The number of managing partners at Eleven Winery on Bainbridge Island is growing organically from within the company as part of a succession plan. The winery’s future owners will be a trio of current employees: Alana Mignano, general manager; Ashley Dunlap, tasting room & events manager; and winemaker Armathia Bolles.
“We have formed a partnership that gives them full operational authority, effective immediately,” says founder Matt Albee. “I am thrilled to have such a remarkable trio to whom to hand the reins of Eleven Winery. They are each, in their respective areas, outstanding at what they do, together making an unbeatable team to take Eleven into the future. I truly believe that Eleven will thrive and grow more under their new leadership than it would with more years of me at the helm.”
Albee, who founded the winery in 2003, says he presently remains the majority owner, and the full ownership transition will take several years. “I’ll still be around to monitor results, provide advice and support, help out in small ways, and back them up in an emergency, but from now on it’s their show,” he says.
Mignano has been general manager at Eleven since 2022. She started in the tasting room in 2018 after moving over from a career in the food industry, and has steadily, rapidly grown in skills, knowledge, and responsibility.
Bolles has officially been part of the winemaking team since 2020 but started helping out and realizing her passion for winemaking in 2019, before earning the title of winemaker in 2023. Similarly, Dunlap officially started work with Eleven in 2021 after working for Starbucks for many years but was spreading joy in the tasting rooms at Eleven long before she started getting paid to do it.
“Each of these women is one-in-a-million,” says Albee. “We are incredibly fortunate to have them on the team that is now leading Eleven.”
Albee says he will be spending more time riding and racing his several bicycles around Washington, relaxing in one of the tasting rooms, working on developing a new winery building for Eleven and other pursuits. The winery takes its name from bicycle racing—when a rider is giving it everything they’ve got, they shift to the Eleven.
The winery produces a wide variety of table and dessert wines, approximately 6,000 cases annually, with a focus on Mourvèdre and Viognier. The wines are produced from grapes grown in Eastern Washington, then brought back to Bainbridge Island and made into wine.