The future owners of Eleven Winery will be a trio of current employees: Alana Mignano, General Manager; Ashley Dunlap, Tasting Room & Events Manager; and Armathia Bolles, Winemaker. “We have formed a partnership that gives them full operational authority, effective immediately” said Founder Matt Albee; “I am thrilled to have such a remarkable trio to whom to hand the reins of Eleven. They are each, in their respective areas, outstanding at what they do, together making an unbeatable team to take Eleven into the future. I truly believe that Eleven will thrive and grow more under their new leadership than it would with more years of me at the helm. Since I remain the majority owner, and the full ownership transition will take several years, I’ll still be around to monitor results, provide advice and support, help out in small ways, and back them up in an emergency, but from now on it’s their show.”
Mignano has been the General Manager at Eleven since 2022. She started in the tasting room in 2018 after moving over from a career in the food industry, and has steadily, rapidly grown in skills, knowledge, and responsibility. Bolles has officially been part of the winemaking team since 2020 but started helping out and realizing her passion for winemaking in 2019, before earning the title of Winemaker in 2023. Similarly, Dunlap officially started work with Eleven in 2021 after working for Starbucks for many years but was spreading joy in the tasting rooms at Eleven long before she started getting paid to do it. “Each of these women is one-in-a-million” said Albee, “we are incredibly fortunate to have them on the team that is now leading Eleven.”
Look for Matt to be spending more time riding and racing his several bicycles around Washington, relaxing in one of the tasting rooms, working on developing a new winery building for Eleven and other as-yet-undetermined but indubitably exciting pursuits.
At Eleven Winery, we’re all about making great wine, and making it fun! We believe the better the wine, the more fun you’ll have, whether you’re new to wine or an expert. And while we’re at it, we figure we’ll make the world a better place, by working sustainably and donating a portion of our revenue to charity. Our winery takes its name from bicycle racing: when you are giving it everything you’ve got, you shift to the Eleven.
We produce a wide variety of table and dessert wines, about 6,000 cases altogether, with a focus on MourveÌdre and Viognier. Our wines are made from grapes that are grown in eastern Washington, brought back to Bainbridge Island and made into wine here. We were founded in 2003 and are one of 14 wineries in Kitsap County. We have tasting rooms on Bainbridge Island at 287 Winslow Way East and at the winery location at 7671 NE Day Road (that are open 12 8pm, 7 days a week). The winery location features live music every Sunday, plus frequent food pop-ups and events on weekends. More information about the winery at www.elevenwinery.com or Instagram and Facebook @elevenwinery. More information about wine touring in Kitsap at www.kitsapwineries.com
