Stottle Winery

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Josh and Amy Stottlemyer knew the secret of making great wine right from the get-go. It all starts in the vineyard. With famed Elerding Vineyard in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA providing most of the fruit for their initial releases, they might have paid a premium per ton but you get what you pay for. A fine example of their new winery is the tempranillo that makes you wonder if Washington’s grape reputation will expand to include this Spanish grape in the years to come. The nice spice in this wine mirrors (or perhaps emphasizes) the spice you find in dishes such as paella or tomato-based sauces. A sip of the Stottle Winery 2008 Tempranillo took me mentally to the windswept hills of Horse Heaven and I swear by blood pressure dropped with the image.

Located just north of Washington’s state capital, Olympia, the business park setting provides unexpected located for a winery in Lacey. Inside their light-filled tasting room, there are plenty of tables to park at and enjoy a glass of Stottle Wine. For such a young winery, the tasting list is ambitious with a choice of the aforementioned tempranillo, malbec, cabernet sauvignon, sangiovese, viognier (from Walla Walla), a red blend, nebbiolo, and barbera (from Sagemoor Vineyard). It’s a United Nation’s of varieties with France, Spain and Italy well represented.

Josh is another of the cadre of young winemakers produced from the Northwest Wine Academy of South Seattle Community College. The long commutes – an hour on a good day – gave Josh ample time to think of the label design for their winery. Featuring a white on black label, the image of a Stottle bottle of wine has “vines” growing out of the bottle comprised of words describing the wine. Imaginative, fun and approachable; the labels invite loyal fans of Stottle Winery and newbies to uncork and imbibe.