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WINEMA k ING Artifex Wine Co. in Walla Walla serves non-estate wine brands By Paul Franson Building a Pure Custom Crush Artifex utilizes dozens of small tanks to accommodate its many customers and their small lots. Artifex Wine Co. in Walla Walla, Wash., fits that bill. The cus- tom crush facility (it doesn't make a brand of wine of its own) was conceived by three leading figures in Washington's wine industry to meet the area's needs. D Unlike the wineries in many noted winemaking areas, most of Walla Walla's 130-plus wineries source grapes from a distance, often diverse areas in the eastern part of the state. Few use the estate model, partly because the region's capricious weather discourages them from putting all their grapes in one vineyard. And without estate vineyards, many eschew physical wineries and instead create wine-tasting rooms—Walla Walla's attrac- tive downtown is full of them—for direct sales and other needs. This provides the ideal environment for a dedicated facility to make wine for many different companies. It also offers 40 Wines & Vines JULY 2012 NORTHWEST esigning a dedicated custom winemaking facility is very different from creating the typical boutique winery. For one thing, consumers don't visit, so looks don't matter. A custom winery needs to be flexible, straightforward and efficient to accommo- date the different winemakers who use it. another lure: Changing agriculture has left large buildings available for other uses. Three major figures Artifex is a partnership between Rick Middleton, Norm McKib- ben and Jean-François Pellet, major figures in the local wine community. B.C. Seattle Yakima Walla Walla OR Artifex Rick Middleton is CEO of Anderson & Middleton Co., a fam- ily-owned agricultural firm headquartered in Hoquiam, Wash. The Middletons have been working the land since 1898, begin- ning with lumber and forestry, then table grapes, winegrapes and wine. They also own and operate three wineries: Cadaretta and Buried Cane out of Walla Walla, and Clayhouse in Paso Robles, Calif. Spokane WASHINGTON ID Norm McKibben retired to Walla Walla after a successful civil engineering career. He planted apples but soon realized the area's potential for producing premium winegrapes. Planting started in Pepper Bridge Vineyard in 1991. In 1994, McKibben joined local wine pioneers Marty Clubb of L'Ecole No 41 and Gary Figgins of Leonetti Cellar to expand the famed Seven Hills Vineyard