Camp, partners purchase Overbluff Cellars

Spokane businessman Mark Camp and two partners have purchased Overbluff Cellars, a South Hill craft winery.

Camp is buying the winery with Darby and Jovanka McKee, both of Spokane, who have been partners on other ventures with him.

He and the McKees own the Title Nine-Casper Fry building and The Shop building in the South Perry District. Camp also owns the buildings occupied by Jones Radiator, a downtown pub, and Cannon Coffee & Cone in Browne’s Addition.

Camp also operates Spokane-based Anvil Coffee. The roasting equipment for Anvil will be moved into the second floor of the winery building, at 620 S. Washington St.

Terms of the sale were not disclosed. The purchase closed last week.

Camp said he plans to approach winemaking with some of the same goals and attitudes he’s used developing blends of coffee. In 2001, he launched Anvil Coffee Roasting, in The Shop building.

Lynnelle and John Caudill, of Spokane, started the winery in 2006. They buy grapes from the Walla Walla region and have primarily turned out red wines including cabernet sauvignons and syrahs.

“We decided our day jobs just didn’t leave us enough time to focus on the winery,” Lynnelle Caudill said. She is an executive with the Davenport Hotel Collection; her husband runs a property development company.

The winery produced about 500 cases of wine last year. Its winemaker, Jerry Gibson, will continue in that role as Camp takes over.

Gibson, a self-taught winemaker, met the Caudills in Spokane several years ago. The meeting sparked a first run of producing four barrels of red wine. That convinced them to join forces and launch the winery.

They released their first wines to the public in spring 2010.

Camp said he will rely on Gibson to guide him through the winemaking process. “I just want to learn and embrace the art and craft of winemaking before even thinking about making any changes,” Camp said.