Butch was born in 1945 in Oregon and moved to Quincy, Washington with his parents at the age of nine. He spent much of his youth doing chores and working on the family farm. He was first introduced to wine as a teenager. “…a fortified wine from the National Wine Company that my Dad let me taste.” Butch had his first good wine at a Christmas dinner in 1984. “…a bottle of White Burgundy from a producer I’ve long since forgotten. It was eye-opening!”

For most of his life Butch has been a hands-on farmer, walking and working the land. He and his brother Jerry entered the grape growing business in 1997. In 2005, Butch shifted his talents towards overseeing the construction and running of the winery. “It was the first time in our agricultural lives we had the ability to control the end use of our farm products. When you can taste and enjoy the fruit that you worked so hard to grow, well, that’s what good farming is all about.”

“Each of our vineyards has its own distinctive character,” he says with pride. “At Evergreen Vineyard we get apple, pear and apricot aromas and flavors in our whites. Sundance Vineyard, on the warmer Wahluke Slope, delivers more tropical flavors, like pineapple, banana and coconut. It’s amazing the effect a subtle change in soil or topography will have on a wine.”

A private pilot who loves flying his own plane, Butch is also a self-confessed foodie. “I do all of the grocery shopping and cooking at our home,” he says sheepishly. “It is my daily down time, my escape from reality. For the past few years I have been focusing on Italian dishes—anything with eggplant, and the slow-cooked foods, like osso bucco and short ribs.”
Butch and his wife Lisa live near the vineyards and winery. He has two children: Buck and Kerri.