The resulting wines offer a sense of place and showcase their estate vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley and other premier vineyards throughout the state.
Walla Walla:
Thursday – Monday,
11AM – 5PM
Dusted Valley was founded on the notion that when family works together the American Dream can turn into a living reality. In 2003, four Wisconsin natives took a leap of faith and started a new adventure in the Walla Walla Valley. Today, under the Dusted Valley® and Boomtown® labels, the family farms three estate vineyards and crafts honest wines with a sense of place.
When Dusted Valley was created, the Johnsons and Braunels set out on an adventure – leaving behind their comfortable jobs to do something a little unconventional. And they haven’t looked back since. With strong roots in agriculture, brothers-in-law Chad Johnson and Corey Braunel focus their wine growing philosophies in the vineyard with sustainable practices, low (or modest) yields and minimalistic winemaking.
The resulting wines offer a sense of place and showcase their estate vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley and other premier vineyards throughout the state.
Chad Johnson is a little bit of what we call a “late bloomer.” After graduating from high school and subsequently being kicked out of college (twice), he headed out to California to live a vagabond lifestyle. Working in the hospitality industry, he gained an appreciation and then a passion for the wonders of food and wine. It soon became clear that it was time to wander to a university and get a degree. He returned to his Wisconsin roots, attended UW-Stout and studied Food Science and Chemistry. 10 years and four institutes of higher learning later, he finally graduated with 172 credits and a BS. Chad subsequently worked in the bakery and pork industries specializing in quality control and research and development before shifting careers into sales for a Fortune 50 pharmaceutical firm. While attending college he met and fell in love with his beautiful bride, Janet, who is also a founding co-owner of Dusted Valley.
Corey Braunel represents the fourth generation of his family in agriculture. Ginseng was the main crop of his family’s Northern Wisconsin farm. Corey grew up watching his father host Chinese buyers who evaluated this premium niche market crop destined for the medicine shops of Hong Kong. Corey has a business degree from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse and began his career working in the financial services industry. Later, he switched to sales and marketing work with Fortune 50 medical firms where he learned about wine while entertaining clients – making selections from wine lists and educating himself through winery tourism with his good buddy and brother-in-law Chad. He then learned about Washington wine, fell in love with the Pacific Northwest and moved his family to Walla Walla in 2003 to start the winery. Rejoicing, he resigned from medical sales in June of 2008. Corey’s wife, Cindy, is a founding co-owner of Dusted Valley and Janet’s sister.
