All you wine lovers out there, check out the newest winery in Richland Washington, Hamilton Cellars. Join owners Russ and Stacie Hamilton as they end their long journey with the opening of their tasting room today, January 5. The winery will feature 2006, 2007, and 2008 vintages. The focus of the winery will be Malbec, a red grape commonly grown in Bordeaux region of France. Not many wineries are using the grape for anything other than a blending grape. Winemaker for the Hamiltons, Charlie Hoppes thinks there could be a lot of interest in it. Along with the wines featuring Malbec, Hamilton Cellar’s will also release a merlot, cabernet sauvignon and a white blend of viognier and semillon.
The tasting room will be open Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday from 12:00pm to 5:00pm. On Friday and Saturday the hours will be 12:00pm to 8:00pm. Appointments can be made for use of the tasting room outside of the regular business hours.
Hamilton Cellars Beginning
It was not an easy start for Russ and Stacie Hamilton to get Hamilton Cellars open. Back in 2006 Russ and Stacie began an adventure to fulfill their dream of opening a winery. The journey to fulfill their dreams was not an easy one, when they first started Russ and Stacie found a location in West Richland that they bought from the City of Richland, perfect for the wine village they dreamed of. Unfortunately, about the time they planned to begin building they found out the land was actually owned by the Bureau of Land Management and they were not interested in selling. Then the Hamilton’s found some land out in the Southridge area of Kennewick Washington, which they bought. Just about the time the design work began the loan fell through. About this time Richland changed its zoning laws allowing wineries within city limits. Russ and Stacie already owned a place in Queensgate Village so plans started to unfold to turn it into a tasting room. They had already contracted Charlis Hoppes owner and winemaker of Fidelitas Wines to be their winemaker. The Hamiltons bought a warehouse in Richland for wine production and are leasing it to Hoppes.
For more information about the tasting room, visit the Hamilton Cellars website or call 509.628.8227.
Posted by Joe and Colleen Lane, your Richland Real Estate Agents. Call or email us today! 509.438.9344
Posted by Colleen Lane on
Thanks so much for the great post on our winery. We are excited to finally be open, and look forward to being a part of the local wine community. As you pointed out in the post, it's been a real adventure for us to get to this point. Thanks again for the write-up, and cheers!
Posted by Hamilton Cellars on Tuesday, January 11th, 2011 at 10:05amYou are certainly welcome! :)
Posted by Joe & Colleen on Tuesday, January 11th, 2011 at 11:50amLeave A Comment