About Us:
| Grape crush at Dakota Creek Winery is a friends and family affair. |
After years of amateur winemaking, we made the plunge into the
world of commercial winemaking by forming Dakota Creek Winery in
the summer of 2005. Our philosophy is to select only the finest
quality grapes from Washington’s premium grape growing regions,
hand-make the wines using gentle fermenting and cellaring
techniques to bring out the “terroir” of each vineyard, and market
superlative wines at an affordable price.
The process of making Dakota Creek wine begins early in the year
by negotiating with select vineyards whose viticultural practices
meet the demanding requirements for our wines. As fall approaches,
we keep in close communication with these growers to assure
harvest of each variety at the peak of ripeness with an optimum
balance of pH, sugar and acid. The hand picked grape clusters are
inspected and personally transported to the winery by our staff to
assure the grapes are maintained in pristine condition. Upon arrival
at the winery, the grapes are immediately sorted, destemmed and
carefully crushed. Only free run and light-press juices are used in
the Dakota Creek wines. Fermentation is conducted in small
batches and meticulously monitored through extensive laboratory
testing. For those wine varietals that benefit from oak exposure,
aging is conducted in American or French oak barrels, as
appropriate.
world of commercial winemaking by forming Dakota Creek Winery in
the summer of 2005. Our philosophy is to select only the finest
quality grapes from Washington’s premium grape growing regions,
hand-make the wines using gentle fermenting and cellaring
techniques to bring out the “terroir” of each vineyard, and market
superlative wines at an affordable price.
The process of making Dakota Creek wine begins early in the year
by negotiating with select vineyards whose viticultural practices
meet the demanding requirements for our wines. As fall approaches,
we keep in close communication with these growers to assure
harvest of each variety at the peak of ripeness with an optimum
balance of pH, sugar and acid. The hand picked grape clusters are
inspected and personally transported to the winery by our staff to
assure the grapes are maintained in pristine condition. Upon arrival
at the winery, the grapes are immediately sorted, destemmed and
carefully crushed. Only free run and light-press juices are used in
the Dakota Creek wines. Fermentation is conducted in small
batches and meticulously monitored through extensive laboratory
testing. For those wine varietals that benefit from oak exposure,
aging is conducted in American or French oak barrels, as
appropriate.
| Jim with a vineyard tray. (30 lbs down, 36,600 to go) |
Our environmentally friendly cellaring cave is a metal arch building
covered with soil and bark to maintain a perfect 45-65 degrees
without ANY heating or air-conditioning. The building was
engineered and manufactured by Future Steel Buildings. You can
see more of their work on their web site futuresteel.com or you can
email Derek Michelson at 261@futuresteel.com.
covered with soil and bark to maintain a perfect 45-65 degrees
without ANY heating or air-conditioning. The building was
engineered and manufactured by Future Steel Buildings. You can
see more of their work on their web site futuresteel.com or you can
email Derek Michelson at 261@futuresteel.com.
| The Fermentation Building at Dakota Creek Winery. |
| Front of the Barrel Cellaring Cave. |
| Some of the barrels inside the Cellaring Cave. |
Dakota Creek Winery
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Blaine, Washington
| Visit our winery at 3575 Haynie Rd. Blaine. We are now open 1-5 pm Thursday through Saturday. You may call (360) 820-4752 to visit other times. |