SEATTLE — A new tasting room in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood offers tastings, bottles, and help for local non-profits.
"We've got a couple of little sayings: 'Raise a glass for good' or 'drink charitably,'” said co-owner Teresa Spellman Gamble. “I mean, what's not to love about that?"
Tinte Cellars makes philanthropy an essential part of its business model.
The family-owned winery donates a portion of every sale to non-profits like Mary’s Place and Northwest Harvest. They also give an additional $150 a year on behalf of each charter wine club member, to charities of their choosing.
"We're about creating opportunities to support one another,” Spellman Gamble said. "Anyone who comes and tastes in person, we ask them if they would be willing to write a note to a veteran, so we're collecting Valentines we will then deliver to our neighbors up the hill at the Puget Sound VA Hospital."
She and her husband also wanted to stay true to the Georgetown neighborhood, so they spent two years renovating a historic 1912 building.
"Our winery was established in June of 2018 and we purchased this building right at the time we opened the winery, and never imagined we'd be going through a renovation and opening during a pandemic,” Spellman Gamble said. "We had in mind to have this wonderful outdoor open patio, and to have a bay door to allow the guests to move throughout our space.”
The plan ended up working well for COVID guidelines. Guests can have socially distanced outdoor tastings, with heaters and a fire pit for comfort.
But for guests who are more comfortable at home, there are wine tasting kits to-go.
"I think we're all a bit tired of the ‘new ways,’ we'd like to go back to the old ways of gathering by a fire and not wearing masks,” Spellman Gamble said. “But we'll do whatever we need to do to ensure the health and safety of our guests and staff."
Tinte Cellars | 5951 Airport Way South | Open daily from noon – 6pm.
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