Prospice winery is a collaboration of two friends who made a sharp turn in their carriers and decided to pursue their passion for wine.
The People of Prospice Winery
Both Jay Krutulis and Matt Reilly were the accomplished professionals in their other life before graduating from Enology & Viticulture Program at Walla Walla Community College.
Before starting their own winery, both worked under experienced Washington winemakers for renowned wineries such as Tranche, Corliss, and Gramercy Cellars.
The Label
Jay and Matt put a lot of thought into selecting the name of the winery. In their own words, “Our name “Prospice,” from the Latin for “look to the future,” represents both our belief in the inherently optimistic and forward-looking nature of wine and winemaking and our respect for their deeply rooted traditions.” But they wanted to reach beyond Roman times. To underscore the dichotomy of wine nature, underneath English letters of the logo, they added the Prospice name written in ancient Etruscan characters (read left to right).
We think it’s a smart and fun way to connect past and future and unite millennia-old winemaking tradition with the modern world.
Prospice Wine
In pursuit of their vision, Matt and Jay want to make non-fruit-bomb wines so trendy right now, but rather lighter, more balanced, and nuanced wines highlighting the inherited diversity of vineyards, terroir, and vintages. In the spirit of Prospice, they turn to tradition, science, and their palates as a guide of the winemaking process.
The stylistic difference was apparent when we tasted Prospice wines at Walla Walla Wine in Portland – Trade & Media Tasting. Generally, Washington wines are on a bolder side and can challenge California. In most years, grapes can achieve ripeness easily, and here lies a stylistic choice when to harvest the fruit and what to do with it at the winery.
So Prospice, along with a few others, had noticeably lighter wines than most, and we liked it. While they are a young and growing winery, we see great promise and Prospice.
