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Blair started his wine career young with drinking Jordan, Lafite-Rothschild and Clos du Val with his parents. They saved great bottles from their wedding and he obviously fell in love with wine right away. While working at RN74 Seattle he gained his Sommelier Certificaton and gained a great appreciation for wines from all over the world. He furthered his passion while going to school at WSU studying Enology and Viticulture. While going to school he started his winemaking career working at Kerloo with the extremely talented Ryan Crane and Steven Lesefko. Next he moved to Patterson Cellars training in the lab, while also working with 20 different varietals and learning how to make several wine styles. After working in Washington he ventured down to Oregon to focus on making cooler weather grapes. Working for 00 Wines and RR wines for two years he honed in on making exquisite Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. He is currently the assistant Winemaker at Keeler Estate and helps make several varietals of Biodynamic wine.

When her grandmother poured her a flute of Perrier-Jouët Champagne, Lael never looked at wine the same again. A decade later, when Blair and Lael were in the early throes of love, Blair shared his passion of wine with her. Shocked to learn there were more than five varietals, and Champagne was not one!, she dove head first into studying wine with Blair as he focused on becoming a Sommelier. As their relationship developed, so did the plans they had for the future, and the dream of beginning a winery took hold. As Blair attended Washington State University to learn Enology and Viticultre, Lael turned back to school as well, getting her Masters in Business at the Foster School of Business at University of Washington. As classes completed in 2019, Lael and Blair married and set their eyes south to the Willamette Valley. McMinnville was a frequent vacation destination for them, and it was an easy decision to make it their new home. Now here, the Whitakers hope to make wine for many, many years to come.