COMING SPRING 2025

Wines Releasing

Spring of 2025

Cockburn

AVA: Walla Walla Valley

Cockburn Vineyard is located in the foothills of the Blue Mountains in the Southeast corner of the Walla Walla Valley. Planting in the silt-loam soils of this north-northwest facing hillside began in 2005 with about 60 acres currently under vine. The site is notable for its high altitude, unusual row orientation (East-West), and temperate growing conditions.

There exists a saying amongst wine grape growers that “Syrah loves a view”. This maxim certainly holds true here as Cockburn features one of the most stunning panoramic views in the Walla Walla Valley and also produces some of its most intensely colored and powerful Syrahs.

Winesap

AVA: The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater

Winesap Vineyard lies in the ancient riverbed of the Walla Walla River; better known as The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater AVA. Though this tiny AVA was only officially designated in 2015, it is already internationally recognized as one of the most striking examples of terroir in the United States. Wines from this region, particularly Syrah, are easily recognized by a distinctly savory/meaty/smokey character sometimes referred to as “the rocks funk”.

Winesap, like Cockburn Vineyard, is unusual in that it is planted East-West. Soils are characterized by the area’s signature soft-ball sized basalt cobblestones which radiate heat into the vines overnight. The vineyard’s inter-rows are characterized by a grassy cover crop which leaves the cobblestones less exposed than in other neighboring vineyards. Some combination of these factors contributes to Syrah wines which tend to be a little lighter on “the funk” and higher in jammy, black fruit flavors. This character provides an interesting counter-point to Strata Varia’s other Rocks Syrah source; Freewater Rocks Vineyard.

Freewater Rocks

AVA: The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater

Varieties sourced from this site: Syrah

Freewater Rocks vineyard was planted in 2008 by Dana Dibble who also planted and manages one of the Rocks District’s original sites, River Rock Vineyard. Strata Varia’s inaugural vintage, 2023, will mark the first year working with this fruit but it will certainly not be the last! Syrah from this site is jet-black in color, highly perfumed, intensely meaty/smokey, and smooth as silk in the mouth.

the people

BRENT ROBERTS

winemaker/owner

Kate ROBERTS

General Manager/owner

The Journey

Kate and Brent Roberts first crossed paths while attending Washington State University in the fall of 2012. As a student pursuing a career in winemaking, Brent had naturally become active as an officer in the school’s Viticulture and Enology Club. Kate, a neuroscience major with a casual interest in wine, had joined just in time to attend the club’s all-expenses-paid weekend trip to the Lake Chelan wine region.

During this trip, the two forged an immediate bond which quickly blossomed into romance. Following graduation in the spring of 2013, the two decided to continue their relationship. Brent followed Kate back to her hometown of Friday Harbor where she had a summer job guiding kayak trips. During this time, Brent worked his first career-specific job tending to the vines at San Juan Vineyards.

In 2014, the couple made the move to Walla Walla. While Kate continued her education at Walla Walla Community College pursuing a degree in nursing, Brent worked stints with notable Walla Walla Valley wineries including Seven Hills Winery and Gramercy Cellars. Brent would eventually take the role of enologist at Zerba Cellars where Kate was also working as the wine club manager. After briefly departing to work as an assistant winemaker for Cougar Crest, Brent was offered the job of winemaker for Zerba Cellars.

Over the next four years, Brent would refine his winemaking skills while working with 20 different varietals grown across three estate vineyards. These vineyards included Cockburn Vinyard, a temperate, high-altitude site nestled in the foothills of the Blue Mountains and Winesap Vineyard located amongst the alluvial cobbles of the famed The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater. These vineyards, along with a handful of other notable vineyard sites, are now at the core of Brent’s new San Juan Island-based, Rhone-varietal focused wine project, Strata Varia.

The Destination

San Juan Island, and its town of Friday Harbor, is a truly unique place. Apart from its well-deserved reputation as one of the most scenic places in the world, the island is characterized by a relaxed pace of living and a tight-knit community of creative and adventurous locals. So why wouldn’t Kate and Brent eventually want to return here to raise their family?

In the fall of 2021, the couple, along with their two young daughters, Lily and Camille, left Walla Walla behind to make the move back to San Juan Island. While Kate worked as an RN in the ER at the local hospital, Brent spent a year off from the wine industry as a stay-at-home dad. However, in January of 2023, the winebug began to itch again…

Fast-forward to the fall of 2023. Brent is back in Walla Walla sitting in the Whitman College library typing up copy for the Strata Varia website. Ten miles away, housed in the brand new, state-of-the-art Milton-Freewater Winemaker’s Studio, premium fruit from Freewater Rocks Vineyard is mid-way through its fermentative journey towards becoming the first Strata Varia Syrah. Best to wrap it up here as it about time to return to the cellar for mid-afternoon punchdowns. See you in Spring of 2025!

KATIE JEANNE REIM

FINE ARTIST

In 2014 Katie left everything Philadelphia and moved to Portland, OR to be closer to the mountains she craves and to push her limits as an ultramarathon trail runner. Always motivated by what could be around the next bend, she has found home and inspiration exploring as many miles of mountain trails as possible.

As she explored new terrain, often alone in the wilderness, she became fascinated by the patterns made with the lines on the topographic trail maps stuffed in the front pocket of her pack. She loves pairing the unique maps with the inspirations and adventures she seeks in nature.

After earning a degree in illustration her intense love for wilderness and painting naturally pulled her towards this latest body of work.

Each painting is started by letting the contours of a map lead her towards a composition. Altering the colors of the map to fit the mood of the place, she then paints on top with acrylic and finish the details with meticulous pen and ink. The contour lines are like fingerprints for nature. Each place and what you experience each time you go is unique. Katie aims to capture the connection people feel towards their favorite wild places.

the name

Strata Varia. Latin. Translation: “different layers”

Wines, and the vineyard soils from which they arise, both originate from a relatively simple parent material; the grape and the parent rock, respectively.

Subject to the influence of time and a myriad of external forces, the parent material becomes nearly unrecognizable. Layers of complexity begin to accumulate. A finely aged wine is a synthesis of primary, secondary, and tertiary aromas; a composite of different layers. The soil, providing the foundation for the vine from which the wine originated, is a composite of different layers.

Strata Varia is a reflection of finding pleasure and allure in complexity. A celebration of wine and the land from which it emerged.

the label

The Strata Varia label depicts the remarkable diversity of the Pacific Northwest as a composite landscape painting.

A 350-mile drive (and a ferry ride) separates the island of San Juan from the Walla Walla Valley. In crossing this expanse, one observes a beautiful and dramatically shifting landscape. The densely forested archipelago of the San Juan Islands gives way to the craggy alpine vistas of the Cascade-Mountain Range. The towering, angular rock walls of the Columbia River Gorge open up to the arid, rolling wheatfields of the Palouse.

In rotating the bottle, the image gradually shifts from the maritime climate of the Puget Sound to the desert climate of the Palouse; an attempt to capture the effect of crossing Washington State.