A Country Destination Libation Station
By Jeff “Wick” Wicklund
On a clear day, there really isn’t a bad time of year to hop in the motor-coach and head out for a drive in the countryside. One of the great joys of living where we do is the proximity to meandering rivers through agricultural valleys and rolling hills dotted with pastures, grazing cattle and horses.
One specific rural route out of Everett that culminates at an adult beverage “watering hole” is one I often enjoy.
Head east through the historic Lowell neighborhood and find yourself along the river road to Snohomish which, in itself, is a wonderful destination awash with delightful shopping, eateries and wine-sampling opportunities. Continue past Harvey Airfield and onto Springetti Road heading south, paralleling Highway 9, and you are immediately transported to what feels like a country dream. Pass idyllic farmhouses, McAuliffe’s iconic nursery and U-pick vegetable and pumpkin fields and over rolling hills with stunning vistas. Continuing south onto Broadway (the antithesis of New York’s) toward another landmark nursery humbly known as “Flower World,” and you’ve reached “The Vault at Maltby.”
There are three, 18,000-square-foot, rather nondescript, charcoal gray, concrete bunker-like warehouses that hide a treasure trove of winery production and tasting facilities, a micro-brewery and a top-tier distillery. Many wineries in Woodinville found themselves desperately in need of space for barrel storage and wine production expansion. The first to take the Woodinville-to-Maltby leap were my old friends, John and Peggy Bigelow of JM Cellars.
“The developer reached out to me with an offer to provide the space we were looking for and I said, ‘I’ll take 10,000 square feet in the back building if you’ll build it to my specific specs as a winery’,” Bigelow recalls. The developer replied, “I’ll take you up on that if you help me to fill up the remaining spaces with other wineries.”
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And so was born a new destination in Snohomish County for wine production and fan appreciation as Bigelow gathered together some of his closest friends to custom design their own wineries and fill the facility.
“What’s great and somewhat unique about what we’ve built here in Maltby is these are functioning, working wineries and not just tasting rooms. If you pay us a visit, it’s likely you’ll find me there working and possibly even stomping grapes,” says Bigelow. The front of the house at JM Cellars is their beautifully decorated tasting parlor, designed and decorated by Peggy Bigelow. “If it tastes good, that’s me. If it’s in good taste, that’s Peggy,” John quips.
Another opportunity fortuitously presented itself to Bigelow with a family friend who was also an on-and-off employee who had a passion for making beer since he was a teenager. Dru Seedand Bigelow hatched the idea of creating a brewery within the JM Cellars facility in Maltby, and soon, Hops & Seed Brewing Company was brought to life.
Joining JM Cellars in the Maltby Vault is Bigelow’s one-time Assistant Winemaker, Tyler Farnsworth of Laterus.
“Opportunity knocked and I was thrilled to be able to have a large blank slate to work with to create my first winery and tasting room. Rather than trying to find a space and absorbing the expense of retrofitting it to meet my needs, this presented a turn-key facility where the tenant improvements were built into the lease,” Farnsworth says.
Also getting on board with JM Cellars in Maltby are a few other old friends of mine who have enjoyed great success over the years. It’s been a true joy to witness but, even better to taste! Chris Gorman of Gorman Winery, Jerry Riener of Guardian Cellars and Morgan Lee of Two Vintners and Covington Cellars all had outgrown their respective winemaking facilities and were in search of much needed space to store barrels, make wine and host tastings.
To round out the full service fermented beverages at The Vault in Maltby is a small batch, bourbon whiskey distillery. Mark Nesheim, owner and distiller of J.P. Trodden, sources the finest local corn and winter wheat to produce an exceptional, uniquely American, bourbon whiskey spirit.
On a lazy weekend afternoon, hitching up the motor wagon and taking a country road less traveled to a hand- crafted, libation station is an adventure I can whole- heartedly recommend.
