Open: Year Round
Wilridge Winery is a small, family winery run in the European tradition. The Winery was founded in 1988 by husband and wife duo, Paul Beveridge and Lysle Wilhelmi. Today Wilridge is the oldest continuously operated winery in Seattle. From the beginning, Wilridge has focused on hand-crafted wines from select vineyard sites throughout Washington State. In 2007, Paul and Lysle planted an estate vineyard for Wilridge on Naches Heights near Yakima. Wilridge wines are available for sampling and purchase at The Bottlehouse above the winery in the historic Madrona neighborhood of Seattle, at The Tasting Room Seattle in Pike Place Market, and at The Tasting Room Yakima at Wilridge Vineyard.
Originally, Wilridge wines were made in the cellar of Madrona Bistro, a restaurant run by Lysle. The wines were aged in French oak barrels that still line the walls of the cellar. With the closure of the Bistro in 1995, Paul and Lysle decided to expand the winery. They lifted the building and excavated a 1,500 square foot cellar. New equipment was purchased from Italy, where there is a long tradition of small, family-scale wine making. The first vintage from the new facility was produced in 1996. Lysle, Paul, and their sons, Mack and Liam, lived above the winery until they moved to a nearby house in 2003. Paul's parents lived above the winery from 2003 until their retirement in 2009. In 2010, Soni Dave and Henri Schock moved in and opened Bottlehouse -- a wine bar focusing on Washington State wines, including Wilridge. Soni and Henri take care of the winery's little black cat, Pinot Noir.
Since the beginning, Wilridge's goal has been to find the best vineyard sites in Washington State and hand make wines that bring out the unique characteristics of each vineyard's "terroir." Each year, Wilridge wines highlight their vineyard source and the vintage. With the planting of its own vineyard in 2007, and release of the first estate wines in 2010, Wilridge is now able to fully express the character of its own unique vineyard "terroir" while also continuing to produce wines from other great wine growing regions of Washington State.
