What Forgeron Cellars does

Forgeron Cellars is a privately held urban winery founded in 2001 in Walla Walla, Washington, operating from a renovated 1900s blacksmith building at 33 W Birch Street (the name "Forgeron" is French for blacksmith). The winery produces small-lot artisan wines — including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Syrah, Viognier, Malbec, and Merlot — by sourcing grapes from 15+ vineyards across six Eastern Washington American Viticultural Areas (Horse Heaven Hills, Yakima Valley, Columbia Valley, Red Mountain, Walla Walla Valley, and Wahluke Slope). Production emphasizes site-specific, terroir-driven wines rather than volume, supported by long-standing relationships with regional growers.

The business operates a fully direct-to-consumer model across three channels: a tasting room open Wednesday through Saturday in downtown Walla Walla offering five-pour flights at $20 per person; an e-commerce wine shop powered by OrderPort; and a three-tier wine club (Smithy at ~$108/quarter, Artisan at ~$216/quarter, Master at ~$324/quarter) providing recurring quarterly shipments, complimentary tastings, discounts on current releases, and exclusive access to small-lot wines. The winery also operates an Anvil sub-brand for select SKUs and hosts Saturday community events with live music and food partners.

The company is privately held by its founding group — more than two-dozen local Walla Walla business leaders, many of whom previously founded and sold Canoe Ridge Winery — with no disclosed institutional ownership, funding rounds, or parent company structure. Quality has been externally validated through Wine Enthusiast (92 points and Editor's Choice for the 2021 Anvil Chardonnay) and Vinous (90 points for multiple Cabernet vintages).

Name

Forgeron Cellars

Legal name

Forgeron Cellars

Website

https://forgeroncellars.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Forgeron Cellars is a privately held urban winery founded in 2001 in Walla Walla, Washington, producing small-lot artisan wines from 15+ Eastern Washington vineyards and selling direct-to-consumer through a tasting room, e-commerce shop, and three-tier wine club.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Winery / Wine Production

NAICS

Wineries (312130), Beer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers (445320)

akta.pro primary industry

Wine Production & Winemaking (AFAFAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Urban Wineries (No/Minimal Vineyard) (THAFALAF), Wine Bars (CRANACAE), Wine & Sparkling Wine Wineries & Brands (CRADAIAB), Fine Wine & Luxury Spirits Retail (CRANABAE)

Keywords

• Washington wine production
• Artisan winery operations
• Wine tasting experiences
• Wine club memberships
• Direct-to-consumer wine

Headquarters

HQ city

Walla Walla

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Direct Wine Sales (Tasting Room): Visitors purchase wines directly at the tasting room. Classic tasting flights are $20 per person and can be waived with a bottle purchase.
2. E-commerce Wine Shop: Online sales of current release wines through their order portal at forgeroncellars.orderport.net
3. Wine Club Memberships: Three-tier wine club program offering quarterly shipments. Smithy tier: 3 bottles per shipment at ~$108 average cost, 20% discount on current releases. Artisan tier: 6 bottles per shipment at ~$216 average cost, exclusive access to small lot wines. Master tier: 12 bottles per shipment at ~$324 average cost, 25% discount on current releases. All tiers include complimentary tastings for members and guests.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Forgeron Cellars produces small-lot artisan wines from grapes sourced across 15+ Eastern Washington vineyards and sells them directly to consumers. The company operates an urban winery and tasting room in downtown Walla Walla, complemented by an online wine shop and a three-tier wine club membership program offering quarterly shipments.

