{"id":36,"name":"Gramercy Cellars","image_url":"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/gps-cs-s/AC9h4nrBgp8Tw2po2GjtKWgr2HsyxhZINJaYQTZbF6uQ1YtNbICk2bK3fWejafRgfbthVDXsXtib8-5mSYzYYqWQ1St-JuTdXZtTe-gkl88npNn0mqO1Ln864r9qRlkvt6TLvltCqS9o=w408-h306-k-no","district":"Downtown","hours":"Tuesday - Thursday: 11am - 5pm.\nFriday - Saturday: 10am - 5pm.\nClosed Sunday - Monday.\nFinal seatings are 1 hour before close.","hours_type":"limited","dog_friendly":true,"red_wine":true,"white_wine":true,"bubbles":true,"brewery":false,"woman_owned":false,"year_established":2005,"winemaker":"Greg Harrington","website":"http://www.gramercycellars.com/","phone":"+1 509-876-2427","address":"635 N 13th Ave, Walla Walla, WA 99362, United States","description":"Master Sommelier Greg Harrington uses native fermentation and whole‑cluster techniques with minimal new oak to craft savory Rhône and Bordeaux wines designed for the table","lat":46.0670236,"lng":-118.35699,"appt_url":"https://www.exploretock.com/gramercycellars","walk_in":false,"tasting_fee":"$25 per person, waived with a $50 purchase.","explorer_tags":[],"profile":"# Gramercy Cellars — Sommelier Knowledge Profile\n\n## Founding Story & Vision\n\nGramercy Cellars was founded in Walla Walla, Washington by Greg Harrington, a former restaurant professional who made a deliberate career pivot to pursue winemaking. Harrington's guiding vision was to craft wines that, in his own words, \"taste like dirt\" — an expression of his commitment to earthy, terroir-driven wines rooted in place. His restaurant background deeply informed his stylistic philosophy: he set out to make wines with lower oak influence and lower alcohol levels, wines designed explicitly for the dinner table rather than for critical spectacle. The winery's tagline — *\"A sommelier's palate, a farmer's thumb, and a winemaker's soul\"* — encapsulates the intersection of hospitality instinct, agricultural attentiveness, and artisan craft that defines Gramercy's identity.\n\n## Winemaking Team\n\nGramercy Cellars is led by the winemaking team of **Greg Harrington** and **Brandon Moss**. Harrington's background in the restaurant and sommelier world gave him a palate calibrated to food-friendliness, structure, and balance rather than sheer power or extraction. His approach favors restrained oak, measured alcohol, high natural acidity, and what critics describe as mineral tension and purity of fruit. Together, Harrington and Moss have built a reputation for consistency and quality across multiple vintages, and are widely recognized as among Washington State's foremost winemaking duos. Jeb Dunnuck of *The Rhône Report* has noted that the team \"continue to keep Gramercy Cellars near the top of the hierarchy in Washington State.\"\n\n## Winemaking Philosophy & Style\n\nGramercy's wines are consistently described in terms of precision, focus, and soil character. The house style prizes mineral tension, mid-palate definition, and purity of fruit expression over overt richness or showiness. Critics and the winery alike emphasize that these wines are \"soulful\" rather than showy, occupying a stylistic middle ground between Old World restraint and New World concentration. As SommSelect's David Lynch observed, the Cabernet program in particular sits at \"a stylistic midpoint between Bordeaux and Napa,\" delivering New World suppleness alongside Old World savor and soil character. Distinctly high acidity is a hallmark across the lineup.\n\n## Signature Wines\n\nGramercy Cellars began with a foundational focus on **Syrah** and has expanded to produce a compelling lineup of both **Rhône-style** and **Bordeaux-style** wines. Key wines highlighted in available content include:\n\n- **\"John Lewis\" Reserve Syrah**: Described as the flagship Syrah, this wine is structured, medium to full-bodied, and beautifully balanced with ripe tannins. The 2020 vintage received **96 points from Jeb Dunnuck**, who called it \"a stunning example of Syrah from the Walla Walla Valley\" with aging potential of **15+ years**.