Meet Devyani Gupta: The Winemaker Behind Valdemar's Washington Story
If you've never heard of Valdemar Estates, here's the short version: a fifth-generation Rioja winemaking family looked at the whole world and picked Walla Walla. And the woman running the show on the ground? She was employee number two, back when the winery was still just drywall and dreams.
How a Fifth-Generation Spanish Family Ended Up in Walla Walla
Valdemar Estates is the younger sibling of Bodegas Valdemar in Rioja, Spain, a family that's been making wine since 1889, with a motto that translates to "always pioneering." Every generation has made a bold move to push the legacy forward. For siblings Jesús and Anna, the fifth generation, that meant leaving Spain entirely.
Jesús had studied abroad at the University of Washington and never stopped thinking about the Pacific Northwest. He put together a full presentation for his family: why not Washington? They toured the state from Woodinville, Red Mountain and Yakima Valley, but he fell hard for Walla Walla's community.
The first vintage came in 2017. By 2019, they'd opened their own facility and brought winemaking fully in-house. They've since grown from 1,000 cases to about 5,000 and made history along the way. Valdemar is the first Rioja winery to open outside Spain and the first internationally owned winery in Washington state.
Finding Her Way to Wine Country and Winemaking
Devyani Gupta grew up in Portland to immigrant parents; mom (Honduran) and dad (Indian). While wine was always on the family table, it wasn’t something she had ever considered as a career path.
That changed in 2011 at Whitman College in Walla Walla. Surrounded by vineyards, she couldn't stop asking questions. She'd been headed for a PhD in clinical psychology, but a terroir class and a gut-check call with a mentor sent her to Walla Walla Community College's wine program instead and she’s been hooked ever since.
Her professional winemaking journey started with stints with the Figgins family's Toil and Leonetti projects. She eventually landed at Valdemar in 2019, before the building even had drywall, to begin making the magic that we have been experiencing for the last 7 years.
Old-School Roots, New-School Nerve
Ask Devyani about tradition and she'll tell you it starts in the vineyard, always has, always will. "Be a humble servant to the land," she says. But don't mistake respect for timidity. When people told Valdemar something "just isn't done," that was practically an invitation.
Case in point: their Rocks District estate vineyard, planted east-west instead of the north-south orientation everyone else in the valley uses, caused quite a stir. She got phone calls asking if the crew was planting it wrong. They weren't. They were borrowing a climate-adaptation strategy from Australia and Napa, tailored for one of the hottest pockets in the valley. Valdemar also planted at 2,200 feet in the North Fork, the highest elevation vineyard in Walla Walla Valley.
Giving Back Through Vital Wines
Devyani sits on the board of Vital Wines, a nonprofit winery focused on healthcare equity and access for vineyard workers and their families that funds community health coordinators who help arrange care across the Columbia Basin. Valdemar has made Vital's rosé every year since 2022, donating the team's time, space, and expertise so more of every dollar goes straight to Vital's programs.
The Wines She Can't Stop Talking About
The winery’s core lineup is Cab, Syrah, and Chardonnay, plus some Rioja-rooted whites: Grenache Blanc, Macabeo. But right now, there are three varietals she’s really excited about:
Viognier, her "baby" from the Rocks estate, a vineyard she helped plan from a bare, weedy field to bottle.
Chardonnay from that 2,200-foot North Fork site, planted in 2021, had its first real crop in 2025. Her husband (also a winemaker) and their winemaking friends have called it the best Chardonnay Valdemar's ever made.
Merlot, which she thinks Washington doesn't get enough credit for. "I'm a big Cabernet girl, I love making big-ass Cabs," she says. She’ll put the Walla Walla Merlot up against Bordeaux any day.
What's Next
A new red variety is on the way: Maturana Tinta, brought over from Bodegas Valdemar in Spain back in 2019 and finally cleared quarantine with WSU and UC Davis. It's still years from the vineyard — propagation, then dormant bench grafting, then planting — but Devyani's already excited. As she describes it, Maturana Tinta tastes like "if Cab Franc and Malbec had a baby."
Ten years from grape to glass. That's the kind of patience, and pioneering spirit, that built Valdemar in the first place.
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You can find Valdemar wines at WeRise. Stop by the bar or browse our bottle shop to explore mission-driven makers like Devyani. Want first dibs on new arrivals and exclusive events? Join our Newsletter to stay in the loop.