Hamilton Cellars Inks Lease for Destination Wine Walk at Port of Everett's Waterfront Place
Hamilton Cellars has inked a new 10-year lease with the Port of Everett to add a wine tasting room at Waterfront Place.
Hamilton Cellars is the second lease to be announced for the Port’s coming destination retail “wine walk” along the Port of Everett Marina – the largest public marina on the West Coast.
The wine walk offers up to 12 tasting suites in two to three new buildings to be added at water’s edge between Port Gardner Landing and Marina Village. All spaces offer expansive outdoor patio, connected public spaces and piazzas, and rooftop deck options overlooking the Marina and Port Gardner Bay.
Hamilton Cellars, which has a tasting room at its vineyard on Red Mountain, joins Covington Cellars | Two Vintners in the project.
“We did a survey of the wine tasting rooms in the Seattle area, and what is being done at the Port of Everett just overwhelmed everyone else,” said Russ Hamilton, who owns and operates Hamilton Cellars. “It’s such a wonderful location, with lots of new construction. We thought it’d be just the perfect opportunity for us.”
Since opening its first tasting room in 2011, Hamilton Cellars has established itself as an award-winning winery. In 2023 alone, Hamilton won 20 awards for its wine list, including Best in Class from Sunset International Magazine, Best in Class from San Francisco Chronicle, Double Gold from Seattle Wine Awards and Gold from San Francisco International.
“We have people from the Seattle area who really want this to happen,” Hamilton said. “We feel strongly, given our quality of wine and our price point, that we’ll have a lot of people visit our winery in Everett.”
Hamilton Cellars sources its grapes from its own winery on Red Mountain, as well as Scootney Flats, Red Haven, Weinbau Vineyards, Gamache Vineyards, Ciel du Cheval, Kiona Vineyards and Champoux Vineyard.
The Port’s destination retail “wine walk” buildings are in design now and will be built by the Port’s private development partner The Schuster Group. The project is expected to break ground in 2024, with tasting rooms opening in the 2025-2026 timeframe.
The Port is in active negotiation and recruitment for the remaining spaces now, with more announcements coming soon.
Are you interested in siting your tasting room at Waterfront Place?
Contact the Port of Everett at tarah@portofeverett.com or The Schuster Group at hgardner@theschustergroup.com.
For more information, contact Catherine Soper, Port of Everett Communications & Marketing Director at catherines@portofeverett.com.
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About Hamilton Cellars
Hamilton Cellars is owned and operated by Russ Hamilton. The tasting room at Waterfront Place will be Hamilton’s second. The first tasting room opened in Richland, Washington, in 2011, then was relocated to the company’s vineyard on Red Mountain in Benton City, Washington, in 2014. Hamilton Cellars’ winemaker is Charles Hoppes, who was named Winemaker of the Year by Seattle Magazine in 2022. Hoppes has been a leading winemaker for more than 30 years, having also worked for Chateau Ste. Michelle, Three Rivers Winery and his own label, Fidelitas. For more information, visit www.hamiltoncellars.com.
About Port of Everett’s Waterfront Place
The Port of Everett’s Waterfront Place is a new 1.5 million square foot mixed-use development located on 65 acres at the waterfront near the downtown core in Everett, Washington. The development boasts spectacular views, waterfront access, recreational amenities, and a world-class marina – the largest public Marina on the West Coast – with 2,300 slips and 5,000 linear feet of guest moorage. At full build-out, the Waterfront Place mixed-use development will include 63,000 square feet (sf) of retail/restaurant space, another 20,000 sf of marine retail, 447,500 sf of office, two waterfront hotels, and up to 660 waterfront housing units. Featured amenities include new trails and regional parks, public gathering spaces, a variety of fine and casual dining, local shops, and marine sales and services. The project’s expected $1 billion in public/private investment is estimated to support nearly 2,100 family-wage jobs and generate $8.6 million annually in state and local sales taxes. To date, the Port has facilitated more than $300 million in public/private investment here, with more to come. Learn more at www.portofeverett.com/wpc.
About Schuster Group
Established in 1989, The Schuster Group is a fully integrated real estate investment, development, consultation and management firm, headquartered in Seattle, Washington. As a nationally recognized award-winning developer, The Schuster Group has built a distinguished reputation for developing dynamic environments by uniquely blending vision, creativity, and high-performance processes. Leveraging this brand and reputation on behalf of its clients, The Schuster Group has been creating distinctive, sustainable projects of enduring value for over 30 years. For more information, visit www.theschustergroup.com.