\n- **Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon**: A barrel-select wine drawing from multiple sites throughout the **Columbia Valley AVA**. The 2020 vintage was described as \"world-class\" and received **96 points from Dr. Owen Bargreen**, who noted it to be \"absolutely dazzling\" with air.\n\n## Tasting Notes & Flavor Language\n\nAcross their lineup, Gramercy's wines are characterized by the following descriptors drawn from critical commentary and winery-endorsed language:\n- Mineral tension and purity of fruit\n- Definition and focus across the mid-palate\n- Earthy, terroir-expressive character\n- Ripe tannins with balance and structure\n- Supple, concentrated fruit with palpable soil-derived savor\n- Distinctly high acidity\n\n## Wine Club\n\nGramercy Cellars offers a wine club curated personally by Greg Harrington. Membership provides access to new releases, exclusive wines, and first access to reserve offerings. The club is positioned as a direct channel for the winery's most coveted and limited bottlings, hand-selected by the head winemaker.\n\n## Tasting Room\n\nGramercy Cellars welcomes visitors at their Walla Walla winery location. The winery encourages in-person visits with the philosophy that \"the proof is in the tasting.\"\n\n## Accolades\n\n- **96 pts** — 2020 \"John Lewis\" Reserve Syrah, *Jeb Dunnuck / The Rhône Report*\n- **96 pts** — 2020 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, *Dr. Owen Bargreen*\n- Featured prominently in *The Wine Advocate* (Anthony Mueller), *Seattle Met* (Sean Sullivan), and *SommSelect* (David Lynch)\n- Consistently cited as among Washington State's top-tier producers\n\n## Winery Character\n\nWhat distinguishes Gramercy Cellars within the Walla Walla wine community is the rare combination of a sommelier's sensibility with genuine winemaking craft. The winery resists the trend toward high-extraction, high-alcohol, overtly impressive wines, instead producing bottles that reward the table, the cellar, and the contemplative drinker. Their dual mastery of both Rhône and Bordeaux varietal expressions gives them unusual range, while their unwavering commitment to mineral-driven, food-friendly elegance gives them a clear and consistent voice in a competitive appellation.","somm_notes":[{"title":"Patti's notes on Gramercy","content":"A Manhattan sommelier starts a winery-and the result? Beautifully structured wines. Their Syrahs are stunning, but don't miss the Picpoul Pét-Nat... it's absolutely delicious!"}],"wines":[{"name":"Picpoul","vintage":"2024","variety":"Picpoul","price":"$25.00"},{"name":"Rosé Olsen Vineyard","vintage":"2024","variety":"Rosé","price":"$28.00"},{"name":"Viognier","vintage":"2023","variety":"Viognier","price":"$32.00"},{"name":"John Lewis Reserve","vintage":"2022","variety":"Syrah","price":"$75.00"},{"name":"Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve","vintage":"2022","variety":"Cabernet Sauvignon","price":"$75.00"},{"name":"Syrah Lagniappe Red Willow","vintage":"2022","variety":"Syrah","price":"$65.00"},{"name":"Grenache The Third Man","vintage":"2022","variety":"Grenache","price":"$48.00"},{"name":"Gramercy Estates","vintage":"2022","variety":"Red Blend","price":"$72.00"},{"name":"Syrah Holy Roller Vineyard","vintage":"2022","variety":"Syrah","price":"$60.00"},{"name":"Syrah John Lewis Reserve","vintage":"2022","variety":"Syrah","price":"$75.00"},{"name":"Syrah Les Collines Vineyard","vintage":"2021","variety":"Syrah","price":"$65.00"},{"name":"Pinot Noir Sojeau Vineyard","vintage":"2021","variety":"Pinot Noir","price":"$65.00"},{"name":"Mourvèdre L'Idiot du Village","vintage":"2021","variety":"Mourvèdre","price":"$48.00"},{"name":"Syrah Forgotten Hills Estate","vintage":"2021","variety":"Syrah","price":"$65.00"},{"name":"Cabernet Sauvignon","vintage":"2021","variety":"Cabernet Sauvignon","price":"$60.00"},{"name":"Cabernet Sauvignon Phinny Hill Vineyard","vintage":"2021","variety":"Cabernet Sauvignon","price":"$72.00"},{"name":"Syrah Walla Walla","vintage":"2020","variety":"Syrah","price":"$48.00"},{"name":"Extended Elevage Cabernet Sauvignon MTA","vintage":"2019","variety":"Cabernet