Product overview

Forgeron Cellars is an urban winery and tasting room that crafts small-lot artisan wines from Eastern Washington vineyards. The company operates a direct-to-consumer model centered on its downtown Walla Walla tasting experience, complemented by an online wine shop and a three-tiered wine club membership program (Smithy, Artisan, Master). The portfolio includes varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Syrah, Viognier, Malbec, and Merlot, sourced from over a dozen partner vineyards across Washington AVAs. Wine purchases are facilitated through OrderPort e-commerce integration, while reservations are managed via Tock.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 92 points & Editor's Choice, Wine Enthusiast for 2021 Anvil by Forgeron Chardonnay
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Canoe Ridge Winery FounderscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2001Forgeron Cellars was founded by more than two dozen local Walla Walla business leaders, many of whom successfully founded and sold Canoe Ridge Winery. These founders collectively invested in creating an urban winery to anchor downtown Walla Walla business development and contribute to the area's reinvigoration.
• Vineyard Growers NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerForgeron Cellars maintains strategic relationships with 15+ Eastern Washington vineyards to source premium grapes. Key partners include Alder Ridge Vineyard (Horse Heaven Hills), Boushey Vineyard (Yakima Valley), Dionysus Vineyard (Columbia Valley), Seven Hills Vineyard (Walla Walla Valley), and Sagemoor Group vineyards. These partnerships emphasize sustainability, traditional techniques, and modern innovation to produce site-specific artisan wines.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• L'Ecole No 41: Walla Walla, WA winery founded in 1983 producing small-lot, terroir-driven wines from Columbia Valley vineyards. Operates a historic schoolhouse tasting room in Lowden, WA with a comparable DTC focus and award-winning portfolio — the closest geographic and operational peer to Forgeron.
• Willamette Valley Vineyards: Publicly traded Oregon winery producing Pinot Noir and other cool-climate varietals from estate vineyards with a tasting room, wine club, and DTC focus. Comparable craft-DTC business model in a neighboring Pacific Northwest wine region, though with deeper distribution and public-company scale.
• Woodward Canyon Winery: Family-owned Walla Walla Valley winery founded in 1981 producing estate and Columbia Valley wines with a tasting room on the Walla Walla Wine Trail. Highly comparable small-lot artisan model, multi-AVA sourcing, and DTC emphasis with limited national distribution.
• Leonetti Cellar: Founding Walla Walla Valley winery (1986) producing highly allocated Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Sangiovese from estate and Columbia Valley vineyards. Sells primarily through mailing list/wine club with no public tasting room — directly comparable premium allocation model.
• Bedell Cellars: Long Island, NY estate winery (founded 2000) producing small-lot, single-vineyard wines from sustainably farmed vineyards with a tasting room and wine club. Comparable boutique-DTC, vineyard-sourcing, and award-recognition model outside the Pacific Northwest.
• Cayuse Vineyards: Boutique Walla Walla AVA winery famous for biodynamic, single-vineyard Syrah and Cabernet Franc from the Stones of the Walla Walla. Operates a small, allocation-based wine club model with no traditional tasting room open to walk-ins — comparable premium positioning and small-lot philosophy.

Broad incumbents

• Chateau Ste. Michelle: Washington State's largest and most recognized winery, producing a broad portfolio across price points from the same Columbia Valley and Woodinville facilities. Operates a major tasting room, nationwide distribution, and food/wine events — the dominant Washington incumbent against whom boutique producers like Forgeron compete for shelf and mindshare.
• Duckhorn Vineyards: Premium Napa Valley-focused wine producer (now public) with a portfolio of estate and DTC brands including Canvasback (Washington State). Demonstrates the scale and brand-portfolio archetype Forgeron could aspire to via strategic acquisition, with strong DTC and wine club mechanics.
• Willamette Valley Vineyards / Ste. Michelle Wine Estates portfolio: Ste. Michelle Wine Estates is the umbrella parent of multiple Washington brands including 14 Hands, Spring Valley, and others spanning price tiers. Represents the consolidated competitive set that any growth-oriented boutique like Forgeron would either join via acquisition or compete against for shelf space and consumer attention.
• Charles Smith Wines (Jet Blue / Wines of Substance): Washington-based wine brand portfolio (now part of Constellation Brands) producing Columbia Valley red and white wines with broad distribution. Comparable Columbia Valley sourcing geography but operates at materially larger scale with national three-tier distribution.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/forgeroncellars
• Facebookfacebook.com/ForgeronCellarsWoodinville
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/forgeron-cellars

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Forgeron Cellars