Walla Faces began as a pipe dream in the mind of Rick Johnson as he traveled through Europe in the summer of 1975. As he tasted European wines and experienced the rich art and architecture of the region, he dreamed about living on a vineyard, making wine, and surrounding himself with culture. When he returned to the United States, however, he put his dream on hold.

In 1999, Debbie Higgins met Rick. They fell in love, and got married on the eve of the new millennium. As they discussed their future together, Rick shared his dream of living a wine-touched life, and found the Debbie was totally on board. Together, the two of them searched for the perfect property for five years, and finally found it in Walla Walla.

When Rick and Debbie moved to Walla Walla in 2005, they bought the historic Hungate Building, now home to the downtown tasting room and hotel rooms. At the time, the Hungate Building was an apartment building, but not an exceptionally nice one, so Rick and Debbie remodeled it. One day, Rick had the inspired idea of converting it into a hotel instead of an apartment, and the Walla Walla Inns were born.

In July 2006, Rick and Debbie acquired the Walla Faces Estate Vineyard. Originally planted in 1999, it consists of seven acres of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes and one and a half acres of Syrah grapes. They wasted no time in starting the winemaking process, and the first Walla Faces harvest was in fall of 2006.

Around this time, Rick and Debbie were trying to figure out how to brand their wine. Originally, a close friend from Seattle, Teri Citterman (the namesake of the 2009 Riesling), had suggested they call themselves “Faces,” but that was just too generic to be an effective brand. Rick suggested adding “Walla” to the name, and another friend, Bill Denton from Dallas (and namesake of the 2009 Syrah), had the home-run idea of using the artwork of Rick’s sister, Candice Johnson, on the bottles. It was the birth of the Walla Faces brand.