Exciting times for Woodinville’s wine community — ooh, la, la

She’s a pretty mademoiselle. You can see that by her perfectly placed lipstick, her fashionable wide-brimmed straw hat and silky black sundress. She’s more than likely standing in a sunny meadow overlooking the meandering Tineé River in Provence.

A handsome gentleman stands on her right. You don’t know for certain, but you suspect he’s holding a picnic basket complete with baguettes and a bottle of fine French wine.

This picture of a French couple appeared in a print advertisement in January, 2005. It ran in a Seattle Sunday magazine accompanied by the heading: “Welcome to Woodinville: The envy of France.”

After reading the words, you realize the mademoiselle and her man aren’t in Provence at all. They’re in Woodinville, perhaps overlooking the meandering Sammamish River or pastoral Sammamish Valley. And, of course, their picnic basket (if they have one) totes a bottle of fine wine from one of Woodinville’s 17 wineries.

“What we’re saying in this ad is that Washington state has a terrific climate for growing grapes,” said Melanie Wilhoit, general manager of Edelman, the Seattle firm that created the ad. “The woman could be standing on a hill overlooking eastern Washington, the Sammamish River or anywhere in Washington state.”

Regan Sheehy, communications director for the Washington Wine Commission (WWC) described the intent. “The ad was designed to take a tongue-in-cheek approach and use a little humor to blur the lines of distinction between Washington state and France,” she said, adding, “And it was to convey that Washington wines are on par with the best winemaking regions in the world.”

The advertisement was among a series of seven “envy” spots featured in select wine markets throughout the state, including Yakima, Walla Walla, Puget Sound, Spokane, Prosser and Tri-Cities in addition to Woodinville. Launched last November, the ads were part of the Washington Wine Commission’s branding campaign to increase consumer awareness.

“We’re taking the perceptions of Washington state and turning them upside down in a tone and manner that’s light and engaging,” Sheehy said, adding “The ‘envy’ ads were designed for an instate market and it’s an in-joke, if you will.”

The WWC has finished their run of the “envy” campaign for now and has launched a new one. “Now we’re planning a second phase campaign which will go out to select national markets, later in 2005 and in early 2006,” Sheehy said. “It will target specific markets nationwide and clear up misconceptions about our state,” she said. “There’s confusion between Washington state and Washington, D.C., and there’s the misperception that it rains all the time. Also, a lot of people outside the state are unaware that eastern Washington has an ideal climate for growing wine grapes. Our concept of wine country encompasses the entire state. There are great areas to enjoy wine on both sides of the mountains.”

And one of the great areas, she said, is Woodinville. “There are a lot of exciting things going on in Woodinville for wine, such as the wine-themed village (planned for 18 acres in Woodinville’s tourist district) and the ‘Passport to Woodinville’ event (to be held April 2-3, 2005.)”

Lance Baer, winemaker and president of Woodinville Wine Country, agreed. “Passport weekend is big,” he said. “And there are all kinds of exciting things going on with a lot of the wineries. Betz Family Winery will be moving their location from a warehouse into a brand new winery.

Also, Betz and Matthews Cellars are building underground cave cellars and they’ll be open for open house. We’re in a really exciting time for the Woodinville wine community.”

He continued, “Woodinville is going to become a huge wine destination. We have great wineries, great lodging, the Herb Farm and Purple Café.

“Right now, Woodinville is kind of undiscovered. There are people who aren’t aware that we’re here in beautiful wine country where you can sample every kind of wine. And Woodinville doesn’t have snob appeal but a family ‘welcome to my winery’ appeal.”

Baer Winery serves as an example of exciting times for a Woodinville winery. Tucked in between horse and llama farms in the Crystal Lake area, the winery sits on six and half acres. It operates through mail orders and is closed to the public.

“A lot of the neighbors didn’t know we were here until we had an open house and put a sign out,” Baer said.

Those invited to stop by will notice a beautifully crafted wine cellar at the end of a long driveway.

Before it was remodeled, the cellar served as a shop for VW repairs.

Visitors are treated to an intoxicating whiff of intermingled scents of wine and oak when entering.

“We keep the room very cold so the air becomes very rich with wine fumes,” Baer explained.

A former heavy structures mechanic at Boeing, Baer began his winemaking profession as an assistant winemaker.

After leasing space to start his winery in 2000, Baer moved to his current location in 2001 where he continues to build his business. He’ll hold an open house for his mailing list customers this month and looks forward to participating in the “Passport to Woodinville” event when wine lovers get together to enjoy wines from Woodinville-area wineries.

Baer said he loves the life of a winemaker and being a part of Woodinville’s wine community.

“I’m happy to be in Woodinville with outstanding winemakers,” he said. “It’s a privilege to be here among them.”

For further information on Woodinville wineries or Passport weekend, go to www.woodinvillewinecountry.com.