_edited_.jpg)
A Dream 43 Years in the Making
Our dream started 43 years ago in 1970 when Celeste Larenas decided to spend her senior year in high school as a foreign exchange student at Santa Clara High School in Califronia. Celeste was from a small town in Chile and only sixteen years old. There she met and fell in love with Sal Leone. Unfortunately, Celeste had to return to her home country but they made a promise to someday find each other again.
The times were difficult in Chile with a revolution and poor communications. There was no internet or social media, so the two lost touch with each other. Both Celeste and Sal went on with their separate lives to raise their own families. In 2011, 41 years later, Sal found her on Facebook, the two reconnected and immediately discovered that they were still in love. As they compared their lives, they discovered they both had something in common, wine.
Sal had started Silver Lake Winey in 1987 and owned a vineyard in Zillah, WA, Celeste's father owned a vineyard in Talca, Chile. Together they started to tour the wine country of each others countries and on a visit to Chile and Peru, Sal learned about the Chilean drink, Pisco. Sal was fascinated with this ancient spirit made from grapes and suggested to Celeste that perhaps they could try to make this together in the United States.
The opportunity became a reality in 2013 when the Woodinville Whiskey Company decided to sell thier equipment and move to a new facility. Sal and Celeste bought their equipment and opened the doors to Grapeworks Distilling in September 2014.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
is very simple. Make great unconventional spirits controlling all aspects of the production including the growing of the raw materials from the ground up. This requires us to work closely with our growers whether it is our own vineyards or those of others. Some like to use the phrase "Grain to Bottle" but we prefer "From the Ground Up'
Our spirits are made with the same care as a fine wine emphasizing the quality and the character of the fruit. It all starts with the soll and the meticulous care of the plant that is the source of our raw materials.
.
Our Equipment
High quality spirts require exceptional equipment. We pride ourselves in having one of the state's best distillation apparatus. Our Figgins 2000 L Reciprocating still is engineered and built in China, It combines the concepts of the old world pot still with today's modern technology to deliver flavors and purity beyond your imagination.
-
Two 265-gallon pot stills with round-shaped helmets
-
6-plate bubble-cap rectification column
-
Dephlegmators for amplified rectification
-
Over 20 feet of columns
-
More gauges than you can shake a stick at
SINGLE VARIETAL SPIRITS
SINGLE VARIETAL SPIRITS
GRAPE SPIRITS
This product is so unique that we had to get special permission from the Feds to be able to produce it. Our grape spirit is neither a vodka or a brandy. It is not aged in oak and yet it has too much flavor to be considered a vodka. Instead, it is an innovative spirit with much character with the distinct aromas and flavors that can be enjoyed alone or mixed with cocktails. Like our vodkas, our grape spiirits are single varietal using Riesling, Chenin Blanc, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Gris grapes.
Brandy
All of our brandies are made from grapes but what makes our brandy unique is that we use several varieties of grapes grown in our own vineyard in Zillah, Washington. These grapes are carefully grown and picked at specific times to bring out the desired character of the grape variety. They are then fermented and distilled separately as single varietal to emphasize the character of the grape. Our brandies use Riesling, Chenin Blanc, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Gris grapes and a blended product called "Distiller's Blend".
Limited Edition Products
Whiskey - Since we pride ourselves in being "unconventional", it would only make sense that we should make products made from grain. Hence, we will produce smoked single malt whiskies using different types of wood to smoke our grain. More information will follow as we develop these products.
Grappa-
Lemoncello
VODKA
All of our vodkas are made from grapes but what makes our vodka unique is that we use several varieties of grapes grown in our own vineyard in Zillah, Washington. These grapes are carefully grown and picked at specific times to bring out the desired character of the grape variety. They are then fermented and distilled separately as single varietal to emphasize the character of the grape. Our vodkas use Riesling, Chenin Blanc, Gewurztraminer, and Pinot Gris grapes and a blended product called "Distiller's Blend".
