How many Washington wineries do you think we have now? Well, Washington State has passed the 1000 winery mark and you can imagine that there are many opportunities for a variety of winemakers and owners. Several of those wineries and labels are owned by celebrities! Let us highlight a few of them for you.
Drew Bledsoe
Drew Bledsoe: Drew is a Washingtonian and played professional football in the NFL for 14 seasons, formerly with the New England Now that Patriots. He graduated from Walla Walla High School and also played college football at University of Washington and is a proud Couger. The football star founded Doubleback Winery with friend, Chris Figgins. In 2008, Drew and his wife, Maura, launched Doubleback as an estate-focused winery with the goal to produce world-class cabernet sauvignon—the winery’s name a reference to his return to his home state. Their very first vintage was named a Wine Spectator Top 100 Wine of the World.
Stephen Amell, the film and television star has appeared in such productions as Queer As Folk, Hung, Arrow and American Ninja Warrior among many others. Stephen hails from Toronto, Canada and now lives in Los Angeles. Mr. Amell founded Nocking Point Wines with former MTV Executive, Andrew Harding. The winery has a solid following with a wine club waiting list of over 6000. They are known for unique wines created by your favorite celebrities and tastemakers and delivered to you. Wine and coffee delivery made easy with new collaborations released every month. They specialize in ultra-premium, extra-tasty, limited-edition wines all at an awesome value. Nocking Point is also an ode to the series Arrow. The nocking point keeps an arrow in place on the bow string, making sure it is propelled from a consistent position and with consistent force.
Kyle MacLachlan is the accomplished actor from Twin Peaks, Dune, Blue Velvet and many more successful projects . Mr MacLachlan was born in Yakima, Washington lightheartedly referred to as the “Palm Springs of Washington.” Kyle partners with Eric Dunham (Dunham Cellars) to create Pursued By Bear a label of Dunham Cellars in 2005. It is regarded as one of Washington’s highest rated wine labels. Pursued By Bear sells five wines: Twin Bear, Pursued by Bear, Baby Bear, Blushing Bear, Bear Cub. Since the brand’s launch, Pursued by Bear has received praise for developing extremely high-quality wines that everyone from wine connoisseurs to everyday-wine-lovers can appreciate.
Brandi Carlile
Brandi Carlile also has her own label, XOBC. She founded it in partnership with her wife, Catherine Carlile, the Executive Director of The Looking Out Foundation, and friends, Jeri and Amy Andrews. They teamed up with award-winning winemaker Sean Boyd of Rotie Cellars. Their wines including Catherine Syrah, Elijah Grenache and Evangeline Rosé named after her wife and children. We hope to see this epic team go far. XOBC Cellars have set out to create exceptional wines that is not only notable, but notably generous. XOBC is “ a group of women in wine committed to making a difference. The wine has been years in the making.
Dave Matthews of the Dave Matthews Band lives in Seattle and while he does not yet have a Washington winery owns a winery in Charlottesville, Virginia. For over 10 years, Blenheim Vineyards has been crafting quality and sustainable 100% Virginia grown wines and 32 acres of estate vineyards. They even sport a Grüner Veltliner from the Monticello AVA. Estate grown from their Blenheim Farm block and Redlands vineyard. From their website, “The reputation, history and development of Blenheim Vineyards wines is interwoven with the quality and individual character of our independently grown vineyards.” The winery commented, “The Blenheim Vineyards winery was built in 2000 using environmentally friendly practices, such as offering white and red house wines on tap. It provides an intimate setting for wine tastings with large windows looking over the sea of green vines and paneled glass floors offering views to the production below.”
