Louis Skinner

Training at South Seattle Community College gave Louis Skinner the practical base for wine work before he entered the trade on the buying side. As a wine buyer, he learned bottles, vintages, and value from the merchant’s perspective, where judgment has to be quick and defensible. From 2008, he worked as wine buyer at Fine Wine & Cigars in Redmond, Washington, a role that asked for precision, consistency, and trust in the palate.

That buying background later moved into production, when Skinner became winemaker at Betz Family Winery. The shift matters: it changed the job from selecting finished wines to shaping them. In 2025, he took on the role of winemaker at Force Majeure Vineyards in Walla Walla Valley, carrying forward experience gathered through both retail scrutiny and cellar work.

That appointment is his current post. Skinner’s path shows a working understanding of wine from several angles: student, buyer, and maker. Each stage adds a different kind of reading to the work, from assessing bottles in the market to making decisions in production. The result is a perspective grounded in both commerce and cellar practice.

Louis's signature wines include La Cote Patriache (Patriarche), Syrah. That association points to a style tied to structure and depth, with Syrah as a grape that rewards control as much as expression.

Skinner’s account of mentorship stays plain: “They were pretty great, both of them.” He also said, “Very different people, but great mentors.” In a field where instruction often comes through repetition, observation, and correction, that kind of credit matters. From South Seattle Community College to Fine Wine & Cigars in Redmond, Washington, to Betz Family Winery and now Force Majeure Vineyards in the Walla Walla Valley, his career reads as steady accumulation rather than shortcut. Betz Family Winery’s history page states he was promoted to winemaker in 2016. he was promoted to winemaker in 2016.