
VANCOUVER, Wash. — Of late, it seems that it takes a celebrity, a professional athlete or a descendant of a famous winemaker to receive immediate attention from critics and acclaim from the trade.
It’s been different for co-owner/chef/sommelier Michael Ruhland and co-owner/ viticulturist/winemaker Matías Kúsulas. The buzz for their wines under Valo and sister label Massalto has been well-earned. And the virtuous formula begins with premier grapes, talent, friendship and the guts to open a tasting room in downtown Vancouver, Wash., during a pandemic.
“We’re really good friends,“ Kúsulas says. “He officiated my wedding, and he taught me how to make ceviche.”
A friendship that began in 2016, when they met working harvest for Giesen Wines in New Zealand’s Marlborough region, blossomed into the partnership that prompted Great Northwest Wine to select Valo as the 2024 Washington Winery to Watch.
“We’re excited that we achieved what we have with the first couple of vintages and starting in 2020 during the pandemic,” Ruhland says. “Our portfolio is very strong between Valo and Massalto, and we took a risk opening our tasting room during the pandemic, but Vancouver is a great place to introduce our wines — particularly with its proximity to Portland.”
Kúsulas produces string of gold for Valo, Massalo, Gård

Early on, Valo attracted the attention of Anthony Mueller, the Napa-based writer/critic who covered Washington state for Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.
And for the past two years, West Coast sommeliers and wine merchants judging the Great Northwest Invitational Wine Competition in Hood River have hung gold medals on wines made by Kúsulas for Valo, Massalto and his employer — the Lawrence family’s Gård Vintners.
The consistency of the Valo/Massalto wines was uncanny. In 2022, the Valo 2019 Right Bank from Conner Lee Vineyard was awarded Best Red Blend and the 2019 Reserve Chardonnay from Conner Lee a gold medal. Royal Slope grapes, part of Kúsulas’s responsibilities as the Lawrence Vineyards head viticulturist, helped the Massalto 2019 Interstellar Mourvèdre go double gold and 2020 Extravaganza Cinsaut win a gold. That Mourvèdre landed on The Seattle Times Top 20 list for 2022.
Last year, at the 2023 Invite, the Valo 2020 Conner Lee Vineyard Right Bank Red Wine won a best-of-class honor and the 2020 Conner Lee Vineyard Reserve Chardonnay was gold. The Massalto 2020 Interstellar Mourvèdre also earned a gold medal for the second straight vintage.
“The best varieties out of Conner Lee, which is a sandy-soil vineyard, are Merlot and Cab Franc,” Kúsulas says. “It’s a fantastic site, in the middle of nowhere, in pure sand and surrounded by blueberries.”
Massalto will continue to be a blank canvas for Kúsulas to explore where Royal Slope grapes, including Chenin Blanc and Sauvignon Blanc, lead him. The slogan for his brand —“Be fearless. Drink fearlessly” — lines up with someone who is a skydiving instructor and a black belt in judo.
“Massalto is kind of like a playground,” Kusulas says. “We try to be unorthodox, playing around with extended maceration, carbonic maceration, using different techniques and working with different varieties. They are not A-B-C wines.”
At the 2023 Invite, Kúsulas also proved himself to be one of the Northwest’s rising stars with more traditional wines, winning a gold medal or better with four Gård Vintners bottles for Josh and Lisa Lawrence. The 2021 Lawrence Estate Riesling Ice Wine was Best Sweet Wine after a double gold. There were golds for the 2021 Estate Franc Blanc, 2022 Lawrence Estate Grand Klasse Rosé and 2021 Lawrence Estate Skål sparkling wine.
“My relationship with Josh and Lisa has been great since the beginning,” Kúsulas says. “When they hired me to take over the winemaking for Gård, I was already head viticulturist, and they knew Michael and I had this project going. They’ve been a great resource for us business-wise, too.”
Valo, Massalto look to add 3rd tasting room

Ruhland, 45, grew up in Memphis but is no stranger to the cellar, having worked a harvest in Walla Walla for Tranche. Neither is Kúsulas’s wife, Taylor Ramsey. She graduated from the University of Georgia with a science degree and then Walla Walla Community College’s winemaking program, followed by five harvests for Sleight of Hand Cellars as assistant winemaker. Now, she spearheads sales and marketing for Valo/Massalto, Gård Vintners and Desert Wind Winery in Prosser. That’s where Kúsulas, 43, now crafts all the wines he’s involved in.
“This is Matías, Taylor and me,” Ruhland says. “She’s helped us along the way, and she’ll continue to be a big part of it.”
Kúsulas adds, “She’s really good with marketing and sales. Personally, I’m not very good at it.”
Ruhland opened Valo’s second tasting room last summer in the Columbia Gorge town of Bingen, Wash. Building upon the synergy between the partners and the Lawrence family, and this summer they plan to add a third tasting gallery for Valo/Massalto in downtown Ellensburg, near where Gård Vintners has poured for several years.
“We began Valo in 2018 with about 1,000 cases and started releasing right around the pandemic,” Ruhland says. “Right now we’re about 3,000 cases.”
Winemaking and wanderlust led Kúsulas around the world after he retired from the Chilean military and then studied agricultural engineering. He worked in his native country’s wine industry for three years, then earned master’s degrees in Bordeaux and Montpellier. Those led him to cellars in the Rhône, Italy, Spain, South Africa and New Zealand, where he first connected with Ruhland and Ramsay. Later in 2016, Ruhland would meet them again in Walla Walla after Kúsulas was hired by winemaker Aryn Morell.
Valo — which refers to light in Finnish — represents much of Ruhland’s ethos. The concept for Valo emerged during his two decades in Montana as chef for the Yellowstone Club and Rainbow Ranch Lodge. Big Sky country is a key market for Valo, but it was a club member in Vancouver who suggested Ruhland consider launching across the river from Portland.
“I lived in Montana for a long time, and I still enjoy the hunting and fishing and skiing,” Ruhland says. “While I still do private dinners for clients there, this feels very much like the thing I should be doing, including incorporating wild game into our winemaker dinners for Valo.
“We are constantly planning, focusing on branding, getting good tasting room managers and people in place,” Ruhland adds. “It’s all about trying to stand out in a sea of wineries that already exist.”
- 671 W. Columbia Way, Vancouver, WA 98660, 306-828-1046; 114 W. Steuben St., Bingen, WA 98605, 509-774-4474; ValoCellars.com and Massalto.com.
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