06/23/2026
FOR THE LOVE OF WINE
Some of the most interesting people in wine didn’t start in wine.
This is Dean Derby, one of the pioneers who helped transform Walla Walla from wheat country into one of America’s great wine regions. Before that, he was an NFL player, spending several seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers after starring at the University of Washington. Later, he returned to his family’s ranch, where he and his wife Shari planted grapes at Spring Valley Vineyard in 1993 and helped shape the future of Walla Walla wine.
Eric and I met Dean at Spring Valley’s annual ranch party. Most visitors experience the tasting room in town, but this event takes place out on the family ranch where it all began. Dean was exactly the kind of person who makes wine memorable—warm, welcoming, full of stories, and deeply connected to the land. The whole family is there, pouring wine, refilling the charcuterie table and the grandkids drive golf cart shuttles stop and from the lake.
That’s what we love about wine. Behind every bottle is a story, and sometimes the people behind those stories are even more fascinating than the wine itself.
