Woodinville Location Brings Walla Walla Winery Closer to Customers

For much of his life, Brett Isenhower was a pharmacist, counting out pills that were expensive for people who were often sick and not too happy about it. In his current job, he’s the boss—and people tasting wine tend to be in a better mood than those visiting the pharmacy.

“I quickly realized I’m a bad employee,” Isenhower said. “It’s kind of risky to start your own business, but it was riskier to stay an employee my whole life.”

In 1999, Isenhower and his wife, Denise, founded Isenhower Cellars in Walla Walla. He made the wine; she handled the paperwork. Ten years later, with almost 10 varietals to its name, the winery opened a tasting room in Woodinville.

Originally from Indiana, the Isenhowers set up shop in Walla Walla because its market was ripe for a new winery.

“We didn’t know a soul,” Isenhower said.

Nonetheless, the Isenhowers fell in love with Walla Walla and soon had a thriving winery and three children—all girls—on their hands.

With the recession hitting, Isenhower decided it was time to get closer to many of his customers and establish a presence in Woodinville, he said.

“This is where the people are that love wine,” he said.

The new tasting room opened Oct. 16, 2009, on Woodinville-Redmond Road in an old Jiffy Lube office.

“It still smelled like paint in here, but we started selling wine,” Isenhower said.

With nearly ¾ of his customers living within an hour of Woodinville and Isenhower making the decision to only sell directly to customers in 2008, the Woodinville location has been a boon for the winery.

“It’s the best business decision I’ve ever made,” he said.

Striving for a more personal feel—“not just another sterile tasting room,” Isenhower calls it—the Woodinville location plays host to a number of events each month and is available for private parties for members of the Isenhower Wine Club. Local artists’ work hangs on the walls, and people can sample a taste or have a full glass of one of Isenhower’s creations.

His chemistry background ensures that Isenhower is constantly trying new things with his winemaking.

“I have a little bit of the mad scientist (in me)—I like to experiment,” he said.

One such experiment, El Conquistador, blends Tempranillo, Mourvèdre and Syrah grapes, and as he learns more with each year, Isenhower keeps developing new ideas.

Open more than a decade, Isenhower Cellars is still in the process of introducing itself to customers, Isenhower said.

“The wine business is kind of a generational business,” he said. “It really takes that long to establish (yourself).”

Isenhower is quick to admit that running a winery that’s almost solely a family business has its share of difficulties, but his enthusiasm doesn’t dampen for even a second while he’s discussing them.

“If you have a lot of passion for (winemaking), the rewards can be tremendous,” he said. “The passion has to take you past the road bumps.”

Isenhower Cellars’ Woodinville tasting room is open from noon to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday at 15007 Woodinville-Redmond Road. There is an $8 tasting fee that is refundable with a wine purchase.