Waylan Wine Co was first created back in January of 2015 between two brothers, Brad and Greg Saarloos. It was scribbled on the back of a sky mall catalog 30,000 feet in the air. The name Waylan comes from a combination of our middle names, WAYne (brad) + aLAN (greg). The name is quite simple; it is a collaboration between the two of us, each pursuing our dreams and passions which in turn creates a bottle of wine that we can share with each and every one of you.
As of January of 2015, we were both a couple of years into the wine business learning just about every facet we could. We were working in the vineyards, making wine, pouring wine, managing wine club shipments, servicing janitorial needs, you name it, and we did it. It was through these couple of years of odd jobs and responsibilities that we each became passionate about different aspects of the wine business. It was then that we knew we found something very special.
After planning for months in advance, saving every dollar we had, using up all of our vacation days, we jumped on a plane to France. It was a couple of days after the New Year when our buddy Jon embarked with us on what became a trip of a lifetime. This was no sight seeing trip, it was January, in the dead of winter. We were there to visit and taste with small family operated wineries that have been killing it for centuries. As our trip was coming to a close, full of inspiration, Waylan Wine Co was created with 28 inches of legroom and the humming of jet engines using a tray table to write on. Looking back on this moment as we write this makes us laugh about how naïve and innocent we were and what was to come. Brad was 26 and Greg was 23…we laughed again.
Fast forward. We have now been making wine for seven vintages, bottling our fifth vintage of wines in April, our tasting rooms about to turn four years old, come on in and hangout! We have also picked up a straggler on the way, our younger cousin Zach – aka “Rajas.” Rajas joined the team for our 2016 harvest and we haven’t been able to get rid of him since. He is our ‘jack of all trades’ and master of them all. He will be welcoming you with a smile on his face when you visit the tasting room. Just don’t talk any crap about the Eagles or the Trojans, you can get 86’d for that.
We cannot wait to share our story with you, our journey to get here, and what lies ahead. We will see you soon!
