New wineries are popping up over much of Washington state, and the trend is spreading to Whatcom County.
The booming growth has added almost 200 wineries since 2005, said Ryan Pennington, communications manager for the Washington Wine Commission. While this has centered mostly on Walla Walla and Woodinville, pockets of wineries are opening around the Puget Sound region, he said.
One pocket is Whatcom County, which has seven wineries and two more — Dynasty Cellars and Poiesis Wines — expected to open soon, said Ken Peck, owner of Dakota Creek Winery in Blaine. Whatcom wineries are smaller — most sell between 1,000 to 2,000 cases per year — and make artisan wines, Peck said.
“It hasn’t been an explosion on the level of Walla Walla or Woodinville by any stretch, and I don’t think it will be,” said Jeff Wicklund, owner of
Purple in Smile Wines Fairhaven. “Whatcom County winemakers aren’t refinery wineries. They’re smaller in production and mostly boutiques.”
In the next two months, Peck said local wineries will form an association to increase their marketing ability and set up wine-tasting tours. Tours would be an important boost to Peck’s sales because he sells three-quarters of his wine at his winery, he said.
“We keep hearing about people going to Woodinville and Eastern Washington to do tours, and we want to convince them to stay here,” Peck said.
Maintaining the pace of this growth could prove difficult, said John Powers, co-owner of Chuckanut Ridge Wine Co. in Ferndale. Rising gas and grape prices are pushing up the cost of producing wine, because almost all of the wine grapes are grown in Eastern Washington and have to be shipped here. Peck said the price of a kind of grape he buys has increased from $1,500 a ton in 2005 to more than $2,000.
While this results in a higher price per bottle, consumers have paid for the premium, Peck said.
“Business depends on people paying a certain price per bottle,” Wicklund said. “So far people have accepted the idea that it’s an experience worth the price.”
If the growth oversaturates the market with similar-tasting wines, however, people could prove unwilling to pay higher prices, Wicklund said.
“What’s going to be the downfall?” he asked. “It’s going to be market-driven. You can only get so many $40 syrahs before it all starts tasting the same.”