Hamilton Cellars’ Red Mountain vineyard, tasting room and production facility, alongside the home of its late founders, is for sale.
Hamilton Cellars is looking for new owners to continue its legacy on Red Mountain.
The 10-acre vineyard, tasting room, production facility and private home are listed for sale at $3 million. Founders Stacy and Russ Hamilton died three years and one year ago, respectively, and their heirs have decided to not keep the winery, said Larry Stanley, the winery’s general manager.
Prospective buyers have toured the winery, located on Sunset Road outside Benton City, each week since it was listed for sale in October, he said.
The wine industry has struggled in recent years due to Covid-19, high interest rates and higher grape supply than demand, Stanley said. Despite those challenges, Stanley said he expects the winery to attract a buyer who will keep it a destination for wine lovers.
“It’s some of the best fruit on the mountain,” he said.
The Hamiltons launched Hamilton Cellars in 2006. They opened a tasting room in Queensgate Village in 2011 while also moving into a wine production facility in a renovated beer distribution warehouse in partnership with Fidélitas Winery. That facility was sold to Fidélitas last year, Stanley said.
The Hamiltons bought the vineyard at 55404 N. Sunset Road in the Red Mountain American Viticultural Area in 2014, issuing their first vintage using their own estate grapes in 2017. The boutique winery has won numerous awards for its wines ever since, producing about 2,500 cases per year.
Stanley said Stacy Hamilton was deeply involved in the winery’s operations until her death in 2021. Russ Hamilton turned over most of the operations to Stanley but was still involved up until his death in 2023, including planning for a second tasting room in Everett.
The winery has sold its grapes from what would have been its 2023 and 2024 vintages as it began to wind down operations ahead of the sale. Hamilton Cellars’ tasting room remains open and bottles from vintages as old as 2016 remain available for purchase.
Hamilton Cellars’ 5,134 square-foot home at the winery was custom built. It has three bedrooms and four bathrooms, its own wine cellar, and has kitchen facilities on the main and lower levels.
Chris Garratt of Saratoga Commercial Real Estate is the listing agent.
Stanley said the winery’s location makes it an attractive option for wineries on the west side of the state looking for a foothold on Red Mountain. But the winery also offers a rare opportunity for those wanting to get into the wine business.
“The facility is turnkey. Business is in the black,” he said.
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