Steve Wells, Time & Direction, by Richard Duval

“There’s a formula in the wine business when you look at branding. There’s stuff that’s been done 1,000 times,” says Steve Wells, “director of awesome” and “self-described winemaker” at Time & Direction winery in Walla Walla. “I’m not saying I have all the right answers, but I’m trying to do something different with my branding, my labels, and my story.”

At Time & Direction, Wells does indeed march to his own drum. The Time & Direction wines have their own style, fresh and flavorful, reflecting Wells’ experience as a sommelier. The tasting room vibe aligns with his love of music. The winery labels show Wells’ artistic and humorous side. Put it all together and Time & Direction embodies something essential in the industry: wine as self-expression.

Hating on wine

Wells was not always destined for a career in wine. In fact, just the opposite.

“I hated wine,” says Wells, “I had gone to a wine tasting once and people were smelling and saying all these things, and I wasn’t getting it.”

Wells grew up in Wisconsin. He received a bachelor’s degree in nutrition from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, though he didn’t have interest in pursuing that as a career.

Rather, Wells was inspired by music. His mother taught him to play piano at age eight. Wells subsequently learned to play upright bass, bass guitar, and then guitar.

In college, Wells formed a band with his brother. A highlight was playing the Roxy and the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles during spring break. After graduating, Wells stayed in the area to play music, waiting tables to make money. One day he and a friend were sitting on the porch hanging out when they decided it was time to go somewhere else. Permanently.

“We were dressed in black, smoking cigarettes, and we’re like, ‘Well, New York or LA?’” Wells recalls. “We looked at ourselves and were like, ‘Yep, LA’s out.’ So we decided to move to New York.”

The magic of a glass of wine

In 2002, Wells moved to Brooklyn. While he continued to play music, Wells took a job at Ocean Grill in New York City’s Upper West Side to pay the bills.

His first day on the job, Wells was encouraged to take part in a wine tasting. Given his distaste for wine, it did not seem like an auspicious start.

However, Wells soon realized that more expensive bottles of wine resulted in larger tips. Before long, Wells found himself immersed in wine, teaching classes to new servers.

“It was the combination of history and geology and chemistry and how magical a glass of wine could be when you get something that’s truly in line with what you like,” Wells says of what made him dive into wine so deeply.

While in New York, Wells worked as sommelier at Blue Water Grill, wine director at Blue Fin, general manager at the Mermaid Oyster Bar, and sommelier for the Standard Hotel Meatpacking District.

Wells’s boss, Laura Maniec (now a master sommelier), encouraged him to join the Court of Master Sommeliers. Wells subsequently finished the first two steps in short succession.

Grapes and wine at sunset

Steve Wells, Time & Direction, courtesy of winery

In 2008, Maniec nominated Wells to take part in a program called Road Trip, produced by the Washington State Wine Commission. (Full disclosure: I have consulted with the Wine Commission on educational matters, including Road Trip, since 2013.) Road Trip takes wine buyers and other decision makers on trips to vineyards and wineries throughout eastern Washington during the height of harvest.

For Wells, the weeklong trip would be life changing. Tasting Grenache Blanc grapes from Boushey Vineyard in Yakima Valley while drinking a glass of McCrea Cellars wine made, in part, from fruit from the same vines led to an ‘Aha!’ moment that he wanted to make wine.

“I remember thinking that I could get used to this,” Wells says.

Back in New York City, Wells went about trying to learn all that he could about Washington wine. He even dedicated a section to Washington on his restaurant’s wine list.

At a tasting with Walla Walla’s Tamarack Cellars, founder Ron Coleman told Wells about Walla Walla Community College’s enology and viticulture program. (Full disclosure: I am an adjunct instructor at Walla Walla Community College and teach a class to enology and viticulture students.) Wells was inspired.

In 2011, Wells convinced his wife and children to move from New York City to the 33,000-person town of Walla Walla. He was going to learn to make wine.

Finding time and direction

Once in Walla Walla, Wells was offered a job at Gramercy Cellars by Greg Harrington, who he had worked with in New York. Wells spent two and a half years at Gramercy before he enrolled in the local community college’s program.

While at the college, Wells worked for Aryn Morell (Alleromb, Morell-Peña) at M&L Productions. Morell was making scores of wines for a half dozen clients, exposing Wells to a diversity of vineyard sources and winemaking styles. In 2016, after two years at the company, Morell offered Wells the opportunity to make his own wine.

Wells started out with two and a half tons of Syrah. While his first wine aged in barrel, Wells thought about what to call his winery. He had certain requirements.

“It had to be easy to pronounce, not use my name, look good on a restaurant wine list, have no animals or geographic elements, and have meaning,” Wells says.

One day, he had an epiphany while looking at his arms. One tattoo is an image of a clock. The hands point to the time his daughter was born. The clock face has her initials and birth date.

Another is a compass, a reference to Wells’ family. The direction signs are family initials, and the symbols in the middle are their astrological signs. The name for his winery was born.

“Time & Direction symbolized my journey from New York City all the way out to Walla Walla to learn how to make wine,” Wells says. “Then, a deeper meaning is, any journey in life you go on, you just need some time and direction.”

Wine as self-expression

At Time & Direction, Wells focuses on Rhône-style wines. This is inspired by his background as a sommelier.

“I’ve always found that [Rhône-style wines] are the most complimentary to food,” Wells says. “They are extremely versatile with the types of dishes you can make.”

Wells’ restaurant background also informs Time & Direction’s wine style. The wines are higher in acid and have a lower oak profile.

“I approach wine from a food standpoint,” Wells says. “I try to pick when the acid is on the higher side. [But] they still have to have flavor and complexity before I pick.”

Wells sources fruit from a variety of locations, but there is an emphasis on the Royal Slope. Other wines come from Walla Walla Valley.

Time & Direction produces 10 wines and approximately 1,000 cases annually. Each wine reflects the vineyard, the craft of winemaking, and, of course, Wells – both his background and his sense of humor. At the Time & Direction tasting room, you’re just as likely to find Wells playing guitar as pouring wine.

Wells says he’s glad that he started this vinous journey – one that he remains on. Ten years in at his winery, Wells has spent the time, and he has certainly found direction.

“Don’t get me wrong, there’s been lots of ups and downs, heartbreaks and triumphs, and challenges left and right,” Wells says. “But the only path forward is through.”

Time & Direction will be pouring at Tasting Washington March 21 and 22. Read reviews of the Time & Direction wines in the review database.

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