Local Winemaker Drawn to Woodinville as Hobby Grows

Scott Greenberg, the owner and winemaker of , began making wine seven years ago with a couple of kits he purchased from Mountain Home Brew in Kirkland. Like a kid with a science experiment, he followed the instructions and made two and a half cases of wine in his kitchen. He was hooked and worked up to producing 15 gallons—about 7 cases—at home.

“I just want to make good drinkable wine that’s ageable,” he says.

Pleased with his initial results and looking to increase home production to about 100 cases, Scott learned he would have to renovate a recently remodeled area in order to get the necessary permits. Weighing the options, he decided to move into a warehouse space and increase production beyond what he could achieve at home.

Scott found the space he was looking for in Woodinville’s Warehouse district. The fact it was a vacant winery meant he didn’t have to deal with any major renovating or permitting beyond the one required for his A-frame sign. Additionally, the established wineries and tasting rooms in the area create foot traffic with which the location he was considering in Kirkland near his house couldn’t compete. However, customers aren’t the only things these wineries share, and Scott found other advantages to the location.

Scott’s overall production is small, 350 cases of 2010 reds and 70 cases of riesling a year. He bottles eight different wines, citing personal favorites as the deciding factor when he considered what he wants to make. That’s a lot of favorites. If you do the math, that means he makes small batches of each wine, requiring small batches of grapes, sometimes smaller than one of his supplying vineyard’s one-ton minimum. That’s when Scott turns to his neighbors to see who can use the excess.

 “We share equipment quite a bit, that’s one of the real tangible benefits,” Scott said about choosing a location with so many established wineries.

Scott believes working with the other wineries is important to the success of all of them. From the forklift to barrels to the Internet connection that runs credit card transactions, Warehouse district wineries pool resources to bring products to the market. Owners and winemakers even act as mentors to the new kids on the block.

 “We know each other, if one of has an issue we can talk to one another. I’m still learning so I’m the one asking the questions,” Scott said.

Since opening the tasting room in July 2010, Scott has had to make changes to balance his full-time job as planning director for the City of Burien and his hobby that has grown into a fully commercial effort. The decision to be closed Sundays was one such change. He also plans to continue with small production for the time being.

“I try not to let it consume me,” he said.

But if you want to consume some of his wine, the tasting room is open Saturdays between noon and 5 p.m. Give Chester the Winery Dog a couple scratches behind the ear for me.

Events April 1 – 7

Friday, April 1

• , 14111 NE 145th St., welcomes the first Friday of every month with Happy Hour in the wine shop from 5 – 7 p.m.

• , 19501 144th Ave. NE Suite C-700, invites you to the Grand Opening Weekend of their tasting room where you can enjoy live music, great food and try their new releases as well. Come by Friday, Saturday

• , 16116 140th Place NE, hosts Friday Night Live featuring complimentary appetizers, live music by a local musician and their current releases starting at $6 a glass from 7 – 9 p.m. in the tasting room and cellar.

Saturday, April 2

• Airfield Estates, 14450 Woodinville-Redmond Road, #109, celebrates the tasting room’s One Year Anniversary on Saturday and Sunday noon – 6 p.m. complete with cake.

• , 19501 144th Ave. NW, Suite D300, is pairing a different chocolate with each wine on Saturday, 1 – 5 p.m. $5 tasting fee, refunded with wine purchase.

• , 19501 144th Ave. NE, F-10 keeps the Spring Release Party season going with the release of its 2008 Ursa and Arctos. Stop by for live music from the Tallboys, taste the new releases, have a barrel sample and enjoy the offered food pairings on Saturday and Sunday from 1 – 5 p.m.

• , 19501 144th Ave. NE, Suite D700, has sliders in the tasting room from 1 – 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

• , 14366 Woodinville-Redmond Road, and host Joel Butler, MW, invite you to participate in a complete tasting of the pinot noir varietal as you sample wines from small vintners worldwide from 5 – 8 p.m. Limit 25 participants, tickets may be purchased online. $35 in advance and for club members, $45 at the door. Heavy appetizers will be served

• Northwest Totem Cellars, 15810 NE 136th Place, is bottling 2008 Sangiovese and 2008 Qone at the winery and would like you to come try it raw between noon – 4 p.m. No tasting fee.

• , 18580 142nd Ave. NE, is releasing two new reserve wines Saturday and Sunday from noon – 5 p.m. Chef-created food pairings will be available as you taste the wines recently named Best Syrah and Best Cabernet Sauvignon by their peers. $5 at the door, club members receive complimentary admission.

Sunday, April 3

• Tefft Cellars, 16110 Woodinville Redmond Road NE, Suite 5, offers tasting of their award-winning Vin Santo-style wine every Sunday in April from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Wednesday, April 6

• , 15608 NE Woodinville-Duvall Road, hosts the weekly Wine Wednesday event from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. This week, Shannon and Cole of Hestia Cellars will be pouring a selection of red wines, including the just released 2008 syrah. $15 also includes a selection of classic Italianissimo appetizers.