Deborah Hansen became a winemaker through a long, gradual, and sometimes bumpy process. First came undergraduate college classes in the Honor’s Program at Washington State University, including biology, bacteriology, inorganic and organic chemistry, and biochemistry which laid the foundation for her training as a pharmacist and later, as a winemaker. During the early career years, Deborah and her new husband Dave, moved to the San Francisco area so Deborah could complete a residency at the University of California San Francisco Medical Center. It was during these years in California that Deborah and Dave developed a keen interest in wine production and grape growing. Traveling to Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, the Coastal regions, and the Central Valley they learned to appreciate different styles of winemaking, and the effects that various soils and climates had on the wine.

While living, working, and raising children in California, Deborah and Dave knew they wanted to move back to the Northwest someday. To help make this dream a reality, they purchased their first farm in the Walla Walla Valley. This was the first of several small farms that were developed into apple orchards during the 1980’s and early 1990’s. With the end of the1995 harvest, Deborah and Dave decided to moved their family to the Walla Walla Valley. Raising the children on the farms in a small community seemed idyllic until the apple markets plummeted and some hard decisions had to be made. The decision was made to replace some outdated apple varieties with a different crop, but what would that be? The love of wine and the upsurge of premium wines in the Walla Walla Valley guided their decision. Orchards were ripped out and in the spring, small delicate cuttings of grapes from the original Seven Hills and Cailloux vineyards were hand raised and planted.

With the new vineyards a budding success, the decision was made to become vertically integrated and open their own winery. Deborah would be the winemaker, so back to college she went. The University of California at Davis with its world renowned enology and viticulture program and staff was selected. This involved many weeks and weekends traveling back and forth for specialized classes. It was here that the science of winemaking was integrated with all of the previous science disciplines that Deborah had been trained in. A new purpose was found for biology, bacteriology, and the numerous chemistry classes she had loved in her undergraduate years. She discovered an extensive enology library at UC Davis and over the next two years consumed volumes of information on every aspect of winemaking. It awakened a new passion for learning and the desire to excel at this ancient art of winemaking.

It is still the discovery of new wines and the challenges of new vintages, that excites Deborah in her new career as winemaker at Cougar Crest Winery.

Winemaker Profile PDF