{"id":3791,"date":"2018-12-01T08:47:04","date_gmt":"2018-12-01T15:47:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/danthewineguy.com\/?p=3791"},"modified":"2019-04-04T05:27:42","modified_gmt":"2019-04-04T12:27:42","slug":"at-home-on-whidbey-island-wine-bars-and-tasting-rooms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/?p=3791","title":{"rendered":"At Home on Whidbey Island: Wine Bars and Tasting Rooms"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Whidbey Island wine enthusiasts have reason to be happy. In addition to seven wineries clustered around the southern half of the island, the north end of Whidbey lays claim to two outstanding venues that are perfect for wine tasting: The Terrace Wine Bar and Bistro in Oak Harbor and Vail Wine Shop & Tasting Room in Coupeville.<\/p>\n

The Terrace Wine Bar and Bistro<\/strong><\/p>\n

Owner\/operators Morgan Brian Hughes and Keith Kinsey purchased downtown Oak Harbor\u2019s Terrace Wine Bar from the space\u2019s previous owner in 2013. Neither had any wine-tasting background, although Kinsey\u2019s dad was a restauranteur, providing the duo with at a bit of experience in the foodservice industry.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Keith Kinsey at Oak Harbor’s Terrace Wine Bar<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThe wine bar was this, it just wasn\u2019t this<\/em>,\u201d Kinsey says, motioning to a counter full of patrons on a Friday afternoon and a fully-stocked wine bar. \u201cWhen we purchased the bar there were 12 bottles of wine. Today we have about 120 wines and 45 different beers and ciders.\u201d<\/p>\n

During their ownership, Hughes has been primarily responsible for selecting the wines, which come from both domestic and international wineries, while Kinsey has focused on the beer side of the menu, which features breweries with a decidedly Washington flavor.<\/p>\n

Kinsey is also responsible for a limited but extremely popular food menu with local favorites that include buffalo mac \u2018n cheese and a variety of flatbreads.<\/p>\n

But even with the highly recommended food choices, it\u2019s the wine list that really shines here. \u201cI probably could have named maybe 10 grapes when I bought the bar and now it\u2019s\u2026200, maybe more,\u201d Hughes says. He enjoys the frequent customer who comes in with a vague description of what they like, and then draws upon his knowledge of wines to pour them what he thinks will be a good match.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can have from up to 10 to 20 new wines a week,\u201d he says, noting that while there are no in-house \u201cspecialty wines\u201d per se, his fondness for Tempranillo has led to a good supply of wines from Spanish and Portuguese wine regions.<\/p>\n

For those who love the Terrace Wine Bar\u2019s variety the price list is an added bonus: Glass pours begin at only $5 and generally run in the $6 to $8 range; bottle prices are just as reasonable, with nearly all reds and whites available for purchase at under $30 each.<\/p>\n

Vail Wine Shop & Tasting Room<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"

Patsy and Larry Vail at Vail Wine Shop & Tasting Room in Coupeville<\/p><\/div>\n

Husband and wife Larry and Patsy Vail moved from Wenatchee to Whidbey Island in 1991. They operated a successful portrait photography studio up until their \u201cfirst retirement\u201d in 2011, and then opened Vail Wine Shop & Tasting Room in Coupeville shortly thereafter. The wine shop specializes in small-producer, 100-percent Washington wines.<\/p>\n

Patsy recalls the couple\u2019s interest in Washington wines began in the early 90\u2019s when the state\u2019s wine industry consisted primarily of smaller wineries and \u201cwe had a group of friends and drove our sports cars over to (Eastern Washington) wine country. It was essentially a hobby.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t really know anything about wine and we had joined a bad California wine club,\u201d Larry jokes, noting that their increasingly frequent trips across the Cascades allowed them to meet winemakers, make contacts, and cultivate their love of Washington wines.<\/p>\n

It was those wine tasting experiences that led the couple to believe they could open and operate their own wine shop, which Larry admits was more of an \u201cI think we can do this\u201d decision, rather than the result of \u201csome clever marketing study.\u201d Their original wine shop moved from across Coupeville\u2019s Front Street to its current waterfront location in 2014.<\/p>\n

The tasting bar feature of the facility includes a six-wine selection that changes weekly and usually consists of three whites and three reds; the remainder of the space is dedicated to bottle sales, with additional seating outdoors and along the railing behind the building and facing picturesque Penn Cove.<\/p>\n

\"\"Larry insists on an \u201cI have to like it to buy it\u201d philosophy for wines that are purchased directly by him or through distributors. \u201cIt has to be a good, well-made wine, not something that just sells well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Vail\u2019s knowledge of and passion for Washington wines has also extended to tours that they organize and lead, primarily as wine-buying trips for groups that usually run from 20 to 35 people.<\/p>\n

Back at the wine shop, guests will also find a small menu that includes smoked salmon, organic hummus, assorted cheeses, and Italian black truffle-salted popcorn to accompany their wines. Friday\u2019s \u201cflights and bites\u201d is easily the shop\u2019s busiest day, Larry says.<\/p>\n

The Vails also have what they term a \u201cconsumer-oriented\u201d wine club that boasts about 400 members. From a pre-selected list, members have the freedom to choose the price point, quantity, and even the color of their monthly wine order, making this a hugely popular purchasing option for wine enthusiasts.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish I would have retired sooner,\u201d Larry says with a smile. \u201cI love the social aspect of the business and I love discovering new wines.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Key To Success: Local Support<\/strong><\/p>\n

The owners of both the Terrace Wine Bar and Vail Wine Shop & Tasting Room agree that strong, local support, coupled with each business\u2019s commitment to providing a hometown, personal touch has been the key to success.<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, that level of personal service extends to out-of-towners as well, who are encouraged to stop in and taste some great wines in the same atmosphere that keeps Whidbey Islanders coming back.<\/p>\n

More information: TerraceWine.com and VailWineShop.com.<\/p>\n

The Terrace Wine Bar and Bistro
\n791 SE Fidalgo Rd., Oak Harbor
\n360.720.2322 | terracewine.com<\/p>\n

Vail Wine Shop & Tasting Room
\n22 NW Front St., Coupeville
\n360.632.2227 | vailwineshop.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article originally appeared, in part, in the December, 2018 issue of Bellingham Alive Magazine Whidbey Island wine enthusiasts have reason to be happy. In addition to seven wineries clustered around the southern half of the island, the north end of Whidbey lays claim to two outstanding venues that are perfect for wine tasting: The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-from-the-bellingham-herald"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3791","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=3791"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3791\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3971,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3791\/revisions\/3971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danthewineguy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}