Laurelhurst Cellars Winery Holding Tasting This Saturday

Did you know there used to a winery in Laurelhurst until 2 years ago?

Gabe Warner, of Laurelhurst Cellars, told us that in 2004 he started the winery as a hobby with some friends, Greg Smallwood and Dave Hallbgewachs, in his Laurelhurst driveway, garage and basement.  Gabe moved to the neighborhood in 1985 with his family and still lives in Laurelhurst with his wife.

Gabe told us "We made about 50 gallons of wine. When the next harvest season came around we decided to step it up and made 4 barrels of wine which is about 240 gallons.

It was quickly becoming apparent that we had more wine than we knew what to do with - and it was also clear that we had discovered a passion and we still wanted to make more wine the next year.

So we talked things over and soon created Laurelhurst Cellars L.L.C."

In 2007 Laurelhurst Cellars, sold their first commerical 2005 vintage wine to the public. And the group continued to make wine and operate out of Greg's family's basement and garage until the fall of 2008 when the operation was moved to their current location in a warehouse in Georgetown.


And this Saturday from 1-3pm, Laurelhurst Cellars is participating in a wine tasting at  University Wine (previously called La Cantina) located at 5436 Sand Point Way at Sand Point Village.

Laurelhurst Cellars will offer a variety of wines available for tasting including: 2006 Laurus Nobilis (Bordeaux Style Blend),
2006 Red Mountain Syrah, 2008 Cabernet Franc and 2008 Merlot.

And Gabe told us he "would love to reach out to the neighborhood and introduce ourselves" at the event.

Laurelhurst Cellars' wine is available nearby at the UVillage QFC, Jax and University Wine and many other locations including restaurants throughout Seattle. And their tasting room is open by appointment only.

Here is an interesting article, called "The Laurelhurst Boys," written by WINO Magazine On-Line about the history of Laurelhurst Cellars.

Check out their website  for a list of currently available wines, information about upcoming events, and photos of their basement operations in Laurelhurst.