The Ultimate Wine Lover’s Experience in Brewster: Behind-the-Scenes Tours

Winemaking has a fascinating history. It dates all the way back to around 6000 BCE in the Caucasus region, near present-day Georgia. Ancient Georgians would crush the grapes in vats to release their juices, pour it into a large, egg-shaped clay pot called a qvevri for natural fermentation, and store it. Some ancient wines were even flavored with herbs and spices. Needless to say, winemaking has come a long way! However, the general process remains the same: growing, harvesting, crushing, pressing, fermentation, clarification, and aging/bottling. Learn more about the ins and outs of winemaking for the ultimate wine lover’s experience with the best WA state winery, Lone Point Cellars!

Reasons to Take a Winery Tour

Our Washington wine tastings and tours are much more than enjoying a glass of vino. They deliver the ultimate wine lover’s experience because you learn more about winemaking, gain knowledge from experts, expand your palate, and so much more. While you already may be a wine enthusiast, these behind-the-scenes tours help deepen your appreciation for our Brewster, WA wine – and wine in general – by providing insight into its origins and production methods.

• Gain Insights - Have questions about wine or the winemaking process? Our welcoming staff can help provide insight into each wine’s unique characteristics, flavor distinctions, and more.

• Enjoy a Scenic Experience - Our family-owned and operated winery is located in Brewster, Washington, in the heart of North Central Washington. We're on 200 acres of scenic land surrounded by breathtaking lakes, mountain vistas, and natural beauty. Whether you visit for a wine tasting or an entire weekend getaway, you’ll enjoy picturesque views of our vineyards and the surrounding landscape!

• Expand Your Palate - We use estate grapes and grapes grown in several premium Washington state AVAs, including the Red Mountain and Columbia Valley AVAs, to handcraft our unique red, white, rosé, and sparkling wines. The ultimate wine lover’s experience, you’ll taste a range of wines at Lone Point Cellars. This can help you identify your preferred varietals – and maybe even help you find a new favorite wine!

• Learn More About Winemaking - Take a behind-the-scenes tour to see how our Brewster, WA wine is made. This includes visiting our vineyard and production facilities, making it the ultimate wine lover’s experience.

From Vine to Wine: The Art of Winemaking

Ever wondered how grapes can turn into that bottle of wine on your table? It’s a little more complicated than it seems, requiring meticulous care and attention at every stage. Let’s look at winemaking techniques and steps for the ultimate wine lover’s experience.

Grape Harvest

Wine flavors, aromas, and mouthfeel begin in the vineyard. Factors like temperature and soil influence the resulting wine, which is one of the many reasons why Brewster, WA wine varies from Georgian or Italian wine. Our 1200-foot-altitude vineyard thrives in sandy loam soil, similar to France’s Loire Valley terroir.

The first step in winemaking is harvesting the grapes. Different varieties ripen at different rates so that harvest time can vary. However, white wine grapes are usually harvested earlier than red grapes to preserve their acidity. The grapes are also sorted to remove any that have yet to ripen.

Crushing

Did you know that grapes were traditionally crushed by barefoot stomping? Though some wineries still use this method, most, including Lone Point Cellars, use machines.

Red wine grapes go into the crusher/destemmer to crush them into a mixture of juice, skins, and pulp known as the must. The must is pumped into a fermentation tank.

This process is different with white wine. The must is pressed before fermentation to separate the juice from the skins and seeds.

Fermentation

Fermentation is the winemaking step that everyone looking for the ultimate wine lover’s experience will find appealing. That’s because this is the stage where the magic happens! Cultured yeasts created specifically for winemaking are added to the must to begin fermentation. The yeast and sugars come into contact, transforming the sugars into alcohol. As the best WA state winery, we guide this process by heating, cooling, and stirring.

White wines are fermented without their skins. They’re also fermented at lower temperatures than red wines to preserve fresh and delicate flavors. Red wine grape skins and seeds remain in the fermentation tank to extract color, taste, and tannins. This process, known as maceration, gives our Brewster, WA, red wines unique characteristics! Red wine grapes are pressed after fermentation to remove the skins (this was done before fermentation for white wine).

Aging

Wines are then placed in vessels for aging. The vessels depend on the desired style and wine characteristics, usually oak barrels, stainless steel tanks, amphoras, or concrete vats. For the ultimate wine lover's experience, you can see these vessels in person with behind-the-scenes tours.

Aging time can also vary. Depending on the wine, it could be 5 years or 25 years! Red wines often age longer than white wines to soften their tannins and allow flavors to develop.

Filtration and Bottling

Most wines undergo filtration to remove sediment and other particles before bottling. Once this process is completed, our Brewster, WA, white and red wines are bottled, corked, and labeled to provide the ultimate wine lover's experience.

Visit the Best WA State Winery

Behind-the-scenes tours can enrich your appreciation for the winemaking process and the unique characteristics of your favorite wines. Plan the ultimate, all-in-one wine lover’s experience with us at Lone Point Cellars. You’ll enjoy handcrafted Brewster, WA wines, delicious vineyard dinners, pet - and family-friendly lodging, and so much more among the natural beauty of North Central Washington.