Trey Busch’s sure hand in wine garnered attention early on—without an enology and viticulture degree, but through luck, hard work and some chance meetings with the right people.
His first act, however, was as a buyer for Nordstrom in Seattle until he eventually sought a lifestyle change. On a visit to Walla Walla, he became fast friends with the late Eric Dunham at a dinner party, and later, Dunham asked if he wanted to work for him.
“When he asked me, it was out of the blue. It’s not like I had been thinking wow, it’d be great to come out here and work for a winery,” says Busch. “I had zero experience, but when I started working for him I realized that I really enjoyed it—and I thought I was pretty good at it,” he says.
Busch went on to make wine for Basel Cellars, and then another piece of magic happened: he met Jerry and Sandy Solomon at the Sun Valley Wine Auction and they were taken with his infectious charisma. A few years later, the Solomons visited Walla Walla and fell in love with the town. At the time, Busch was ready to shop around a business plan for his own winery, and Soloman offered to give it a “once over.” After reading the plan, he was in.
“Sleight of Hand” is one of Busch’s favorite Pearl Jam songs (he has seen them in concert upwards of 65 times) so it’s no surprise the winery found a niche in making music part of the experience.
“We demystify wine when you come in here on a Saturday and our turntable is cranked up to 11,” says Busch laughing, pointing to a vinyl collection that has grown to 1600 albums. “Everything we do is loud. The music is loud, the labels (all with magic themes) are loud. But people keep coming back.” These two releases are both superb in their own right: the Conjurer Red Blend an excellent wine for the money, and the Psychedelic Syrah is just simply an incredible jaw-dropping example of the varietal.
Sleight of Hand 2013 The Conjurer Red Blend, $28
Editor’s Choice – Outstanding
Nose: Red and black fruit, currants, vanilla, cedar and spice.
Taste: A suave Bordeaux style blend filled with dark, dense fruit exuding black cherries, crushed blackberry and plum, mulberry, cassis, licorice and tobacco. Velvety smooth tannins push effortlessly through the finish.
Sleight of Hand 2013 Psychedelic Syrah, $60
Editor’s Choice – Outstanding
Nose: An attention getter brimming with aromas of olive tapenade, scorched earth, sesame oil, graphite and tobacco leaf.
Taste: Opulent and complex, with a mosh pit of pulsating, rich flavors including brined black olive, black and purple-tinged fruit, toasted sesame seeds, fresh herbs of sage and oregano. The relentless finish is filled with savory tar, minerals, and clay soil. $60
Website: www.sofhcellars.com