Echolands Winery was founded in 2018 by Kansas City residents Doug Frost, one of only four people in the world to hold both Master Sommelier and Master of Wine titles, and Brad Bergman. The duo was intrigued by the unique wines originating in the Walla Walla Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Washington state and northeastern Oregon and decided to open their own winery there.
“We seek to amplify that echo from the land and the grapevines in every bottle we make.”
Bergman has been a long-time supporter of the Nature Conservancy, a Missouri-based non-profit dedicated to biodiverse and sustainable land preservation since 1956. He and Frost created Echolands Winery to craft wines that responsibly honor the elegance and beauty of Walla Walla’s long-established vineyards. Nearly half of Echolands’ acreage is set aside for living homes, such as owl boxes and beehives, for native wildlife, and carefully selected, preserved, and maintained native plants. No herbicides or pesticides are used in the vineyards, with Frost and Bergman opting to rely instead on fully natural methods of insect control, such as pheromone traps and local birds.
New Mill Creek Winemaking Facility
Echolands Winery is nearing completion of a brand-new winemaking facility in Millcreek, Washington, located in Walla Walla’s high-elevation region. This 27,000 square foot facility and barrel room will be equipped with closed-top stainless steel fermentation vessels in various sizes, open-top bins, and small fermenters. This new facility’s initial production capacity will be 10,000 cases and it is scheduled to open in time for the 2023 harvest.

Echolands’ new winemaking facility will have an amazing view of the Blue Mountains.
Echolands also plans to develop 25 acres of hillside vineyards with Bordeaux varietals, leaving some land uncultivated to establish and preserve biodiversity in the area. These grapes will be supplemented with fruit from Echolands’ own Taggart Vineyard, as well as grapes purchased from nearby premium growers.
One benefit of this region is the high amount of annual rainfall, which allows the vineyards to be dry farmed and eliminates the need for man-made irrigation systems. Dry farming is in line with many of the sustainability practices that Frost and Bergman already utilize among their other vineyards.