Fall Line Winery

I missed the KING-TV film crew by a few days. They were doing a story on winemakers that live duo lives, pursuing their passion of making wine in their spare time while maintaining interesting careers. Tim Sorenson, winemaker and co-owner of Fall Line Winery, is the perfect candidate for such a story. Tim is a professor of economics at Seattle University by day and a winemaker by night (and on the weekends). To my knowledge, he is the only winemaker in Washington to have a PhD from Harvard University. A nosey interviewer (me) discovered this little factoid during our visit, but Tim is the kind of person who carries no airs and is remarkably friendly. His passion is winemaking, and he cares what you think.

Tim bounces back and forth from the Seattle University campus to his 4,000-square-foot winery in South Seattle (Georgetown). The place is spotless; I’m not sure you would want to eat off the floor, but you could. He assures me, however, that when he and his wife and co-owner, Nancy Rivenburgh, took possession of the office park space, it was essentially a shell with hanging wires, clutter, and dust. A healthy dose of elbow grease, new walls and paint, and many shekels for the equipment transformed the space. Early on, they decided to call their winery “Fall Line” in recognition of their other great passion—skiing. As they note on their website, “‘fall line’ evokes the alluring image of a perfectly balanced skier, gracefully descending a slope of deep, fluffy powder—leaving behind a beautifully carved swoosh.”

Tim is grateful to his friend and mentor, Ben Smith of nearby Cadence Winery, for teaching him the craft of making wine, introducing him to elite grape growers in the Columbia Valley, and his ongoing support and friendship. Ever the economist, Tim has an Excel spreadsheet full of cash flow analyses, income projections, and balance sheets. However, he hasn’t looked at the spreadsheet for some time. Instead, he’s guided by a belief in his product and the confidence that his small winery will be self-sustaining in time. When you taste Fall Line wines, you’ll agree.

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  Fall Line Winery was featured in WineTrails of Washington as part of the South Seattle WineTrail on page 88!