Lake Chelan Winery

Lake Chelan Winery distinguishes itself on many fronts. First, WineTrail enthusiasts might be interested to know that Lake Chelan Winery was the first of its kind in the Lake Chelan area. Since 2001, Lake Chelan Winery has been serving premium wines from its Chelan-Manson Highway location. Second, its tasting room is located in what was the last privately owned apple-packing operation in Chelan. This might surprise you when you visit the 3,000-square-foot tasting room with its generously sized gift shop. The transformation from packing shed to tasting room is nothing short of spectacular. Third, Lake Chelan Winery is in the top 10 in the gift shop category. We’re not talking about the sheer number of items for sale (there are plenty), but the quality of the merchandise.

The winery also distinguishes itself with a wine garden situated next to the winery. During the summer, the winery features a nightly Barbecue in the Vineyard. You can pick up a bottle of Lake Chelan wine and order up baby back pork ribs, chicken breasts, salmon, bratwurst or hot dogs (for the kids) and side of corn on the cob, coleslaw, or baked beans. Get ready to go through a pile of napkins devouring this barbecue, or simply jump in the lake afterward to wash away that barbecue sauce.

Bobbi and Steve Kludt are co-owners of Lake Chelan Winery, along with Spencer Bell and John and Dawn Abbott. To assist with winemaking, Ray Sandidge (of C.R. Sandidge Winery fame) acts as consultant winemaker. Complimentary wine tasting provides visitors with a taste-bud tour of the winery’s chardonnay, muscat, pinot noir, syrah, gewürztraminer, cabernet sauvignon, and a luscious red blend called “Stormy Mountain Red,” composed of pinot noir, syrah, and small doses of cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon. Note the prevalence of pinot noir. You find an increasing number of wineries in the Lake Chelan area using locally grown pinot noir grapes. It remains to be seen how the Lake Chelan pinot noirs measure up to the great pinots produced in the Willamette Valley.

By the way, if the name “Kludt” sounds familiar, it may be because Steve and Bobbi’s son, Jonathon Kludt, is the winemaker for Wapato Point Cellars, located a few miles down the road in Manson.

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  Lake Chelan Winery was featured in WineTrails of Washington as part of the Lake Chelan North Shore WineTrail on page 244!