by James Robinson, Your Co-op Sommelier

Every once in a while, a winemaker or wine comes along that shakes up your assumptions about what you thought possible for a grape, an area or appellation, and Devium wines are such wines, and Keith Johnson is such a winemaker.

Johnson is originally from the Pendleton, Oregon area and moved to Walla Walla to study winemaking. He graduated from the Walla Walla Community College School of Enology and soon found himself working with Trey Busch of Sleight of Hand Cellars. Sleight of Hand has built a reputation for creating powerful red wines that embody and underscore the typical style of wines produced in our state. However, when given room to run on his own, Johnson creates wines that are entirely different.

By contrast, Johnson chooses poise over power and balance over boozy bombast. With a deft hand, keen intuition and careful fruit selection, Johnson coaxes nuance out of varietals not known for such. His 2018 French Creek Vineyard ‘Sans Soufre’ Mourvèdre – featured on co-op shelves for Taste Washington Wine Month, exemplifies his approach.

“The 2018 French Creek Mourvèdre “Sans Soufre” might be my favorite release yet from Devium,” Johnson wrote in a release for the wine. “It is a wine that defies expectations, preconceptions and description. This wine is a child running barefoot in the woods, a dog leaping into a lake, the scratch of brambles as you harvest wild blackberries, it is pure joy, a bit wild and 100% delicious. I love everything about it. … it is low in alcohol, vibrant, and pairs well with anything you could care to eat.”

These are not the typical tasting notes one might find for a Washington state Mourvèdre, but Johnson is not your typical Washington winemaker.

“Devium is about creating something unique, it is about minimalist winemaking, early picking and special vineyards,” Johnson said. “It is about neutral barrels, spontaneous fermentations and foot stomping. It is about respecting the land, the grapes and my customers. My wines are unadulterated, pure and full of energy.

I believe that every winemaker puts some of themselves in their wines and that the production methods and finished product should reflect their viewpoint and philosophy on life. I use the phrase ‘minimalist winemaking’ for lack of a better term. To make wine in this way, eschewing modern techniques, chemicals, fining agents and current trends, I believe, is to get to the purest core of what it is to make wine. In my view, the finished wines reflect this hands off, primal approach in a way that I can only describe as an increase in energy and life and soul. I hope you love these soulful wines as much as I do.”

While Devium’s Sans Soufre Mourvedre has unfortunately sold out, a recent, albeit small allocation of additional Devium wines have hit co-op shelves. Noted by the Wine Enthusiast as a winemaker to watch, Johnson’s passion for creating low-intervention wine has rocked the Washington wine scene and this recent arrival indicates there are many more exciting wines to come.

Devium 2020 ‘Breezy Slope Vineyard’ White Pinot Noir, Walla Walla Valley

The 2020 White Pinot Noir is a dynamo of acidity, energy, and personality. Gloriously unfiltered (also new this year), it carries itself with a fascinating combination of grace and wildness. It might be slightly less refined than the 2019 version, and certainly has its own personality, but it is every bit as food friendly and a delight to drink.

$24.99

Devium 2019 ‘Weather Eye Vineyard’ Roussanne, Red Mountain

The Weather Eye Roussanne is a study in texture. The grapes were foot crushed and the juice, skins, and stems macerated for about a week before being pressed into old French oak barrels for fermentation. This Roussanne is unlike any other in Washington: textural, low alcohol, and unexpected – very limited.

$33.99

Devium 2018 ‘Weather Eye Vineyard’ Red Wine, Columbia Valley

45 percent Graciano, 30 percent Mourvedre, 15 percent Grenache, 10 percent Syrah

Co-picked and co-fermented, this wine is built around a beautiful north facing block of Graciano perched at the top of Red Mountain. Even though these grapes are sourced from Red Mountain, the north slope falls outside of the AVA, so is therefore labeled Columbia Valley. Before grapes were planted, the top of Red Mountain is about as perfect of an example of Eastern Washington high desert as you can imagine. Arid, austere and covered in wildflowers, sage brush and coyotes. This wine is all of those things, a true product of its environment, you can taste the sage and yarrow and if you listen closely, you might just here a coyote calling to the night sky. This is a monumental wine from a monumental site. Don't miss it.

$51.99