Brook & Bull (Winemaker & Founder)

Vital Wines (Winemaker & Founder)

Ashley Trout, Winemaker and Owner of Vital Wines (www.vitalwinery.com) and Brook & Bull (formerly March Cellars), has made wine throughout various parts of the world for the past 18 years. As a freshman at Whitman College in Walla Walla, she took a part-time job at Reininger Winery and continued to work at wineries throughout her years as an undergraduate student, completing her degree in 2003. Ashley gained additional experience at Tamarack Cellars, Waters Winery, and TERO Estates. Starting in 2004, she further honed her skills by working harvests in several Argentinian wineries.

Three years after graduating, she launched the highly successful Flying Trout Wines and was its founding winemaker. She sold the label to TERO Estates in 2010 and continued as winemaker there until 2015.

In 2016, she launched March Cellars, now known as Brook & Bull, a 2000-case winery. That same year she also started Vital Wines, a label whose profits all go to the SOS Clinic, a non-profit healthcare clinic in the Walla Walla area. The clinic is dedicated to helping clients get the healthcare they need with no questions asked. A number of entities participate in the project, including wineries, grape growers, coopers, and crush facilities.

At Brook & Bull, Ashley produces Chardonnay, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Rosé, and various blends. Vital offers a variety of wines, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Chardonnay. It is non-profit by design, with its proceeds supporting the access of Walla Walla Valley vineyard and winery workers to affordable health care.

Ashley was invited to pour her highly acclaimed wines from both brands at the 2017 pre-Oscar party in Los Angeles, the first time a Walla Walla winery has been invited for an Academy Award event. There, she poured The Gifted, a red blend under the Vital brand, and the March Cellars 2014 Chardonnay. In further acknowledgment of her talents, Ashley was an “Emerging Leader Award recipient for 2023,” an honor bestowed by the Auction of Washington Wines. Other recognitions include being named among its “Top 40 Under 40” by Wine Enthusiast magazine in 2018 and as one of a “Wines Most Inspiring People of 2020,” by Wine Industry Advisor.”

Ashley has two children, a wonderful and supportive husband, and two dogs.