Featured Loan:
Dunham Cellars

A small-town Washington winery grows more than grapes
Dunham Cellars has become one of Eastern Washington’s most well-known wineries, but its success created a challenge. After a decade of operation, the Walla Walla-based winery had outgrown its quarters. It needed a larger area to store barrels and additional space for quality-control testing.

In 2006, the winery owners worked with Evergreen Business Capital to obtain a USDA Rural Loan to build a 10,000-square-foot wood frame, metal-clad building with solar tubes, preventing the need for daytime electricity.

About three-quarters of the space is used for barrel storage, with the remainder containing a conference room, laboratory and a processing room for testing wines.

Under the Rural Loan terms, Dunham was required to put down just 15 percent of the total project cost. “That was very helpful,” said Mike Dunham, one of the winery’s owners. “It allowed us to finance 90 percent.”

Evergreen guided him through the loan requirements, Dunham said. “They were helpful throughout the process,” he said.

With the extra space, the company continued to expand and added three additional employees. “You need more space to make more wine, and to make more wine you need more employees,” Dunham said.

The Rural Loan, he said, “allowed us to grow the winery to the next level.”

USDA Rural Development is an Equal Opportunity Lender, Provider and Employer. Complaints of Discrimination should be sent to: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Washington, D.C., 20250-9410