Washington Wine Growers Assoc. Honors
Brian Carter with 2020 Gran Vin Award

New tasting room on the horizon for Brian Carter Cellars this fall.

The Washington Winegrowers Association has honored longtime Washington winemaker Brian Carter with the 2020 Grand Vin Award.  Brian is the winemaker and managing partner of Brian Carter Cellars in Woodinville, WA.

Carter was presented with this prestigious award by Robert Takahashi, Brian Carter Cellars assistant winemaker, for the impact and contributions he has made to the Washington wine industry during the past 41 years.  Linn Scott, Chairman of the Wine Research Advisory Committee, Mark Wheeler MD, former Chairman of the Washington Wine Industry Foundation and Dr. Thomas Henick-Kling, Director of Viticulture & Enology Program at WSU came to Woodinville to surprise Carter with the honor.

Henick-Kling noted that “Brian has been involved in research and education in the Washington wine industry for years and has set the example for so many winemakers in the state.”  Grape grower Dr. Mark Wheeler said of Carter, “the three words that best define Brian’s career are artistry, generosity and friendship.”

Carter serves on Washington’s Wine Research Advisory Committee, where for more than 30 years he has helped steer the research programs at WSU and is also a current board member of the Washington Wine Industry Foundation, where he serves on the Sustainability Committee. He is also a long-standing member of the Foundation Block Advisory Committee which has the essential role of keeping the state’s vines clean from disease.  Perhaps most significantly, he has been involved in winemaking at dozens of Washington wineries over his long tenure in the state.

In addition to twice being named Winemaker of the Year by Washington Magazine, three-time winner of the Grand Prize at the Seattle Enological Society, and Winery of the Year in 2015 by Wine Press Northwest, Carter is most proud of what he feels are individual awards that center on how he has personally contributed to the industry.

In addition to the Gran Vin Award, those individual awards include:

2007 Honored Vintner at the Washington State Auction of Washington Wines

2004 Industry Service Award given by the Washington Winegrowers Association

1996 Alec Bayless Prize awarded by the Washington Wine Commission

“I am deeply honored to be chosen by my peers in the Washington wine industry as the winner of the Gran Vin Award,” said Carter. “I continue to believe in giving back to an industry that has given so much to me. It has been so rewarding to see the Washington wine industry grow from what was once a backwater industry to a big player in the world of wine.”

About the Washington Winegrowers Association

The Washington Winegrowers Association serves as the synergistic leader and unifying voice – through advocacy and education – for wine grape growers, vintners, partners, and policymakers throughout the state of Washington.

More News from Brian Carter Cellars

Brian Carter Cellars will be moving into a new tasing room this fall in the new Woodin Creek Village development, just two miles north of its current tasting room on Woodinville-Redmond Road. The tasting room the winery has leased since 2006 is slated to be torn down this fall to make room for  another new Woodinville development, so plans had to be made to find a new home for the winery’s  tasting room.

The new space in Woodin Creek Village will be 2,538 square feet, enough to host 54 guests indoors and 18 guests for outdoor service. The expected opening date for the new tasting room is September 2021. “We are planning to build a superb new tasting room, where we will be pouring our great blended wines, along with serving delectable food items,” said Carter.

To help finance the build-out of the new tasting room, Carter is offering an opportunity for anyone who contributes $1,000 to be a member of the winery’s new Tasting Room Foundation Group. In return, the member will receive $1,200 worth of Gift Cards disbursed in three installments of $400 each, all redeemable for food, merchandise, or wine at either of Brian Carter’s two tasting rooms and permanent recognition at the new location.  (Brian Carter Cellars also has a tasting room in Vancouver, WA.)  On opening day of the new tasting room, Foundation Group members will receive a stenciled wine glass with the member’s name that will be permanently displayed at the new location.

“Woodin Creek Village, where our new tasting room will be located, will be a great new home for us,” said Carter. “The development will feature half a dozen new tasting rooms and restaurants, along with apartments above the shops, which will serve as a reservoir of future customers.”

For more information about the new tasting room and details about becoming a member of the new Tasting Room Foundation Group,” email Brian Carter at: brian@briancartercellars.com.