SPOKANE, Wash. – While Washington state wineries are experiencing a decline in sales, some Spokane winemakers are finding that community support is helping them stay steady.
Greg Lipsker, owner of Spokane’s Barrister Winery, shared his experience.
“We haven’t seen a slowdown. We had anticipated that after COVID that we would see an increase, but it stayed pretty steady. But it hasn’t been a slowdown,” he said.
Lipsker attributed Barrister Winery’s success to local support, particularly their wine club.
“We started our wine club 11 years ago hoping we’d get 50 or 60 people. It’s up to about 2,000 right now — and almost 90% of those people are local,” Lipsker said.
Meanwhile, at Arbor Crest Winery in Spokane Valley, winemaker Kristina Mielke-Van Löben Sels reported a dip in wholesale sales, but noted that local foot traffic remains strong.
“We’ve seen a bit of a slowdown in our sales out in the wholesale market. But visitation — the Spokane community has supported us over and over. Our foot traffic has been about the same as previous years,” she stated.
She emphasized the importance of hosting events like concerts, weddings and art festivals to maintain the winery’s resilience.
“Having those different revenue buckets really help augment when the wine sales maybe are down in our national market,” Mielke-Van Löben Sels added.
Despite the statewide sales slump, Mielke-Van Löben Sels remains hopeful about the future of Washington wines.
“I am very optimistic about Washington wines. The fruit is incredible, the product is incredible, and it’s exciting to be a part of this,” she said.
