Kyle MacLachlan on His Washington Winery Pursued by Bear

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Washington state native Kyle MacLachlan burst onto the big screen in 1984 in David Lynch’s version of sci-fi epic Dune and then cemented his status as a pop-culture icon in Lynch’s landmark early ’90s series Twin Peaks. Working steadily in Hollywood across the decades—including upcoming seasons of FX’s The Lowdown and Amazon hit Fallout, he has also toiled “backstage” as the owner and vintner of Walla Walla winery Pursued by Bear. Named in honor of a famed Shakespeare stage direction—”Exit, pursued by bear,”—MacLachlan’s collaboration with husband-and-wife winemaking team Dan Wampfler and Amy Alvarez-Wampfler yields some of his finest work, including small-lot Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, and Chardonnay. While his initial meeting with Lynch and introduction to the director’s favorite wine, Lynch-Bages, has been well documented, we had the opportunity to learn more about his serendipitous friendship with Napa vintner Ann Colgin, how Steve Martin blessed his choice of winery name, and where wine lovers and fans are likely to run into him.

After first being introduced to a bottle of Lynch-Bages by David Lynch, did learning about wine take time?

It took a while, because I enjoyed a glass of wine, but my palate had not been developed at all. I was fresh out of college, had worked at the Shakespeare festival, and at the end of the performance we would all go to the bar, and I would end up having a glass of wine, with no real understanding of what it was or what I was drinking but I knew I enjoyed it. It really started with the move to Los Angeles and the proximity to Napa. I was working and making a little bit of money, so I was able to buy slightly nicer bottles of wine. When I finished filming and moved to Los Angeles I started making pilgrimages up to Napa. I was like a regular tourist, driving into a tasting room.

The jump to light-speed happened in 1999, when I met Ann Colgin. We had done an interview together along with Bruce Marder from Los Angeles, the restaurateur. A writer for InStyle put an actor, a vintner, and a restaurateur together. We had lunch at Capo in Santa Monica, and I got to know Ann a little bit. She had started Colgin Cellars in 1992, so this was seven years on, and she had established herself. She had a bottle there, and I just said, “Holy smokes, what is this?” We had now made the jump to another level. We became friends, and she became a mentor and still is for my wine journey in Walla Walla.

What made you decide to launch your own brand?

With Ann and with Doug Shafer, who became a friend as well, I got to know them, and I was super charmed by this wine world and the idea of it. I’m a romantic at heart and it really appealed to that side of me. I initially thought since I was in California it would make sense to do it in Napa, maybe there was a way to do it there. Around the same time, I started getting interested in what was happening in Washington. It was my wife [television producer Desiree Gruber] who said, “Washington. You’re returning back home to Washington to make wine. That’s the story.”

Why did you choose the name Pursued by Bear?

I tried variations on my day job, like “upstage” or a term from the theater, and as I was going down that track I was reminded of a very funny stage direction that anyone who loves Shakespeare or is an actor or was an English lit major may be familiar with: “Exit, pursued by a bear.” This is very specific, very eccentric, and I remember saying it out loud as Desiree and I were driving in the car, we were up in Napa and we were going to Los Angeles, and she was friendly with Steve Martin—she’s still friendly with Steve—and we were having dinner with him that night, and I was so excited. The first check I ever wrote when I was going to school at the University of Washington was a check to buy tickets to see his Wild and Crazy Guy tour in 1978. He was so nice and so kind, and we were eating and drinking out on his little balcony, and I said, “Hey, Steve, I’m thinking about this wine thing. Do you like this name, Pursued by Bear?” And he said, “That’s a great name,” and I just said, “Done!”

Tell us about your recent trip to Bordeaux.

I was in Bordeaux recently with a small group from the auction of Washington wines and it happened to be during En Primeur. I know Jean-Charles Cazes at Lynch-Bages, and he told me to come over, and Veronique Sanders at Haut-Bailly, which is a wine that I love, they made room for us to go in and try the new wines. That was really fun to get a feel for what’s coming. We went to Château Margaux and Mouton Rothschild as well. We hit the highlights, and Jean-Charles was able to connect us with some others as well. So, I do a little bit of Bordeaux collecting and I have those in boxes.

How likely is it that readers can find you at your Walla Walla tasting room?

I was just there this past weekend. I surprised a couple of people. There was a table of six that stayed four hours, I was there, we had a great conversation. It turned into something a little more than a tasting, we opened some bottles and enjoyed them around the table. I’m up pretty frequently. I’ll be up in early September and again for fall release in early November. I’m definitely around. It’s definitely an extension of me. I chose the floors and wallpaper, and I commissioned a giant bear, so everything’s got my hands on it.