Our Story

And at the end of the day, your feet should be dirty, your hair messy and your eyes sparkling. – Shanti

We are honored to have received the 2022 Best Brick and Mortar Project from the Milton Freewater Chamber/Downtown Alliance!

Our Estate:
Resurgent Vineyard

We found the place for our blended family to grow into. Now we farm a vineyard in the foothills of the Blue Mountains in the Walla Walla AVA. The terroir is ancient rock, cobblestone and soils from the Walla Walla River floor which is exciting and unique for winemakers and wine drinkers.

“Resurgent Vineyard is located in a canyon formed by erosion of the Walla Walla River as it incised the Blue Mountain foothills. The soil consists primarily of a mixture of basalt cobblestones and wind-deposited silt (loess) eroded from the Blue Mountains, which has been deposited by streams on the valley floor. The USDA has mapped the soils as the Veazie series consisting of very deep, well drained soils that formed in alluvium from mixed sources….based on the abundance of cobblestones within the soil profile. The soils in this area contain numerous rock fragments derived from erosion of the basalt exposed on the hillsides about the vineyard”. – Dr. Kevin R. Pogue, Whitman College Walla Walla

In the evenings the moon travels down through the valley with the vineyard aglow. The vine fairies are at work & play always reminding us that things are happening even when you don’t see it.

1440 ft Elevation
Winds bring warmth upward early in the mornings and cool winds downward later in the day
2990 growing degree days a year
Fed by the pure mountain and spring waters of the Walla Walla River

Mongata Winery:
Opened in June 2022

We were thrilled to open our new winery at the vineyard in June of 2022! We began the process of establishing and permitting a winery on-site in 2020. We thought we knew and planned but there is so much work, so many things to harness and tend. We kept at it day by day and made progress the same way. It was important to us in the planning stage that we were able to reflect our reverence for this place and hope others would feel the same.

There is a long history of farming in the valley and this region. In the center of our vineyard stands a huge 102 year-old barn, which has become the home of Mongata Winery. The exterior has new siding and metal roof giving the impression that it is a new structure. However the interior has the original walls and beams remaining and the winery transformation was carefully crafted using mostly reclaimed wood from the barn and old orchard activities. Co-founder Scott Nokleby has touched every piece of this wood and been central to the transformation of the barn to a winery. The winery space now has a cold room & lab, kitchen, tasting room with a crescent moon-shaped wine bar and a sculpted patio with views of the surrounding vineyard and valley.

The logo concept and label design took more than a year as we tried to articulate the spirit of the place. For us, the moon seems to capture the mystical aspect that we wanted to include. The word Mongata is our twist on a Swedish word (Mångata) which in literal translation means “moon street or path of the moon.”

A talented west coast winemaker and friend of ours started our 2020 custom crush vintage. We eventually partnered up with our Winemaker Peter Devison, who is brilliant and highly regarded in his craft. He guides us as he is making our amazingly luscious, complex wines. Peter is a pedigreed winemaker with his own brand (Devison Vintners) and also makes wine for two other well-known wine labels. He is like-minded in our wish to create wines that trust the fruit to tell the story.

We hope that you love our wines as much as we all do.

“All plants are our brothers and sisters.They talk to us and if we listen, we can hear them.”

-Arapaho

OUR TEAM

Peter Devison
Winemaker

Peter was born and raised in Halifax, Canada. He decided to make the move across the country to Vancouver BC after high school and quickly found his passion for the rich culture around him. Peter attended the University of British Columbia while washing dishes, bussing tables, serving diners, running wine programs, and stocking wine shelves. He rapidly became very adept at sampling fine wines and skilled in the art of savoring and pairing complex notes with various cuisines.

Upon completion of all the wine certification courses available in Vancouver, Peter’s dedication to know everything he could about wine led to enrolling in school to study Enology in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Peter arrived in Eastern Washington in 2004 for a temporary harvest position. He quickly saw the vast potential and quality in wine growing and soon decided that Washington would be his new home.

Over the past 15 years in Washington state Peter has won many accolades for his unique approach to winemaking and has been featured in various publications in praise of his artistry and philosophy. He most recently ran the wine programs for EFESTE and Cadaretta, and is the winemaker for 2 well known WA wine companies, along with Mongata. He also has a consulting business focusing in Native Fermentation and has launched his own wine label.

Damon Lalonde
Vineyard consultant

Damon is a well-known and respected vineyard & vine whisperer and has an eclectic resume rich with passion for the wine industry. His time at Chateau St. Michelle as a Viticulturist and years of Vineyard management and consulting throughout Washington and Oregon make him an expert in his craft.

Most recently, he was a partner in French Creek Vineyard and has history with many Vineyards including Corliss Estates, Force Mejeure and Charles Smith, and the development of K Vintners’ Powerline Estate Vineyard, which received a #2 ranking in Wine Spectators’ Top 100 wines of 2017.

Lance Bullock
Vineyard Manager

Lance has lifelong experience in farming and rich family history in the valley. He manages and orchestrates the crew and provides expertise in every aspect of farm life at Resurgent. He partners with us in always reflecting the clean beauty of the Vineyard and maintaining vineyard health for the long term.

Our Crew

Our vineyard crew are so important in our every day work activities and they have a special place in our hearts. They help us beautifully tend to the vines and pay attention to all of the things that the vineyard needs. We honor them and the skilled work they cultivate.