Wine and You'll Feel Better at The Poverty Bay Wine Festival

Ric Jacobson

For all of you wine connoisseurs out there, you will recognize and appreciate the following quote by Robert Mondavi: "Wine to me is passion. It's family and friends. It's warmth of heart and generosity of spirit. Wine is art. It's culture."  

For Rotarian, Ric Jacobson, owner of Corky Cellars in Des Moines, wine is also a lifetime passion.  Ric brought to the Rotary Club of Des Moines the idea of a wine festival as a fund raiser, and we are pleased to say seven years later  it has been a resounding success and is now a staple in the South King County area. We are also delighted to say that we have over 20 Washington wineries at this year's festival.  Each winery is well-known for the premiere quality of their wines and each bring their own personal story and tradition.  One winery in particular has an amazing story that we would like to share with you.


Otis Kenyon Winery is a family owned and managed winery with deep historical ties to the Walla Walla Valley. The story of Otis Kenyon Wine begins in the Walla Walla Valley in the early 1900s. A young man, James Otis Kenyon, was a struggling dentist practicing in Milton-Freewater, Oregon. When a new dentist moved to town, James, for reasons that remain a mystery, burned his competitor’s office to the ground.  Ostracized by his wife and presumed dead by his two sons, the family moved to Walla Walla, Washington. Robert Otis Kenyon, the eldest son, never spoke of his father even to his son, Stephen Otis Kenyon. Yet, almost exactly 50 years after the incident that began the family legend, Steve discovered his grandfather living quietly on the Oregon coast.

James was reunited with his sons and became a joyful part of their families living long enough to witness the birth of his first great grandchild, Muriel. Although he passed on at age 101, James would have delighted in the birth and naming of his great grandson, Samuel Otis Kenyon.

Otis Kenyon Label

Today, in tribute to four generations of Otis Kenyons each with strong ties to the Walla Walla Valley, owners Stephen Otis Kenyon and Deborah Dunbar have returned to the area to make wine. Guided by an unyielding commitment to excellence,  they are passionate growers and producers of elegantly structured and affordable Bordeaux and Rhone varietal wines.


In honor of James Otis Kenyon, the label bears his silhouette.


Join us at the 7th Annual Poverty Bay Wine Festival at the Historic Landmark Event Center on March 4 -6th and hear more intriguing  stories from our wineries.  For more information about the Poverty Bay Wine Festival and to purchase tickets please visit http://www.dmrotary.org./