People often ask me what makes Walla Walla different. For me, it comes down to its economic soul—an agricultural community built on the idea that success isn't a zero-sum game, and that lifting your neighbor lifts the entire valley. The story of L'Ecole is that principle in action.
There are peers we admire—pioneers like Leonetti, Woodward Canyon and Pepper Bridge who built the valley's earliest reputation alongside the Fergusons and Clubbs. But when it comes to breadth across diverse varietals matched with world-class standard on every single bottle, L'Ecole stands in a class of its own.
When we talk about great wine, conversation naturally turns to terroir—soil chemistry, wind currents, and diurnal temperature swings. What is far less examined, but arguably more decisive, is human ecology: the shared institutional spine, civic stewardship, and sheer long-term commitment required to turn an agrarian outpost into a world-class wine region.
Few people embody that truth more completely than Marty and Megan Clubb.
Roots Grounded in Principle & Substance
Marty and Megan met as fellow graduate students at MIT's Sloan School of Management. After completing their studies, their paths took them to the Bay Area—Megan working as a management consultant in San Francisco, and Marty directing heavy industrial project development for Bechtel. In 1989, they made what seemed an improbable pivot: heading north to rural southeastern Washington to take over the fledgling winery founded six years earlier by Megan's parents, Jean and Baker Ferguson.
The Fergusons named their enterprise L'Ecole N° 41 after the historic Frenchtown schoolhouse in Lowden where it still operates, honoring the French Canadians who first planted vines in the valley in the 1800s. But honoring history is rarely passive.
Megan's lineage is inextricably woven into the financial and civic bedrock of the Pacific Northwest. Her family founded Baker Boyer Bank in 1869, making it Washington's oldest bank and the oldest continuously operating, independently owned financial institution in the Pacific Northwest. 1
Lifting the Valley: Water, Land, and the Next Generation
Great wine regions rarely emerge through isolated genius; they require shared infrastructure. That vision crystallized with the creation of SeVein, a pioneering 2,700-acre development situated along the southern hills of the Walla Walla Valley. Marty was central to bringing competitors, viticulturists, and neighbors together to establish a unified water district, drill deep aquifer infrastructure, and build out high-elevation vineyard parcels—including L'Ecole's acclaimed Ferguson Vineyard, set in fractured basalt above the ancient Missoula Flood line.
More importantly, SeVein was structured not as an exclusive enclave, but as an engine of regional equity. Smaller, independent winemakers who could never finance high-elevation exploration or deep-well infrastructure alone were granted access through long-term parcel leases, custom planting agreements, and shared viticultural counsel. Marty understood early that the international reputation of Walla Walla depended on collective excellence, not solitary monopolies.
That same conviction guided his work with local education. Marty joined a handful of valley pioneers to help found the Walla Walla Community College Center for Enology and Viticulture, shaping its curriculum from the ground up and serving on its advisory board for years. Beyond advising, he put the program into practice—opening cellar doors to student interns, mentoring young winemakers, and hiring local graduates who now manage some of the valley's premier vineyard sites.
An Evening of Shared Values
The values and practices described here speak to L'Ecole's depth, from which it casts an exceptionally wide net of top-tier varietals. They pull fruit not only from their own estate ground, but also from a network of the most respected, long-established vineyards across Walla Walla and the Columbia Valley.
They turn out vibrant everyday whites like Old Vines Chenin Blanc and classic single-vintage Sémillon, hit full stride with GSM blends and estate Syrah, and move straight into their inland Northwest to sell out to metropolitan bank holding companies. Baker Boyer remains the sole survivor of that founding generation because its ownership chose to remain strictly local and independent. It’s a Walla Walla type of thing... heavyweight Bordeaux-style trio. It is rare to see a cellar handle that kind of range across the board without losing focus or dropping quality on a single bottle. When you spot a bottle of L'Ecole on the shelf, you buy it with complete confidence.
L'Ecole has garnered international acclaim—including Decanter World Wine Awards' highest honors—by crafting wines of uncompromising balance and longevity. Yet what resonates most with us is the ethical architecture behind the bottle: a multi-generational commitment to associative responsibility, community vitality, and quiet leadership.
Now To the Table
To illustrate L'Ecole's breadth and depth, Janet is preparing something unlike any of our previous winemaker dinners.
After greeting you with a Grenache Rosé, guests will experience four distinct white wine pairings followed by four red wine pairings, culminating in a dinner of prime New York strip steak paired with L'Ecole's flagship trio: Apogee, Perigee, and Ferguson.
We have also made transportation arrangements to get to you safely to the dinner and back. Click here to see the ticket and transportation details. If perhaps you have already made your decision, click here to purchase your tickets.
Join us at the table as we welcome Marty Clubb, pull corks on four decades of cellar wisdom, and celebrate the standard of stewardship that built the modern Walla Walla Valley.
Date & Time: Saturday, November 7 at 6:00 PM
Location: Bethany's Table
Admission: $225 per guest (gratuity included)
Transit Tier:
- $285 per single guest (includes dinner, pairings, gratuity, and pre-paid Uber Voucher)
- $500 per couple (includes dinner for two, pairings, gratuity, and pre-paid Uber Voucher)
Cellar Offering: Special preferred pricing on featured L'Ecole wines available for purchase that evening.
Sunday Grand Tasting: Sunday, November 8 from 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM (for guests unable to attend Saturday dinner, join us Sunday)
Note on Transportation: Over the course of the evening, guests will taste twelve distinct pours. For your safety and peace of mind, we strongly recommend our pre-paid transit tier or arrange your own third party transportation.
Join us and discover what makes L’Ecole’s wines so special, meet fellow wine lovers, and settle in for a night of great food, great wine, and even better company.
Let’s be together at the table.
