Sequim Gazette staff
Wine is bottled poetry, said Robert Louis Stevenson, so perhaps it’s time for a little literary exploration. Perhaps it’s time to sample the offerings from Wind Rose Cellars, Sequim’s newest winery.
The award-winning winery has just opened the doors of its new tasting room at 155 W. Cedar St., Suite B. To find it, go to Second Chance Consignment and look for the wine-bottle sign.
Jennifer States and David Volmut own the winery, with Volmut handling most of the chores while States has a “real job” with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
The two were living in eastern Washington when they first decided to open a winery. At the time, Volmut was an assistant winemaker at the Olsen estate winery. In 2009, “we decided to go into business for ourselves,” he said.
The couple opened Wind Rose using grapes from the Whaluke Slope and Red Mountain.
In January of this year they moved to Sequim; their eastern Washington winery soon will follow them.
While the tasting room is located in downtown Sequim, the wine will be made at their new facility on Bell Bottom Road next to Purple Haze Lavender.
The winery’s current capacity is about 700 cases a year, Volmut said, with plans to “max out” at 1,200 cases. That will take “four to five years,” he said.
Volmut says they’re not in a great hurry and instead are planning for the long haul. “We want to be here for the next 20 years,” he said.
The winery produces Italian-style wines. Current offerings include a rosa barbera — a dry rose with a lovely color that is a past medal-winner in the San Francisco International Wine Competition. Wind Rose’s Bravo Rossa, a mix of five different grapes, picked up a silver medal at the Washington State Wine Competition earlier this year.
The wines can be purchased at the winery’s tasting room, at The Red Rooster Grocery or with your meal at Alder Wood Bistro. Or order it online at www.windrosecellars.com.
Wind Rose will hold its grand opening “with all the bells and whistles” from 3-6 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 13, with wine discounts and appetizers. In the meantime, the tasting room is open from noon-6 p.m. every Friday-Monday and will remain open through September. Tastings also are available by appointment.
For more information, call 360-358-5469.
