Skysill Vineyard
Skysill is Jett’s focal point and home base. Our vineyard is positioned at the eastern edge of the Walla Walla Valley in the Mill Creek district, a developing viticultural subregion within the Walla Walla Valley AVA. 2021 was an exploratory year. We rambled, observing and tasting, then made wine from several locations, including this one. Entranced by the results, we purchased the site in 2022. We grow Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Chardonnay on 40 acres that were planted in 2016 and 2017. In 2024 we put in Syrah and a touch of Viognier. The property is made up of hypnotically rolling foothills. Gianna chose the name Skysill—a word from poetry that means horizon—to evoke the hills as a firm threshold to the vast sky.
The relatively short growing season begins with a long cool period, which is later offset by extended daylight hours and heat leading up to harvest. During the day, the air hovering over the valley floor to our west warms up and becomes less dense, which moves a gentle breeze upward across our vineyard. Just before sunset the direction shifts, with cold air pouring down from the Blue Mountains. The westerly wind in the day and easterly wind at nightfall help slow and balance the vines’ growth and ripening.
In the fruit we are finding a density that harmonizes with an openness. The wines are expansive and energetic with a warm savory thread, bright fruit, and structural tannin.
The Mill Creek waterway drains down from the mountains, past our neighborhood, through the town of Walla Walla, and into the Walla Walla River, which eventually flows to the Columbia River. To be considered part of the Mill Creek area, vineyards must be between 1,200 and 2,000 feet above sea level. This elevation is untouched by alluvial soils brought into surrounding regions by the Missoula floods 12,000 to 15,000 years ago. Skysill has an average elevation of 1,500 feet. Our vines are primarily on south/southwest-facing slopes, rooted in consistent and very thick loess soil, a silty and well-draining quartz-rich loam.
All together these dynamics create grapes that are truly different from those grown in any other place.
Skysill is farmed organically and we also apply regenerative practices such as sheep grazing and no-till. We work this way out of respect for the earth, the vines’ longevity, and the community—and as a basis for fruit that reflects the charismatic forces of this landscape.
