Lots of folks have been asking why we decided to move our wine production across the state, so far away from our current home base. The truth is, we couldn't pass up this fantastic opportunity! The Port of Kennewick was building new winery sites; they just needed a few awesome tenants to make their vision a reality. That's where Bartholomew Winery and Palencia Winery - La Monarcha come in.

Currently, Bartholomew is leasing warehouse space built for "other" manufacturing, retrofitted to suit wine making. The new building in Kennewick is designed specifically to support wine production and hospitality services. It's an energy efficient building, which reduces operating costs and provide a “sustainable practices” marketing advantage. Adjacent to a nature trail are outdoor seating areas designed and situated to take full advantage of the surrounding natural area, while using the buildings to block the hustle and bustle of the busy street, and street-scape improvements to enhance the “manner of arrival”. Phase 2 improvements will add supporting elements (such as food trucks) and additional sites for complementary businesses (like beer, wine, spirits, art, and food). What's not to love!

Also, a forward thinking approach to waste water is incorporated into this winery site. New regulatory requirements are currently being discussed and enacted by the State of Washington Department of Ecology. The cost involved to accommodate these new regulations will be expensive for existing wineries. This is why the Port project is quite enticing to us. While all the individual wineries around the State will be attempting to understand and comply with these new requirements, the City of Kennewick is handling all of the permitting to discharge the winery waste water into their existing 6 million gallons of daily flow. We simply have to sign up for the City’s water and sewer meter billing, apply some simple best management practices, and pay a monthly water bill. Is it a perfect situation? Time will tell, but we are more than hopeful.

Personally, we are excited to help improve an under-served community of Kennewick, and transform it into a bustling center of commerce. Here is a 2-minute video provided by PBS showing a sneak peek of the wine village construction site and the key Port official and architect involved: ​www.pbs.org/video/3000929868/ (or click the image below)