A lawyer and an architect created a winery. The federal shutdown threatened their debut

Thirty-five days into the longest federal shutdown in U.S. history, Walla Walla’s newest wine makers were sweating it.

Would furloughed regulators sign off on their labels in time to meet a key bottling deadline?

Jay Krutulis and Matt Reilly started Prospice Wines in 2017.

The winery is set to open during the May 3-5 spring release weekend, when all eyes are on Walla Walla winemakers.

But before it can sell its debut releases — two syrahs, a viognier and a rosé — it has to bottle them. And in the normal course of business, wineries slap labels on bottles before they fill them.

Much of the attention throughout the shutdown has focused on federal workers like TSA agents, air traffic controllers and the Coast Guard. But the impact isn’t confined to them. Businesses that depend on regulators were caught in a cycle of logjams.

Propsice Wines submitted its four labels to the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau for approval. But the agency’s agents were not working during the shutdown.

Friday, after the Senate approved a deal to reopen the government for three weeks, Krutulis said called the news a “great gift.”

But he’s still nervous.

“We’re cautiously hopeful that whatever happens will clear out the backlog and we can order our labels,” he said.

Washington’s $5 billion industry

The deal comes as Washington’s $5 billion wine industry was anticipating a wave of impacts from the record shutdown.

The Washington Winegrowers Association said it was concerned grape contracts could be affected if the annual crush report by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service was delayed past the usual March release date.

It said label delays could postpone spring wine releases.

In addition to worrying about label decision, it said the shutdown was affecting grant programs administered through the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Tight schedule to get back on course

Even with the government set to reopen, Prospice’s Krutulis and Reilly don’t know how quickly their labels will be accepted, denied or altered.

To be ready for May 3, Prospice intends to bottle its debut releases in March. Ideally, it will order labels at least three weeks before that, so they can be put on the empty bottles.

If the labels aren’t ready, Prospice will fill blank bottles.

The winemakers say they can’t delay because wine needs time to recover from the shock of flowing through hoses and fill nozzles before it’s drinkable.

To be ready in May, wine needs to be bottled in March.

But filling “blanks” presents its own challenges. Once wine is bottled, it’s packed onto pallets.

To label the blanks, they have to be unpacked from the pallets and fed into labeling machines by hand.

It’s doable, but labor intensive.

Krutulis and Reilly missing spring release weekend is a non starter.

It’s a key event on the wine calendar.

Wine lovers flock to tasting rooms. For a new winery like Prospice, it’s a chance to introduce itself to an influential crowd, to sell wine and to begin building a fan base.

Most importantly, it’s the first time Prospice vintages will be available for sale. And the business needs to begin selling.

“We need labels and we need revenue,” Reilly said.

Young business at risk

It is unclear how many wineries and breweries were left in limbo when the TTB workers were first furloughed in December.

But delays fall hardest on young businesses such as Prospice that don’t have previously approved labels to fall back on.

Switching from one year’s vintage to the next doesn’t trigger a review, so established wineries that aren’t significantly altering labels can bottle as usual.

Kennewick winery owner Bart Fawbush said Bartholomew Winery doesn’t need wine labels approved at the moment.

If it did, Fawbush said he’s confident he understands the rules well enough to order labels and bottle wine without prior approval. He couldn’t sell until the new labels were approved.

As first-timers who’ve never been through the process, Krutulis and Reilly say that’s a risk they can’t afford. They’ll spend about $4,000 on labels for their first releases.

Plenty is riding on Prospice meeting its May release goal.

Krutulis and Reilly have invested about $300,000 to date and will soon put in another $300,000.

The business plan depends on selling wine this year.

The 450-case debut is a big number for a young winery.The owners are hopeful their restrained approach to wine making will win fans who appreciate more fruit and less oak in their glass.

Pursuing the dream

Both men left professional careers to create Prospice.

Krutulis worked as an attorney for Amazon in Seattle before he and his wife decided they wanted to slow down.

Reilly worked as an architect in Spokane before he realized preferred helping out a winery near his home over shepherding projects.

Both moved with their wives to Walla Walla and enlisted in the Enology and Viticulture program at Walla Walla Community College.

As classmates, they discovered a shared outlook and shared palate.

If one detects hints of raspberry in a particular vintage, the other will as well, they joke. After collaborating on school projects, they agreed to pursue a venture in the real world.

Krutulis initially went to work for Corliss Estates. Reilly went to Gramercy Cellars, where he remains cellar master.

Opportunity to venture out on their own arrived in 2017.

Ensemble Cellars owner Craig Nelson wanted to sell and retire. His small wine barrel building near the Walla Walla Airport was ideal.

In July, they bought the winery’s assets.

Krutulis said the duo was initially concerned about the mid-year timing, that it would be too late to buy high-quality grapes to produce vintages that year.

They leveraged college connections to buy grapes from vineyards they admire in Walla Walla, the Horse Heaven Hills, Red Mountain and elsewhere.

They’ve produced 2017 and 2018 vintages, cramming 200 barrels into the small space.

As they wait for label approval, the two aid they’re doing their best to stay focused on the business and not shutdown-related delays.

“I keep focusing on everything I can control,” Krutulis said.

Follow Prospice Wines on Facebook @ProspiceWines.