Winemaker's Dinner: Bookwalter Winery

John Bookwalter is currently the president of Bookwalter Winery. Founded in 1983, Bookwalter Winery has successfully transitioned from the first generation into one of the most dynamic mid-sized wineries in Washington State with production reaching 80,000 cases and retail locations in Eastern and Western Washington along with two full-service restaurants located in Richland, WA, Fiction @ J. Bookwalter and Fable Craft Bar. As the president of Bookwalter Winery, John is responsible for overseeing all operations as it relates to winemaking, sales and marketing initiatives and strategic planning for the company.

John is very active in his home state and local community. John is the 2022 recipient of the Honorary Vintner of the year award for the Auction of Washington Wines. He currently serves on the Tri-Cities Cancer Center foundation board and on the board of the Auction of Washington Wines. He recently served 5 years as treasurer on the executive board of the WTA (Washington Tourism Alliance, Washington State’s interim tourism arm). John is the past board chair for the Tri-Cities Visitor and Convention Bureau and the past board chair of the Washington Wine Commission. John has also served as vice chairman of the board for Wine America, the wine industries national advocacy group based in Washington DC and as vice chairman of the board of the Washington Wine Institute. John has also served as a board member of the local chapter of the American Heart Association, and the local Tri-City economic development council, TRI-DEC.

John joined the family Winery in 1997 following a 10-year career in sales and marketing in the beverage industry. Throughout his career he has successfully launched and developed brands within all major beverage segments utilizing multiple methods of sales and distribution.

Prior to joining Bookwalter Winery, John most served as the Northwest Business Manager for the Coors Brewing Company, the nation’s third largest brewer. He was responsible for managing all field sales personnel as well as the strategic sales and marketing efforts throughout a large beer and wine distributor network.

Before joining Coors, he spent 5 years with the WinterBrook Beverage Group a manufacturer of new age beverages. While at WinterBrook he managed the Western US Division, and was instrumental in successfully launching and developing the Cascadia, WinterBrook and LaCroix brands throughout the 13 western US States.

John began his career with the Gallo Wine Company in Southern California where he held sales and sales management positions in the grocery chain division. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in marketing from Arizona State University.