The World’s Most Exclusive Runway? Sidecountry Flying with Winemaker Chris Figgins

Bush flying meets wine country! We flew our backcountry planes into the “Sidecountry” of Walla Walla, Washington for a day of off-airport fun, formation flying through wind farms, and exclusive vineyard tours at two of the Pacific Northwest’s most legendary wineries — Figgins Family Estate and Leonetti Cellar.
Joined by Chad, @TrentonPalmer and extreme athlete Jeff Shapiro @jeffshapiro1151 we briefed up at Walla Walla (despite me completely losing my voice 😅), hunted for a 400-strong elk herd, dropped into a spot christened “Megawatt” tucked between massive wind turbines, waterskiied 569′ away from a train on the Columbia River and got special permission to land inside the Class Delta at a private vineyard for wine tasting and a tour deep into the underground wine caves.
We got a behind-the-scenes look at the full winemaking process — from fermentation tanks and French oak barrel aging, to 30-foot-deep natural cooling caves, to ancient clay amphora aging vessels that trace back 5,500 years. Then over to Leonetti, where the Figgins family has been growing grapes since 1902 and where the wine club waitlist runs 3-5 years deep.
A massive thank you to Chris and Jen at Figgins for the incredible hospitality, and to the whole crew for making this one for the books. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to fly into Washington wine country in a STOL aircraft — this one’s for you.
🍷 Wineries Featured:
► Figgins Family Estate Winery
► Leonetti Cellar
► Vapiano (dinner stop)
✈️ Tags / Topics:
Bush flying • STOL flying • Backcountry aviation • Walla Walla wine tasting • Washington State wineries • Figgins Family Winery • Leonetti Cellar • Formation flying • Off-airport landings • Vineyard tour • Wine caves • Pacific Northwest aviation • Cross-country flying

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00:00 Walla Walla arrival (and I lost my voice)
00:35 Pre-flight briefing
00:50 Departing Walla Walla — searching for the 400-elk herd
01:08 First off-airport landing of the day
01:51 “Megawatt” — landing inside a wind turbine farm
02:24 Sidecountry Walla Walla flying with the boys
03:25 Water skiing the mighty Columbia River
03:57 Record setting waterfall
04:20 Approach into Figgins Family Estate (private & Class Delta landing)
06:08 Wine tasting begins at Figgins Family Winery
06:20 Inside the underground wine caves
07:10 French oak, fermentation & bung holes
08:50 Heading over to Leonetti Cellar
09:14 Arriving at Leonetti — the 5-year wine club wait
09:49 Family history — settled here in 1902
10:30 Clay amphora — the oldest wine vessels on earth
11:13 Touring the original cellar (230 barrels deep)
12:01 Tasting rare library wines (2005!)
12:37 Final stop — dinner at Va Piano
13:33 Outro & Tribute to Murph-dog