Wine
Sleight of Hand Makes Premium Wine With a Rock N’ Roll Soul
August 28, 2023
When a wine makes it onto the Wine Spectator Magazine’s Top 100 list, you might not expect to see it sporting a graphic novel style label featuring a magician with a cocked brow.
But that blend of dead-serious winemaking and knowing, tongue-in-cheek wit are the building blocks of Sleight of Hand Cellars’ DNA that helped them get there.
Sommsation and Sleight of Hand joined forces when we explored what makes them tick, digging into their history of innovation and music influences—including David Bowie and Pearl Jam—that have made them the rock and roll winery they are today.
“Our motto at the winery has always been that we take our winemaking very seriously, but don’t take ourselves very seriously,” says co-winemaker Trey Busch. “That comes through in our wines and our bottles. Our goal is to make the best wines in the world every year, but we’re going to have more fun than anyone else doing it.”
Busch launched Sleight of Hand Cellars with Jerry and Sandy Solomon in 2007. Like many Washington State wineries, they’re based in Walla Walla and source fruit from all over the state, with the goal of creating wines that showcase the bounty and diversity of its micro-climates. This careful curation means that Busch can personally consider how each grape varietal and the land—rocky hills with little rain vs. clay soils with regular rainfall—should be treated in the cellar.
Because Sleight of Hand works in relatively small batches producing around 9,000 cases annually, Busch has the luxury of treating each parcel of grapes that comes in differently. For you, that means you’ll get a wine crafted to highlight the best grapes and the land they come from.
Take their Psychedelic Syrah, 2020. It was sourced from one vineyard—Stoney Vine—with ancient river soils and softball-sized cobble stones. The wine spent 16 months in French Oak 500L puncheons, 30% of which was new, 70% neutral, or previously used barrels. They produced Just 500 cases. The wine is a peak Syrah—plums, roasted meats, floral citrus blossom, spice, tobacco, green herbs, earth. Ideal for a feast, especially with braised short ribs or rack of lamb.
That care and devotion to high quality, terroir-driven wines has received plenty of notice from key critics and media outlets like the Wine Advocate who said, “While I've always loved the wines from these guys, they've hit a new level recently, and the wines are now up there with the crème’ de la crème’ of the state (and beyond).”
All of that attention to detail, in many ways, is inspired by their musical heroes.
“Our love of great wines from around the world and our love of music inspired our vision and growth,” Busch explains. “The winery is named after a Pearl Jam album. There’s a lot of that. We have a few Pearl Jam name songs and a bunch of magic-themed stuff, obviously starting with the term ‘Sleight of Hand.’”
The musical references—which they realize may go over most people’s heads—would never fly in a winery with corporate oversight. Just like their hyper-artisanal winemaking, their entire raison d’etre is like an inside joke that only close friends and the uber-cool will get.
While indie music and independent wineries are two very distinct industries, the connection between them isn't that far of a stretch. They both pour their heart and souls into their product, making it come to life the way they intend. And being able to riff on obscure musical references while making wine isn’t typical either—but that’s part of the point at Sleight of Hand, which launched as a micro-winery. That creativity and innovation has helped them become the still small, but notably robust mover-and-shaker they are today, thanks to sheer demand and their own desire to expand while maintaining their artisanal approach.
When they started, Busch says, they thought they’d produce 3,000 cases of wine a year.
“But we have a hard time saying ‘no’ when growers come to us with really great fruit,” he confesses. “And we’d be like ‘oh, it’s only an extra 500 cases. Only an extra 1,000 cases. And here we are, 10 years later, making close to 10,000 cases.”
At this point, Sleight of Hand draws from growers in Walla Walla Valley, Yakima Valley, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain and the Rocks District of Milton Freewater. As different as each terroir is, they all have something in common, Busch says: authentic people behind them who grow grapes of distinction, with integrity. Each wine—with its individual blend of aromas and flavors—manages to evoke a mood and a state of mind that reflects the region in which it was grown, and the exacting, highly focused work that the winemaking team at Sleight of Hand pours into each individual fermenting tank and barrel.
In 2011, they recruited Keith Johnson to oversee the daily winemaking duties, right after they opened a tasting room in Walla Walla on JB George Road and right before the new winery was completely finished.
The growth of their line of wines, their team, and their facility has been organic and thoughtful, Busch says.
“When we started bringing on additional staff and growing the wine line, we were selling out,” Busch says. “So, now we have a tasting room manager and a teaching staff. We opened up another tasting room in Seattle just to get closer to our customers because so many of them are far from Walla Walla. But we live by the same DIY ethos, and we still work very hard.”
Most brands have wine clubs today. But you would be hard-pressed to find a model as unique as Sleight of Hand Cellars’ at a larger operation.
“We have a wine club, and we also have a vinyl club,” Busch says, adding that it’s a bit of an offshoot of their 3,000-strong vinyl album collection at the tasting room. “We send out vinyl as part of our wine club for some members. Being able to marry our love of music and wine is super cool.”
Even musicians are into it. They approached Pearl Jam to create a signature wine called “Home X Away,” with all profits going to Pearl Jam’s Vitalogy Foundation charity. The run of 450 $150 sets—featuring four bottles of wine with labels designed by the band’s art crew—sold out in 12 minutes in 2018.
A remarkable achievement considering the scale of Sleight of Hands’ operation. And while Sleight of Hand Cellars may not have any more Home X Away in their cellar, there are plenty of other options.
A preview of their wines
Sleight of Hand Cellars, Spellbinder Red Blend, 2020: Approachable and aromatic, it opens with fresh floral and herbal notes, along with aromas of red cherries and wild raspberries. The entry is rich and mouth coating, with completely integrated tannins. On the palate, you get loads of Asian spices, red cherries, and fresh picked plums, which all lead to a long, soft finish.
Sleight of Hand Cellars, The Enchantress Chardonnay, 2021: The French Creek Vineyard low yield is low yield. That, coupled with the fact that the Chardonnay was fermented and aged on the lees for ten months in neutral French oak barrels, results in a wine that is dramatic, focused, elegant, and stunning. On the nose, you get white flowers, wet stones, and lemon curd. It's richly textured, yet vibrant and precise, aided by the beautiful natural acidity. It has terrific and persistent length on the finish and should age beautifully for the next decade.
Discover more about Sleight of Hand Cellars and explore Sommsation's growing roster of award-winning wineries.
Explore All Wineries
Explore more hidden-gems from the wine world.
Shop all wines
