As you drive into Port Townsend, just beyond the city limit sign and before the first roundabout, glance to your left for a glimpse of Port Townsend Vineyards—the new artfully appointed winery and tasting room that is the most visible part of a home-grown business that has changed the face and boosted the economics of the city.  It’s also pioneering a new niche for the North Olympic Peninsula wine scene while enhancing the allure of the region. And the founders are doing it in a very Port Townsend way: artistically, naturally and thoughtfully. While other vineyards have come—and many of them, gone—none have focused on the concept of producing sparkling wine to pair with the region’s abundance of shellfish. “We wanted to create a distinct Port Townsend sparkling wine unlike any other,” explains Winemaker Ben Thomas. “A home-grown wine that enhances our locally-grown seafood.”

Port Townsend Vineyards

Downtown Tasting Room

Port Townsend Vineyards' Water Street Wine Bar

Port Townsend Vineyards uses biodynamic methods and organic principles: hand harvesting, no chemicals, and natural pest control. 

When you visit, you may see a small herd of Soay Sheep happily working the vineyard as natural weed-eating and fertilizing “machines.” Community volunteers help with the harvest and other “chores”: last year, 11 2-person teams competed for the coveted prize in the first grape stomping contest, ala I Love Lucy. It was so popular with the community that plans are to make it an annual event. Harvested grapes are trucked to the namesake winery at the entrance to town where they are crushed, processed and stored in casks to ferment.