Bainbridge Vineyards

Über das Weingut und die Weine

Gerard and JoAnn Bentryn founded Bainbridge Island Vineyards and Winery in 1977, after being inspired by their study of viticulture and enology in Europe, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa. Having cultivated a particular affinity for the elegant, aromatic wines of the Loire in France and the Mosul in Germany, the Bentryns sought out a bioregion with similar growing conditions, and were moved to create an experience of food and wine deeply rooted in place here in the Pacific Northwest. The Bentryns chose to settle in the Puget Sound, where the long, dry summer days are even more ideal for vinifera than some European wine regions. The Bentryns released their inaugural estate-grown vintage in 1982, becoming the 84th bonded winery in Washington State. That year, the Bentryns purchased farmland on Day Road, in addition to their original one-acre vineyard in downtown Winslow. The Day Road acreage would become the present-day home of the winery, planted with seven acres of grape varieties carefully selected for their ability to thrive in the Maritime Northwest. As part of the Bentryns' pioneering work in the region's grape-growing movement, Gerard was instrumental in the certification of the Puget Sound Viticultural Area (AVA)/Appellation in 1995. The Day Road acreage where the winery currently sits was purchased by the Bentryns from Japanese-American farmer Akio Suyematsu, and represented only a part of the original Suyematsu family farm, founded in 1928. Excepting the period of Japanese-American exclusion during World War II, the Day Road farm is the oldest, continuously farmed property in Kitsap County. Akio himself worked the land until his passing in 2012, and was an honored mentor to an emerging generation of Island farmers. Once part of the agricultural tradition that made Bainbridge Island the strawberry capital of the Northwest, the land is still tended by several working farms.

OUR VINEYARDS are located on historic Bainbridge Island farmland. Just over six acres in all, we have carefully selected vines from our northern grape-growing counterparts--France, Germany, and Austria--whose varietal characteristics are accentuated by our unique geography and climate. Varietals we are currently tending include: Seigerrebe, Müller-Thurgau, Madeleine Angevine, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Noir. We are constantly experimenting with other varietals, and hope to continue educating ourselves, winemakers, and farmers in our area about growing varietals to thrive in the Puget Sound AVA. Over the duration of the seasons, we prune, trellis, cultivate, and manage the grapevine canopy. Grape harvest in the fall is the grand finale of our efforts. OUR METHODS are intended to nourish our soil, our farm, and ourselves.