A brief history
Descendant Cellars is a family winery established in 2012 by Mike and Chris Rupp. Mike’s decision to start his own wine label was born out of a passion for great old world style wines - especially paired with great food. Mike has long enjoyed traditional wines of the Rhone Valley in the south of France. After becoming more familiar with Washington wines, Mike wanted to experiment with creating traditional wines from Washington varietals and attended the Northwest Wine Academy's wine production program in 2011.
After making a few vintages in his garage on Mercer Island, Mike felt confident enough in his skills and in the quality of the vineyards to venture into the wine business. In 2012, produced a southern Rhone style blend, “Belle”, and a Mourvedre. In 2013, he added a Syrah and a Grenache to the lineup.
In 2016, Mike and Chris opened the doors to their tasting room in the Artisan Hill warehouse complex of Woodinville, Washington. The 2,200 sq. foot industrial building is also used for production and was christened with the 2015 crush. The center is also home to a number of other neighboring wineries, making a trip to the area a great wine tasting destination.
Mike enjoys experimenting with different vineyard sources and grape varietals and has added more wines to his portfolio. Mike’s appreciation for traditional minimalistic wine making techniques allows the terroir of each wine to show through. Descendant Cellars wines are handcrafted in very small quantities ranging from 50 to 250 cases. Total annual production currently averages 900 cases.
