By Amy Rowley
Lloyd Anderson was a forester. He located his forestry consulting business in Shelton to take advantage of the network of highways that criss-cross Mason and Thurston counties. From this location, he was able to access hundreds of acres of forestland.
When the log market fell off in the early 2000’s, Lloyd and his wife Ann began taking their home wine making successes more seriously. Friends who enjoyed tasting the Anderson’s wines encouraged them to transition from hobby wine making into a commercial operation.
“When airfares dropped after 9/11, we started flying back and forth to UC Davis to participate in their preeminent wine making program,” says Lloyd.
Lloyd’s learning didn’t stop when he finished the program. He continued to scour the area, grabbing information and knowledge from a variety of sources including helping Doug McCrea at McCrea Cellars in Rainier and enrolling in a program in Salem, Oregon that focuses on making pinot noir. “Learning is learning,” says Lloyd with a smile.
Now, Lloyd is a winemaker with a beautiful tasting room in Shelton. He creates Rhone and Mediterranean style wines using grapes from select vineyards in Yakima and the Columbia Valley.
Operating a Winery
Walter Dacon Winery, named to honor Lloyd’s grandfather, opened in 2003. “I grew up spending a lot of time with my grandparents. My dad was in the military and away a lot. My grandfather was not a wine maker but someone I wanted to honor,” reports Lloyd.
Ann manages the tasting room and handles the winery’s business affairs. She also organizes private tasting parties. The team frequently donates a bottle of wine plus a tasting party for ten people to auctions. The Andersons support many local nonprofit organizations.
In 2003, Walter Dacon produced 850 cases. Production steadily increased to peak at 2000 cases for the 2008 and 2009 vintages. And, it’s clear that the wine is popular, not just with consumers but also judges. The tasting room is filled with wine bottles sporting medals and accolades.
The winery, situated on a road street just a mile or so from Highway 101, is surrounded by trees and includes a quaint patio for sipping purchased bottles. A tour of the facilities includes a trip into two garage bays – one which stores full oak barrels and the other which houses a bottling machine and cases of wine.
Lloyd learned techniques from Oregon winemakers who produce pinot noir. “Pinot grapes are very fragile. It’s a difficult wine to make well,” comments Lloyd. He applied these same techniques to perfecting his varieties of Syrah.
“Grapes make the wine,” says Lloyd confidently. “You can be the best winemaker in the world and produce mediocre wine. Wine is made in the vineyard. A winemaker’s job is just not to screw it up.”
A Wine Makers Favorite
When asked about his favorite wine, Lloyd responded without hesitation – Skookum Red. Lloyd encountered a variety of issues during the second fermentation of this red wine.
“The Skookum would not go through the second fermentation. There was an off-smell and it was very problematic,” comments Lloyd who also mentioned that he considered tossing the whole lot.
After contacting labs in California and consulting with fellow wine makers, Lloyd opted to try a cross-flow filter process as a last result to salvage the lot. He hired an operator who brought the equipment to Walter Dacon. “Almost instantly, the smell was gone,” says Lloyd.
The wine continued to get better after being bottled and quite rapidly Walter Dacon was sold out of 530 cases in one year.
He is experimenting with Syrah, Sangiovese, and Grenache from the 2009 vintage to try to recreate the wine. He added the same components into the next lot but shifted the blend slightly. “Grenache (grapes) is what made it so good, so I put more in. Now, my challenge is to replicate a scenario that started out problematic but turned out good,” chuckles Lloyd.
Sampling Walter Dacon Wines
In Thurston County, you can find Walter Dacon wines at Thriftway, Top Foods, Fred Meyer, and the Wine Loft.
Order a glass while dining at Hearthfire, Budd Bay Café, Aqua Via, Water Street Café, Mercato, Lemon Grass, Dockside Bistro, Adesso, Pints Barn, Swing Wine Bar, Rivers Edge and Uncork and Unwind.
Over Memorial Day weekend, stop in at the winery and enjoy live music while tasting Walter Dacon wines. On Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, the Andersons will also be serving Taylor Shellfish steamed clams and rustic French bread.
Take a 15-minute drive from downtown Olympia and visit Walter Dacon Winery.
50 SE Skookum Inlet Road
Shelton, WA 98584
Tasting room hours: Wednesday through Sunday from noon until 6:00 pm
To learn more about Doug Walker’s photography, click here.
