Bainbridge Vineyards

Bainbridge Vineyards is a winery in Shoreline, Washington. It produces estate-grown wines from grapes cultivated on Bainbridge Island's Puget Sound AVA, and it is the only winery on Bainbridge Island to grow 100 percent of the grapes used in its wines. The winery is women-owned and women-led, and its vineyards have been certified organic since 1977, when the first vines were established. Grapes are grown on 15 acres within a 40-acre historic farm, and the wines are pressed on-site. The tasting room and wine garden are open Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from 1 to 6 p.m., with happy hour all day Thursday and Friday offering two dollars off glass pours. The winery hosts weekly live music, seasonal festivals, local pop-ups, and vineyard tours. It holds a rating of 4.60.

The farming approach centers on regenerative agriculture and traditional techniques. Vines are cultivated with the help of draft horses rather than tractors, preserving soil health, and the winery is one of the oldest in Washington State. Betsey Wittick, the grape grower and winemaker, holds a Masters degree in Horticulture from Cornell University, began growing grapes and making wine on the property in 1989, and pioneered the use of draft horses for farming in Washington State. She also operates the small-scale vegetable farm Laughing Crow Farm. Stephanie Von Tacky is co-owner and a longtime Bainbridge community member. Sarah and Gretchen lead vineyard operations, and Jordan Briggs manages the tasting room and wine club. The vineyard grows cool-climate vitis vinifera varietals suited to the maritime environment, with more in common with Northern France, Southern Germany, Hungary, and Austria than with warmer parts of Washington.

The land itself carries deep history. The Day Road acreage was purchased from Japanese-American farmer Akio Suyematsu and was part of the original Suyematsu family farm founded in 1928. Apart from the period of Japanese-American exclusion during World War II, it is the oldest continuously farmed property in Kitsap County. Akio Suyematsu worked the land until his passing in 2012 and mentored a generation of Island farmers. The property was once part of the agricultural tradition that made Bainbridge Island the strawberry capital of the Northwest. Gerard and Jo Ann Bentryn founded Bainbridge Island Vineyards and Winery in 1977 after studying viticulture and enology in Europe, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa, and the winery became the 84th bonded winery in Washington in 1982.

The winery has earned a positive rating from the customers who have reviewed it, reflecting a following built over more than four decades of growing and making wine on the same land.