vintage":"2023","variety":"Sangiovese","price":""},{"name":"Nero d'Avola","vintage":"2023","variety":"Nero d'Avola","price":""},{"name":"Merlot","vintage":"2023","variety":"Merlot","price":""},{"name":"Sauvignon Blanc","vintage":"2023","variety":"Sauvignon Blanc","price":""},{"name":"Cabernet Sauvignon","vintage":"2022","variety":"Cabernet Sauvignon","price":""},{"name":"La Bruere","vintage":"2022","variety":"Syrah","price":""},{"name":"In the Red","vintage":"2022","variety":"Cabernet Sauvignon","price":""},{"name":"Cashflow","vintage":"2022","variety":"Cabernet Sauvignon","price":""},{"name":"Syrah","vintage":"2022","variety":"Syrah","price":""},{"name":"Red Blend","vintage":"2022","variety":"Red Blend","price":""},{"name":"Cabernet Franc","vintage":"2022","variety":"Cabernet Franc","price":""},{"name":"Merlot","vintage":"2022","variety":"Merlot","price":""},{"name":"Malbec","vintage":"2022","variety":"Malbec","price":""},{"name":"Petit Verdot","vintage":"2022","variety":"Petit Verdot","price":""},{"name":"Syrah","vintage":"","variety":"Syrah","price":""}],"patti":null,"visitor_ratings":[],"sample_reviews":[],"critic_scores":[],"community_scores":[{"wine_name":"Capital Call Cabernet Sauvignon","vintage":null,"score":97,"source":"Vivino","critic":null,"tasting_note":"Vivino community: 4.7/5 (39 ratings)"}],"events":[{"title":"Pacific Northwest Vineyards and Walla Walla Tour with Robert!","start_date":"2026-11-12","start_time":"00:00","url":"https://capitalcallvintners.com/event/pacific-northwest-vineyards-and-walla-walla-tour-with-robert/","is_members_only":false},{"title":"Five Course Harvest Wine Paired Dinner with East Alder Table","start_date":"2026-11-14","start_time":"18:00","url":"https://capitalcallvintners.com/event/five-course-harvest-wine-paired-dinner-with-east-alder-table/","is_members_only":false},{"title":"Five Course Harvest Wine Paired Dinner with East Alder Table","start_date":"2026-11-14","start_time":null,"url":"https://capitalcallvintners.com/events","is_members_only":false},{"title":"Third Fridays on Second Ave: Diego Romero","start_date":"2026-11-20","start_time":"15:00","url":"https://capitalcallvintners.com/event/third-fridays-on-second-ave-diego-romero/","is_members_only":false},{"title":"Third Fridays on Second Ave: Diego Romero","start_date":"2026-11-20","start_time":null,"url":"https://capitalcallvintners.com/events","is_members_only":false},{"title":"Sunday Afternoon Jazz Club","start_date":"2026-11-29","start_time":"15:00","url":"https://capitalcallvintners.com/event/sunday-afternoon-jazz-club-8/","is_members_only":false},{"title":"Sunday Afternoon Jazz Club","start_date":"2026-11-29","start_time":null,"url":"https://capitalcallvintners.com/events","is_members_only":false},{"title":"Sunday Afternoon Jazz Club","start_date":"2026-11-30","start_time":"15:00","url":"https://capitalcallvintners.com/event/sunday-afternoon-jazz-club-8/","is_members_only":false}]}