Island Vinters Wine Tasting

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What excites you more, wine and cheese or wine and smoked salmon? How about wine paired with good friends? How about all of the above in a setting that invites you to kick back and relax? Such is the quaint ambiance that welcomes wine lovers to downtown Bainbridge Island’s pedestrian friendly Winslow Way.

Part-owner Jim Wilford of Fletcher Bay Winery focuses on making full-palate pleasures at his winery that’s accessible by land and sea. However, getting to Fletcher Bay’s winery on the occasional weekend that they are open is problematic so he’s done the next best thing. He has teamed up with two other Bainbridge Island vintners to create a space convenient to locals and ferry trekkers alike. Whereas the other winemakers bring their unique libations, Jim provides a full complement of Bordeaux focused wines with Spanish tempranillo and Italian sangiovese to spice up his collection.

Like Fletcher Bay Winery, Victor Alexander Winery is a small lot winery using grapes from the Columbia Valley to create fewer than 1,000 cases of food-friendly merlot and Semillon. Located close to Bainbridge Island’s Gazzman Lake, Charlie Merrill’s Victor Alexander Winery is off the beaten path of Bainbridge Island visitors. It’s much better to give people a chance to sample your wares in downtown Bainbridge than leave them to a GPS device to find you.

Paul Bianchi’s Amelia Wynn Winery is the third player to this unique setting. A winner of many wine awards, Paul produces a full sleight of European red wines for the consuming public. Among wines dominated by Bordeaux blends, Paul’s wines are bold but soft but oh-so ready for tonight’s meal. Translation: you don’t need to cellar these babies.

Plenty of wines – enough to satisfy varying palates from refreshing whites and tannin rich reds – paired with platters of breads, cheeses and smoked salmon, make for an afternoon of joy. Just make sure to check the ferry schedule before you order another bottle.