Abeja Winery, Inn and Kitchen: All Under One Roof
Have you ever heard someone smile? What does warmth sound like? If you don’t have the answers to those questions, you haven’t met Sierra Coet, the innkeeper at Abeja Winery, Inn and Kitchen. Sierra is your first point of contact when arriving at the astonishing 38-acre property in Walla Walla wine country and she is your guide throughout your stay.
The moment you step onto the bucolic estate dating back to the early 1920s, you will breathe differently. Since its founders and owners Ken and Ginger Harrison bought the farmstead that Abeja Winery resides on, they have been redefining what a balanced luxurious experience should feel like. The couple has traveled the world in order to bring the perfect blend of European living and elevated Northwest farmstead to life.
When I entered the property, I felt a sense of beauty. When I entered my suite, I felt a sense of peace, and a sense of place that made my soul smile. Through their attention to detail, Ken and Ginger have created scenery, canvases, and art you become a part of.
How Abeja was formed
Ken and Ginger founded Abeja in 2000 when Walla Walla was a small town with very few wineries. The couple recognized the land’s potential for grape growing and world-class wine production and immediately began planting their vineyard. In 2016, they were joined by Amy and Dan Wampfler who became Abeja’s winemakers and general managers. Amy and Dan shared their dream of making wine together, from start to finish, under one roof and one label.
Amy and Dan met making wine. He was making red, and she was in charge of white. They arrived at the Walla Walla winery with a unified desire to attune to the vineyard, the people and the culture. Setting their mind on continuity, combined with slow decision-making and methodical growth, the couple helped the vineyard innovate. Within a few years, Abeja Winery acquired its own vineyard crew, and tripled its estate and production capacity.
The crew shares a reverence for the purity of fruit that sets Washington and Abeja apart. And just like generations of farmers in old southern Europe, their vision for growth is aligned with a sense of balance within the ecosystem they are a part of – a sense of measure that sets the standard for what civilization should be.
Amy and Dan’s approach to winemaking is a mixture of science and art that you can taste, see, touch, smell, and hear while the precious nectar is fermenting or bubbling. He leans on the scientific side, while she leans on the intuitive and poetic side. Together, they offer a world-class experience for any aficionado or amateur desiring to have their world gently rocked.
A day spent at Abeja Winery
From the moment you enter through the gate, drive down the driveway and walk through the property, you are fully immersed in the Abeja experience. The tranquility of this oasis and the entire wine-centric landscape will slow you down with a profound sense of peace and bliss.
Dinner at Abeja will take you a good couple of hours, and I’m begging you: don’t rush the experience. It is the right time to stop looking at your watch, or even better, to just leave it in your suitcase, as time is a key ingredient. If you have a reservation at Abeja, that table is yours for the evening, which is sure to be unique and memorable.
Chef Jake Crenshaw and his team create magical moments made of culinary bliss and attunement to Abeja’s natural environment. In the spirit of Slow Food, it is centered on finding the perfect rhythm and on being rooted in local seasonality. Chef Crenshaw maintains close relationships with the farmers down the road. Each meal, every ingredient, every flavor and every texture is designed to offer a bite of what the region has to offer. Chef Crenshaw masters balance and technique so visitors can melt into the elevated journey honoring Abeja’s origins and rich history as a Northwest farmhouse.
When you have a chance to chat with Ken and Ginger, Amy and Dan, or Chef Crenshaw, each will insist it is their privilege to be surrounded by such a wonderful team. I have heard it said many times, but when you experience a stay at Abeja, it becomes undeniable that they mean it and are continuously in pursuit of excellence. I opened this piece with Sierra’s warm smile and welcoming energy, but that is true of every single team member at Abeja winery and every single interaction you will have when you go.
Developing a terroir is not about importing it from somewhere else, it is about understanding the very character of your own land. Humans are the best vessels because they carry the land as their own inherent legacy. I come from a culture that honors having three or four generations living together and taking care of each other, and I am sad to admit that this is no longer a part of western society. Abeja’s tour de force resides in the hand picking of their beautiful and multi-generational labor of love family in which every worker focuses tirelessly on an organic sense of balance and belonging.
Step through these gates and become part of that legacy. Join a family you won’t ever want to leave. Abeja’s Winery, Inn, and Kitchen offers an exceptional journey you will want to experience again: all under one roof.
Alex Barrouk
(He/him/his). Intuitive guide, vision and change activator, student of complexity, pathfinder and friend.
Hi, I’m Alex. Remind Me of My Power (RMOMP) came to life as a blend of my experiences as a psychoanalyst back home in France, my business and professional work as a consultant, and my spiritual journey.
By combining the three, I have found my power helping people unclutter their own visions and paths forward by reminding them of their power. RMOMP is not coaching, though the techniques coaches use are familiar to me. I think of what we do together as intuitive guidance, work that is transcendent of basic skill-building.
As far back as I can remember, I have seen people, systems, and organizations for their potential rather than focusing on where they are currently stuck. For a long time, I thought that I had just trained my listening muscle to help people in a deeper way.
But then, my own spiritual journey opened doors and placed people, guides and friends on my way, all of whom opened my eyes to the existence of spiritual gifts — specifically, intuitive guidance.
That is when I realized that a large segment of my work takes root in something bigger, has a more complicated source than I had previously thought, and I have been working to discover what this could mean to me. Along the way — a lot of revelations, hardships, discoveries, successes and failures later — I was reminded of my power: My biggest power is reminding you of your power.
