Sagemoor Vineyards, a group with holdings that include some of the Northwest wine industry’s oldest vines, announced Wednesday the hiring of Aryn Morell to oversee all of the winemaking for its Selections By Sagemoor project.
It means wines such as the Stars in a Row Cabernet Sauvignon will be made by Morell in Walla Walla. The Selections By Sagemoor brand has featured some of the region’s top winemakers — John Abbott, Ali Mayfield and Chris Peterson — since its launch with the 2014 vintage.
“Our Sagemoor family is incredibly grateful for the partnerships we have had with Ali, Chris and John,” Kent Waliser, director of wine and grape sales for Sagemoor Vineyards, said in a news release. “We have been fortunate and look forward to continued work with each of them in their own projects and wineries.”
Morell’s winemaking résumé includes Mullan Road Cellars, the Washington brand owned by famed Napa Valley vintner Dennis Cakebread, Matthews Winery, Gård Vintners and Ardor Cellars as well as his Alleromb and Morell-Peña labels. Last fall, The Seattle Times named one of his wines — the Gård Vintners 2017 Lawrence Vineyards Estate Malbec — as its No. 1 Northwest Wine of 2021.
“This is an exciting opportunity to work with historic vineyards and one of the best vineyard teams in Washington state,” Morell said. “Sagemoor has long set the standard in our industry, growing fruit featured in award-winning wines year after year. I look forward to growing the estate wine program and helping solidify Sagemoor as a true cornerstone of Washington wine.”
Morell, who grew up in Bremerton and attended the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, has been working with Sagemoor fruit since 2007. In addition to Stars in a Row, Morell will also continue production of Miguel the Man red blend, Without Rehearsal Sauvignon Blanc and the Bordeaux-inspired Estate White Blend.
Sagemoor Vineyards was first planted in 1972 by a group led by the late Alec Bayless, a Seattle attorney. The consortium sold their holdings — which included Bacchus, Dionysus and Weinbau — in 2014 to Allan Brothers, apple growers and packers in Naches, Wash. Two years later, Allan Brothers acquired Gamache Vineyard.
In 2020, Lacey Lybeck, vineyard operations manager for Sagemoor Vineyards, was named to the Wine Enthusiast 40 Under 40 Tastemaker list.
Last year, the Sagemoor group not only purchased Southwind Vineyard in the Walla Walla Valley from the Middleton family, but it also celebrated the federal government’s establishment of the White Bluffs American Viticultural Area. That allows vineyard-designate wines from Bacchus, Dionysus, Gamache or venerable Sagemoor to feature “White Bluffs” on the label.
“We started making wine with a vision of showcasing the unique and iconic fruit of Sagemoor Vineyards,” said Waliser, who continues to work with customers for his grapes and gain placement for Selections By Sagemoor wines at restaurants and wine shops. “We have successfully built relationships with lovers of our wine and now see bringing our winemaking in-house and under one winemaker as our best opportunity to continue our growth.”
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