Bless them, for they know exactly what they're doing.
And they know not everyone's going to be happy about it.
"I had one guy from Boise who called and threatened me," admitted Jeanie Inglis-Chowanietz, one of three partners in Thirsty Pagans, a very small Walla Walla winery with a very big and slightly twisted sense of humor.
What would upset someone in Boise? A glance at the label for Thirsty Pagans' inaugural release tells you all you need to know: Three monks and a wench happily imbibe around a cask below the word "Communion."
There's a sermon in the label's name, Inglis-Chowanietz said, but it's not intentionally blasphemous.
Inglis-Chowanietz grew up Episcopalian, a faith that embraces wine and serves the real stuff, rather than grape juice, as part of the sacred ritual of Communion. But her husband, Rob Chowanietz and his best friend, Crandall Kyle, grew up in more religiously strict households where wine and alcohol weren't tolerated.
So when the three gathered to start their own winery after working elsewhere in the Northwest wine industry, drawing on and rebelling a little from their faiths provided a natural connection to their feelings about wine and how to celebrate it.
Inglis-Chowanietz, a talented painter, designed the label basing it on a Goya print from the 18th century. She sees no contradiction in enjoying wine and celebrating her faith.
"Jesus, of course, turned water into wine, so he was the first master vintner," she said.
And while there's a sly homage to communion wine, Inglis-Chowanietz said, they also meant for people to think about the communion of family and friends.
"Absolutely, there's a dual meaning there," she said. "Communion is about getting together and celebrating life and everything."
The 2005 Communion, Thirsty Pagans' first release earlier this winter, was limited to 250 cases, priced at $26 and rated "Outstanding!" by Wine Press Northwest.
It's a blend of 75 percent Cabernet Sauvignon, 15 percent Merlot and 5 percent each of Malbec and Petit Verdot, primarily from the Horse Heaven Hills. Before aging in French oak, most of the fruit was crushed in an old basket press at L'Ecole No. 41 in Lowden, Wash., Inglis-Chowanietz said, but the Merlot received some old-school foot-stomping from her and a friend. The monks, no doubt, would approve.
Communion's marketing and sales have been more high-tech. Without a tasting room, almost all of the sales have been through word of mouth, with Inglis-Chowanietz taking orders over their website and Facebook page and delivering wine personally, but that's offered its own opportunities for communion with new friends.
"I just delivered a case to a Lutheran minister who told me he appreciated our sense of humor," Inglis-Chowanietz said. "He said he was going to serve it to his parish."
Thirsty Pagans: 1111 Blalock Drive, Walla Walla, WA 99362, thirstypagans.com, 509-910-1940.
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