About
How Eleven Got Started
Our founder and winemaker, Matt Albee, didn’t exactly take the traditional path into wine.
After years chasing the dream of professional cycling (a sport that involves a lot of suffering on two wheels), Matt eventually hung up his racing bike and started wondering what to do next. One fall morning in 1999, while attempting to read a neuropsychology textbook, he dozed off… and had a moment of clarity.
In that half-awake state where dreams and reality mingle, one thought came through loud and clear: “You should be a winemaker.” That seemed like a voice worth listening to.
At the time Matt and his wife Sarah were living in the San Francisco Bay Area, where they spent many weekends visiting wineries. Matt soon found himself helping with harvest at Page Mill Winery in Menlo Park, tossing boxes of grapes onto the crusher in the cool morning air. Within days, he was hooked.
Before long, the winemaker suggested Matt make a barrel of his own. Matt found some Chardonnay grapes, made his first barrel of wine that year, and spent the next few years learning everything he could in the cellar.
Eventually, Matt and Sarah decided to return to the Pacific Northwest, where they had both grown up. They chose Bainbridge Island, bought a fixer-upper house, and converted the garage into a tiny winery.
The first grapes were crushed in 2003, the first wines were released in 2004, and in 2011 Eleven moved into a larger space just down the road.
Eleven Today
In April 2024, Eleven entered an exciting new chapter.
Our powerhouse trio—Alana Mignano (General Manager), Ashley Dunlap (Tasting Room & Events Manager), and Armathia Bolles (Winemaker)—officially took over operational leadership of the winery.
Founder Matt Albee remains the majority owner and continues to support the team, but the day-to-day leadership is now firmly in their capable hands as Eleven continues to grow, evolve, and keep making wine that’s both seriously good and seriously fun.
And the story keeps expanding. In Spring 2026, we’ll be opening Eleven Wine Bar in the Manette neighborhood of Bremerton. The new wine bar will feature wines by the glass and bottle, fun events, community fundraisers, and a cozy neighborhood atmosphere where great wine and good company come together.
“The winery is named for a cycling term that reflects our approach to winemaking. Before starting Eleven, I spent years racing bikes and learned what it means to push yourself to the limit. On a road bike, the eleven-tooth cog is the smallest gear—and the one you use when it’s all or nothing. When you’ve got to give absolutely everything you’ve got, you go to the Eleven.”
~ Founder, Matt Albee
At Eleven, we’re not just here to make wine that tastes good, we’re here to make the world a little better, too.
Our long-term goal is to become a philanthropic winery that donates all after-tax profits to charity. While we’re still growing and reinvesting heavily into the business, giving back remains an important part of what we do. Today, we donate about 1% of our annual revenue to charitable causes.
One of the ways we do this is through our Ratio wines. We donate $1 from every bottle of Ratio Blanco and Ratio Rosso to two organizations we care deeply about: World Bicycle Relief, which supports economic development and education in communities across Africa through the power of bicycles, and Bike Works, a Seattle-area nonprofit that empowers youth and communities through cycling.
We also support many local nonprofits through auction donations, fundraising discounts, and by hosting events at the winery that help organizations raise money for their missions.
Because great wine is even better when it helps do a little good in the world.
Giving Back
At Eleven, we don’t believe there’s just one “best” style of wine. The right wine depends on the moment - whether that’s a 12-course dinner party or folding laundry on a Tuesday night.
With that in mind, we make a range of wines for different occasions.
Our Eleven wines are designed for the dinner table - flavorful, balanced wines with enough structure to pair beautifully with food without overpowering the meal (or the conversation).
Our Ratio wines are made for more casual moments. They’re lighter, easygoing, and perfect when you just want to pour a glass and unwind.
Our BWA (Better With Age) wines are built for the cellar—structured wines designed to evolve and develop complexity over time.
In the winery, we believe simplicity creates complexity. We blend the wisdom of traditional winemaking with modern techniques, focusing on thoughtful choices that highlight character, vintage, and vineyard. The goal isn’t to make wine that tastes like everything else, it’s to make wine that truly reflects where it comes from.
Winemaking
Sustainability is another way Eleven works to make the world a better place. After all, life on Earth is a lot more enjoyable with clean water, clean air, good weather, and healthy ecosystems. Humans are powerful enough to mess those things up—but hopefully smart enough not to.
As a business, we know our footprint is bigger than that of a single person, which means we have a responsibility to keep that footprint as small as possible. We do this in many ways, including recycling, using renewable and recyclable packaging, sourcing sustainably grown grapes, and offsetting our carbon output. In fact, Eleven was the first carbon-neutral winery in Washington State (and yes, we’re pretty proud of that).
Some of our wines go a step further, starting right in the vineyard. Our Petit Verdot, La Donella, and Lem are made with grapes from Kiona and Coyote Canyon vineyards, both certified by Sustainable WA - Washington’s leading program for responsible vineyard farming. The certification focuses on environmental stewardship, fair labor practices, and long-term sustainability for both the land and the people who farm it.
To carry the certification, wines must contain at least 75% sustainably grown grapes. These do.
So when you enjoy those wines, you’re not just drinking something delicious—you’re supporting farming practices that help protect the future of Washington wine.
Learn more at SustainableWA.com.
