Fjellene Cellars

Fjellene Cellars is a hot new winery in Walla Walla, Washington founded by Matt Erlandson. The hard to pronounce name, (Fyel-LAY-Nuh), is the Norwegian word for mountains. Matt chose it for a couple of reasons. The mountains are very important to him. He is an avid outdoorsman. He worked as an Outdoor Education and Mountain Guide for thirteen years so he wanted the name of his winery to honor that passion. The second reason, the Norwegian aspect, is a tribute to his heritage. He credits his father with passing on a sense of fierce pride in being of Norwegian ancestry. When he discovered the word, fjellene, he thought it was really, really beautiful and a fitting moniker for his winery.

Matt's mission is "to create elegant, approachable and food-friendly wines while delivering back to the earth." Old barrels are recycled into works of art by local craftsmen and the winery is committed to sustainability, even composting the pumice and stems after harvest.

The wines are really starting to get recognition. As the winery focuses on small, vineyard designate wines, it may be wise to start stocking up now as these wines show great promise and will not be available for long.