{"id":3713,"date":"2018-10-01T18:15:31","date_gmt":"2018-10-02T01:15:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/danthewineguy.com\/?p=3713"},"modified":"2018-10-03T18:43:31","modified_gmt":"2018-10-04T01:43:31","slug":"whatcom-county-wineries-look-to-bounce-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/?p=3713","title":{"rendered":"Whatcom County Wineries Look to Bounce Back"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article originally appeared in the October, 2018 issue of Bellingham Alive Magazine<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Any business has its ups and downs, and the Whatcom County wine industry is no different. It wouldn\u2019t even be a stretch to say that the county has been in a bit of a downward cycle as of late, contracting from a peak of 13 wineries a few years ago to the 10 that now produce and sell wine here.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t necessarily mean there\u2019s cause for alarm among Whatcom County wine enthusiasts. On the contrary, there are still plenty of solid, affordable wines being produced by area winemakers and new and better ways to enjoy them.<\/p>\n

But the lack of growth does raise questions as to the general health and continuity of the local wine industry. What\u2019s behind the current downturn? And why haven\u2019t more wineries opened here when Washington State, as a whole, continues to expand its role as a player on the domestic and international wine scene?<\/p>\n

\"\"

Margarita Vartanyan pours a glass of wine for customers at Vartanyan Estate Winery.<\/p><\/div>\n

TIME, MONEY AND BEER<\/p>\n

When Ken and Jill Peck, husband-and-wife winemakers and owners of Blaine\u2019s Dakota Creek Winery closed their doors in 2016, people assumed that something went wrong. Bankruptcy, slow sales, and health issues were all gossipy topics tossed around the wine consumer water cooler as possible reasons for the winery\u2019s \u201cdemise.\u201d<\/p>\n

As it turns out, the Pecks went out on top when they decided to wrap things up \u2013 without even considering selling the winemaking facility next to their home. Ken had previously retired as a US Customs agent about 10 years earlier. And the closure of Dakota Creek Winery was simply, as he referred to it, a \u201ctrue retirement.\u201d<\/p>\n

One might think that the county\u2019s aspiring winemakers would look at this as an opportunity to fill a void in the local wine industry, but it\u2019s not that easy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of hard work to starting a winery and most people don\u2019t realize that,\u2019 says Margarita Vartanyan of Vartanyan Estate Winery<\/strong>, located just east of Bellingham off the Mount Baker Highway. She also cites the time and financial considerations in getting your product on the market as a major detriment to any startup winery.<\/p>\n

\u201cA brewery might take three months to get their beer ready, but a winery could take over two years before they are able to sell their wine,\u201d she says. Vartanyan uses her own red wines as an example, which require at least that much time to age in the barrel and bottle before they can be released. The economics are simple: when wines aren\u2019t ready to sell, the winery isn\u2019t making any money.<\/p>\n

\"\"Bellingham\u2019s Peter Osvaldik of Dynasty Cellars<\/strong> agrees that this is a difficult time to break into the wine industry in Whatcom County.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a tight market for any winery,\u201d he says, and the proliferation of Bellingham microbreweries hasn\u2019t helped. \u201cThe beer scene has overwhelmed the town,\u201d noting that the area\u2019s younger, college demographic has contributed to a shift in more breweries and beer production\u2026at the expense of area wineries.<\/p>\n

GOOD WINES AND INNOVATIVE MARKETING<\/p>\n

While the Whatcom County wine industry struggles, those loyal to local wineries have reason to be both happy with today\u2019s wines and optimistic about the future.<\/p>\n

A case in point: the performance of area wineries at this summer\u2019s 3rd Annual Bellingham Northwest Wine Festival, which featured over 175 wines from the Pacific Northwest. Four Whatcom County-based wineries participated in the festival and its judged competition. Fourteen wines were entered; 14 wines earned medals.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Tom Davis and Tracy DeGraff of GLM Wine Co. in Blaine<\/p><\/div>\n

Included in the accolades were Everson\u2019s Samson Estates Winery<\/strong>, which captured a gold medal for its Delilah Blackberry Wine along with a bronze and three silvers that included its Delilah Raspberry Wine and Black Currant and Framboise Raspberry Dessert Wines. Blaine\u2019s GLM Wine Co.<\/strong>, which earned a silver for its 2017 Rock Flour Sauvignon Blanc plus a bronze medal. Dynasty Cellars, which took home a silver for its Irresponsible Red Wine Blend and three bronzes. And Vartanyan Estate Winery, winner of a bronze medal plus silvers for its 2012 Nebbiolo and 2014 Trilogia Red Wine.<\/p>\n

In continuing to produce award-winning wines, all of these wineries are constantly looking for new and innovative ways to enhance the tasting room experience and bring more visitors to their wineries.<\/p>\n

Vartanyan has plans to revive her popular outdoor concert series and frequently hosts special events such as \u201cbottle your own wine\u201d and barrel tastings. Osvaldik has launched a new food menu with plans to expand his outdoor patio area and commercial kitchen. Anne Gould, manager at Samson Estates, continues to promote the winery\u2019s pavilion adjacent to the tasting room as a venue for weddings, office parties, and other special events.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also considerable buzz surrounding Mount Baker Vineyards & Winery<\/strong> near Everson, which was sold earlier this year. The new owners have been working on a much-needed facelift to the tasting room and product rebranding while local wine enthusiasts eagerly anticipate the winery\u2019s reopening.<\/p>\n

And Tom Davis, co-owner and winemaker of GLM Wine Co., notes that he saw an uptick in sales this summer at his near-the-border winery, in spite of a weak Canadian dollar.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s all encouraging news for Whatcom County wineries and wine drinkers alike. It\u2019s also the bright side about nearing what appears to be the bottom of a business cycle. There\u2019s no place to go but up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article originally appeared in the October, 2018 issue of Bellingham Alive Magazine Any business has its ups and downs, and the Whatcom County wine industry is no different. It wouldn\u2019t even be a stretch to say that the county has been in a bit of a downward cycle as of late, contracting from a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-heard-through-the-grapevine","category-from-the-bellingham-herald"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3713"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3726,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3713\/revisions\/3726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}