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Identify the winemaker Contest
(Contest has closed)(If I'm correct) until recently (Fall-2002), it was not legal to have a tasting room in WA State representing multiple wineries. I believe that a winery could operate a standalone tasting room, but only on properties where wine was actually being made, and they could only sell their own wines. This is different from a wine store that can sell many different companies wines, but cannot also be a winery producing their own label.
Silver Lake Winery and Staton Hills Vineyards both operated "satellite" tasting rooms, but got around the law by doing some winemaking there -- I believe in each case they had a barrel in the back of wine "aging", probably more accurately "spoiling". Both these facilities were closed down eventually, I believe as they were simply big money losses.
Regardless of those former operations in years past, a new group has established a multiple-winery tasting room. (I believe this was made possible by recent changes in WA State liquor laws.) The man who made it happen is credited as Paul Beveridge of Wilridge Winery.
Paul partnered with Robert Goodfriend of Harlequin Wine Cellars to bring together (at this writing Fall-2002) five wineries (with more in the works) whose wines are all available to taste and purchase. His idea was to create a European-style wine "cave" where visitors can taste and buy an assortment of local wines from small producers. You can be sure there will be many excellent wines open for tasting during any visit!
At opening, the Tasting Room features the wines of Camaraderie Cellars, Harlequin Wine Cellars, JM Cellars, Wilridge Winery, and Wineglass Cellars.
The room opened to the public on 09-Dec-2002; hours are 11-7 Tuesday-Sunday. The "cave" is located just off Pike Place Market at 1924 Post Alley between Stewart and Virginia. Seattleites will recognize this immediately as being the old antique shop directly across the Alley from the Pink Door Restaurant and next door to Kell's Irish Pub. (Follow signs to "Pike Place Market" from I-5, then park and wander the market.) (Interestingly enough, this location is just a few doors up from the old Staton Hills location at 1908(?) Post Alley.)
Their official website is http://www.WinesOfWashington.com/.
Here's some photos of the opening event:
That's me (Mike Lempriere) blocking the doorway (leftmost photo).
[All photos credit: Frank Harlan]
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