It’s that time of year again when Bellingham celebrates beer. Beer Olympics, beer pong, beer trivia, beer karaoke, beer block parties! It all sounds wildly entertaining, unless you’re a wine drinker — or at least that’s how it used to be.
When I had my wine bar, I was very aware of Bellingham’s love for beer. In fact, shortly before I opened Vinostrology in 2013, a fellow downtown business owner felt the need to confirm my awareness by telling me that I’d “never make it because Bellingham’s a beer town.”
As a bar owner, I prided myself on having a good selection of local bottled beer and cider chilling in the cooler. I also had numerous conversations with my wine-loving friends about the fact that the local breweries didn’t offer any wine — or at least nothing worth drinking. Our collective complaint was: How hard can it be to offer a decent wine or two?
Since then, things have drastically improved at breweries and tap houses for wine drinkers. I no longer dread Beer Week. Now I can tag along to beer-centric events and order a decent glass of wine. In preparation for Beer Week, I visited numerous breweries and taphouses to scope out their wine offerings.
One thing I found curious on my quest for wine was that breweries offer strictly wines from Washington state. Apparently there is a reason for this; but like most liquor laws in our state, it’s messy and confusing and I leave it at that.
When I visited K2, they were pouring a rose from Lone Birch and a white and a red from Airfield Estates, all for $7 a glass. I ordered a glass of the Airfield Dauntless Red Blend, which was delightful in a very plummy kind of way. From K2, I continued my journey and found more satisfying wines at several other breweries:
Stemma Brewing has a couple of wines on tap: Maryhill Winery Winemaker’s Blend and Townshend Cellar Chardonnay. Both are $8 a glass and very solid wines.
Stones Throw Brewing is pouring four different wines from Two Mountains Winery; all are $7 a glass.
Fountain Brewing (Zeeks Pizza) has three wines on tap: a cabernet and chardonnay from Alexandria Nicole, and a red blend from Palencia Winery; prices vary. The cabernet went especially well with a meat-heavy pizza.
Otherlands Beer has poured the same three wines by the glass since opening: Vino Verde from Anjes, plus a red blend and rose from Lone Birch Wines. They’ve also recently added sparkling piquette from Bellingham’s Barmann Cellars by the bottle.
Because tap houses are included in this year’s Beer Week, I visited a few of those, too. I found the most interesting wines at Aslan Depot, which specializes in natural wines. Currently, they have a list of 10 wines available by the glass and bottle; prices range from $12–$16 a glass.
Juxt Taphouse and Corner Taphouse also keep some good wines on hand, but it would be nice to see them rotate the selections on a more regular basis.
The Great Northern Bottle Shop & Lounge and Elizabeth Station are great picks for wine lovers. Both offer pours by the glass: Elizabeth Station currently has a Verdicchio from La Staffa in Italy, plus a cabernet sauvignon from Oregon. Great Northern has a red, white and rose by the glass as well as an orange option from Swick Wines in Oregon. Alternatively, both have a wide range of bottles to enjoy at home or in the taproom with friends.
Ponderosa Beer + Books has three by-the-glass options: a white blend from Swick Wines, a French red blend from Domaine Rimbert and sparkling rose from Oregon’s Illahe Vineyards. They also offer bottles to go, and owner Jessie Polin’s favorite for springtime is the Bleeding Heart Rosé from Bellingham’s own Barmann Cellars.
The local beer scene has come a long way in the past 40 years, saving many of us from generic beer. And whatever your drink of choice is, Bellingham Beer Week is a way to celebrate the bounty of businesses that make Bellingham a beer town and one of the best.
Katie Bechkowiak owned Vinostrology wine bar in downtown Bellingham from 2013–19. If you have wine suggestions for her monthly column, contact vinostrology@gmail.com.