Sauvignon","price":"$55.00"}],"patti":null,"visitor_ratings":[{"source":"google","rating":4.8,"count":87},{"source":"tripadvisor","rating":4.6,"count":41},{"source":"yelp","rating":4.4,"count":50}],"sample_reviews":[{"source":"yelp","reviewer":"Mei W.","rating":null,"rating_max":5.0,"text":"His partners Greg and Pam Harrington decided to move to Walla Walla in 2004 to produce great Rhône- and Bordeaux-based wines in Washington State.","date":null},{"source":"yelp","reviewer":"Clint W.","rating":null,"rating_max":5.0,"text":"we did a quick tasting, made a few purchases that we really liked and then they helped with a group picture of us!","date":null}],"critic_scores":[{"wine_name":"Reserve","vintage":2020,"score":96,"source":"Owen Bargreen","critic":"Owen Bargreen","tasting_note":null},{"wine_name":"Syrah Reserve","vintage":2020,"score":96,"source":"Jeb Dunnuck","critic":"Jeb Dunnuck","tasting_note":null},{"wine_name":"'Holy Roller Vineyard' Syrah","vintage":2021,"score":95,"source":"Owen Bargreen","critic":"Owen Bargreen","tasting_note":null},{"wine_name":"'Les Collines Vineyard' Syrah","vintage":2021,"score":95,"source":"Owen Bargreen","critic":"Owen Bargreen","tasting_note":null},{"wine_name":"'Phinny Hill' Cabernet Sauvignon","vintage":2021,"score":95,"source":"Owen Bargreen","critic":"Owen Bargreen","tasting_note":null},{"wine_name":"'The Third Man' Grenache","vintage":2021,"score":95,"source":"Owen Bargreen","critic":"Owen Bargreen","tasting_note":null},{"wine_name":"'Sojeau Vineyard' Pinot Noir","vintage":2021,"score":94,"source":"Owen Bargreen","critic":"Owen Bargreen","tasting_note":null},{"wine_name":"'Columbia Valley' Cabernet Sauvignon","vintage":2021,"score":94,"source":"Owen Bargreen","critic":"Owen Bargreen","tasting_note":null},{"wine_name":"'Holy Roller Vineyard' Syrah","vintage":2020,"score":94,"source":"Owen Bargreen","critic":"Owen Bargreen","tasting_note":null},{"wine_name":"'Olsen Vineyard' Rose","vintage":2024,"score":93,"source":"Owen Bargreen","critic":"Owen Bargreen","tasting_note":null},{"wine_name":"Rose","vintage":2024,"score":93,"source":"Owen Bargreen","critic":"Owen Bargreen","tasting_note":null},{"wine_name":"'Olsen Vineyard' Rose","vintage":2023,"score":93,"source":"Owen Bargreen","critic":"Owen Bargreen","tasting_note":null},{"wine_name":"'Columbia Valley' Cabernet Sauvignon","vintage":2020,"score":93,"source":"Owen Bargreen","critic":"Owen Bargreen","tasting_note":null},{"wine_name":"'Sojeau Vineyard' Pinot Noir","vintage":2019,"score":93,"source":"Owen Bargreen","critic":"Owen Bargreen","tasting_note":null},{"wine_name":"Picpoul Pet","vintage":2024,"score":92,"source":"Owen Bargreen","critic":"Owen Bargreen","tasting_note":null}],"community_scores":[{"wine_name":"Syrah Walla Walla Valley","vintage":2010,"score":94,"source":"Wine Berserkers","critic":"John_Glas","tasting_note":") At one point wine of the night. Black olives, funk, white pepper, blueberries, smoke and earth notes. Long and powerful finish. This will age through 2030 if cellared properly. Wow! ("},{"wine_name":"Syrah \"Lagniappe\"","vintage":2012,"score":93,"source":"Wine Berserkers","critic":"John_Glas","tasting_note":") Day 1: Drinking well on the pop and pour. Tar, violets, black cherries, pepper and stone. Medium plus finish and concentrated effort. 93 points Day 2: No hurry drinking these as this is very similar to day 1. Another winner from Gramercy. Recommendation: This is drinking well now or could easy cellar for five plus years. _("},{"wine_name":"Syrah Forgotten Hills Vineyard","vintage":2014,"score":92,"source":"Wine Berserkers","critic":"John_Glas","tasting_note":") A little better than the tasting room today. More fruit present in this bottle featuring blueberries, cherry, smoke, crushed rock, minerals, pepper and earth. Medium finish. ("},{"wine_name":"Cabernet Sauvignon MTA Phinny Hill Vineyard","vintage":2009,"score":92,"source":"Wine Berserkers","critic":"John_Glas","tasting_note":") Spice, floral, red currants and medium plus finish. Drinking well now. Good through 2025. ("},{"wine_name":"Olsen Vineyard","vintage":2011,"score":91,"source":"Wine Berserkers","critic":"Isaac_James_Baker","tasting_note":null}],"events":[]}