The Devona Wines are not going to turn into Itä Wines or vice versa.
Kelsey Itämeri, owner and winemaker at Itä Wines, has acquired Devona, the Walla Walla winery founded by John and Molly Abbott. She will continue the two brands as sister wineries, with the Abbotts and existing staff staying on. The sale includes all winery equipment and inventory as well as the brand and intellectual property. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The deal, reported by Northwest Wine Report in September 2026, is framed by both sides as a generational handoff rather than a takeover. "I've worked very closely with John and Molly for a long time," Itämeri said. "It's been an incredible working relationship, and I'm really excited to continue it."
A gradual succession
John Abbott, who is marking his 38th harvest this year, will continue at Devona as winemaker alongside Enrique Ibarra. Itämeri will lead the direction of the Itä wines while Abbott leads the Devona wines, and over a gradual period Abbott will transition to a founding and consulting winemaker role, calling the deal a great opportunity for everybody and saying the timing is right.
Molly Abbott described the structure in succession terms. "It's like a succession plan for us because the transition will be gradual," she said, adding that the couple will stay involved as long as it takes to hand the winery to the next generation seamlessly before stepping aside.
Abbott's resume runs deep in both Napa and Walla Walla. He studied viticulture and enology at Fresno State University, then worked at Pine Ridge Vineyards and Acacia Winery in Napa Valley before the couple moved to Walla Walla in 1994. He served as winemaker and general manager at Canoe Ridge Vineyard, then spent 13 years as winemaker at Abeja, which he and Molly co-founded with the Harrison family. The Abbotts founded Devona in 2012, with Abbott focusing on it full-time from 2015.
Two wineries, two styles, one roof
Going forward, the Devona and Itä wines will both be made at the same facility, while tastings will continue at separate facilities through the end of the year. The styles will stay distinct. Itä Wines, founded in 2019, has made its name with fresh, vibrant, lower-alcohol wines sourced mostly from higher-elevation Walla Walla Valley fruit. Devona's wines are broader-shouldered yet sophisticated, built on fruit from the Columbia Valley, the Columbia Gorge and the Willamette Valley.
"The Devona Wines are not going to turn into Itä Wines or vice versa," Itämeri said. "They'll continue as distinct brands and distinct styles, continuing to express this multifaceted view of what Pacific Northwest wine can be."
The relationship behind the deal grew organically. Over the years, Itä has at times crushed grapes at Devona, and at other times the wines were made in full at the Devona facility. When Itämeri drew up a list of equipment she needed for her own winery, it matched what Devona already had, and the conversation turned to a purchase, a fit Molly Abbott called ideal for carrying on what the couple had started. Itä Wines produces about 1,200 cases a year; Devona makes about 2,000.
For an industry watching consolidation with wariness, the Devona deal offers a different template: a young winemaker acquiring the winery where she already made wine, from founders ready to hand it over, with the team, the styles and the fruit sources all intact.