It's a New Day in Woodinville

Washington’s smaller wineries are looking to the future in an area energized by opportunities for evolution.

- TIM FISH

when Chateau W Ste. Michelle put its flagship Woodinville, Wash., property on the market this past summer, the wine community was puzzled. Soon after, Gallo announced it was closing its Columbia Winery tasting room, located just across the road from Ste. Michelle. The two producers were the cornerstone on which the bustling Woodinville wine scene was built.

What was going on? It's a complicated story. Woodinville, 30 minutes northeast of Seattle, was originally a logging town, then became a farming community in the early 20th century, and then a suburb of Seattle after World War II. There were no wineries or tasting rooms in Woodinville when Ste. Michelle opened its iconic château in 1976. Columbia followed suit later, opening in 1988. Ironically, there were no vineyards there, and that remains true today. (The vineyards are

mostly on the other side of the Cascades in the vast Columbia Valley.) Then in 2000, a state law was changed, allowing wineries to open stand-alone tasting rooms separate from production sites.

Today, there are about 110 tasting rooms representing 126 brands, according to Adam Acampora, executive director of Woodinville Wine Country, a nonprofit that promotes tourism.