Wawawai Canyon Winery Claimed

Wawawai Canyon Winery is family owned and operated, and our vineyard is the first commercial vineyard planted in Whitman County since prohibition. We developed the vineyard sites and we hand prune the vines, pick the grapes, crush and ferment the juice and age and bottle the wine. We started in 1994 with a test block of twelve different varietals.David, the vineyard manager, spends a lot of time working there and it is his favorite place to be, especially as the sun sets and turns the hills gold. avid and Stacia Moffett, are retired from Washington State University. It was Stacia’s dream to live in a beautiful natural setting and the first time she saw Wawawai Canyon, she said “This is it.” The canyon has a rich history and Wawawai (sounds like Hawaii) is variously translated from the Nez Perce language as “Council Grounds” or “Place of Mosquitoes.” An apple orchard was planted in 1877, and a fruit-growing community loaded their fruit on steam boats on the Snake River. Much of that history is under water now, due to the Lower Granite Dam, but Moffetts are glad to be growing fruit in Wawawai again.