Dusted Valley and Boomtown by Dusted Valley

This year Dusted Valley proudly celebrates their 20th anniversary of growing and crafting spectacular Washington State wine under the Dusted Valley and Boomtown by Dusted Valley labels. With strong roots in agriculture, brothers-in-law Chad Johnson and Corey Braunel focus their wine growing philosophies in the vineyard with sustainable practices, low (or modest) yields and minimalistic winemaking. The resulting wines offer a sense of place and showcase their estate vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley and other premier vineyards throughout the state.

Family grown, world-class wines from the Walla Walla Valley

Dusted Valley represents our family’s quest to fulfill a dream of crafting world-class wine in Washington State. In 2003, we set out on a hunt for the best fruit and estate vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley and ended up finding that and much more. Here, the sun drenches the valley and the moon shines over the Blue Mountains. The local produce and restaurant scene is fantastic and the wines are among the best in the world. Life does not revolve around rush hour traffic and corporate deadlines, but rather the expansive vineyards and farmlands that link us with our agricultural roots, connect us to our neighbors and surround us every day.

Here, there is a spirit of camaraderie and community. Neighbors work together towards common goals and interests, and founding fathers mentor the next generation of Washington wine stars. This is Walla Walla. It’s where we grow our grapes, make our wines, raise our families and where we are proud to call home.

Wisconsin Roots

Ask anyone who knows us, and they will tell you that we are proud Wisconsin farm kids. Corey represents the fourth generation of his family in agriculture and was raised on a ginseng farm in Northern Wisconsin. Sisters, Janet and Cindy, grew up just down the road on their parent’s 250-acre dairy farm. Chad gained an appreciation and then a passion for the wonders of food and wine while working in the hospitality industry in Wisconsin.

What does the Badger State have to do with wine? Well, it just so happens that some of the barrels we use in our oak program also come from Wisconsin. Our family hails from the Northern part of Wisconsin where the growing season is short, and the winters are harsh. This is one of the most Northern forests where American White Oak (Quercus alba) grows. The short growing season produces an extremely tight-grain that is unique to oak from this region. It’s this tighter grain that frames the wines rather than having it take center stage and allows for a more elegant extraction.

Our Philosophy?  

• Quite simply, great wines are grown in the vineyard.
• Our sustainable farming practices, attention to detail and extremely low yields produce grapes of infinite quality.
• Call us mavericks, rebels or even crazy, but we like to walk the edge and push ourselves everyday. 
• If we don’t make mistakes along the way, we aren’t pushing our boundaries hard enough.
• The rewards always outweigh the risks.

We make wines we like to drink.

That’s why we are growing grapes and making wine in Washington State. Old world structure, funk and earthiness meet the always bright new world fruit. Our wines are a true expression of Washington State terroir and a celebration of the people that help us grow and craft this art. Similar to our philosophies and sustainable practices in the vineyards, we apply the lessons of good science, a fair bit of experimentation and a blend of old world techniques to get the extreme quality and concentration of flavors we seek in our finished wines. This starts in the vineyard and ends with the finished product in the bottle. As part of our commitment to delivering exceptional vino to our fans, we became the first Washington winery to use screw cap closures on all of our wines, thus ensuring every time you “crack that cap” it’s sure to be a good experience.