Washington Public Market now open in Snohomish

Wine tasters make the rounds at Washington Public Market and Wine Cellars in Snohomish. The wine warehouse opened in October and the market is offering outdoor vendor space to farmers during the season ahead, in a unique showcase of Washington state products. PHOTO BY SARAH ARNEY | STANWOOD/CAMANO NEWS The historic city of Snohomish has long been famous for antiques, and now it’s striving to become known as a place to taste Washington wines.

Washington Public Market and Wine Cellars opened last fall, at 1010 Second St., just a block up the hill from the scenic historic section of town along the Snohomish River.

The public market offers more than 20 Washington wineries, each set up with their own bar in a sparkling setting and space for more than 100 small business vendors and artists in the 25,000 square-foot clearinghouse.

An outdoor farmers market will open April 14, with spaces provided free to produce farmers of Washington.

Inside, the wine makers themselves serve samples, from 12:30 - 6 p.m. Saturdays and 12:30 - 5 p.m. Sundays. The winemaker, family members or representative of the label are happy to share stories about their wines.

The mission of this project is to promote small business, farmers and wineries, which craft a variety of prizewinning wines.

Open Road serves its 2009 Old Vine Semillon from the 27-year-old Rosebud Vineyard on the Wahluke Slope in Eastern Washington. It was a double gold winner at the 2011 Seattle Wine Awards. Open Road also won a bronze medal for its 2010 chardonnay at the 2011 Tri-Cities Wine Competition, and in January the winery released its 2010 tempranillo with plans to release a 2011 barbera any day now.

Jennifer Kimmerly brings her Masquerade wines from Bellingham and Pat Atkinson brings Elevation Cellars’ Monolith and Imperium from Woodinville.

Kyra Wines, Fenette Cellars, Grace Cellars, Silver Lake Winery, Useless Bay Wines, Saint Laurent Estate Winery and Adytum Cellars are just a few of the wineries that are currently serving samples every weekend to pique the curiosity of wine connoisseurs.

Some of the wine makers offer sips for free; others charge $1 per taste, or $3 to $5 for a flight of tastes. Admission to the tasting room is $5, but that is refunded with a purchase of a bottle from any of the wineries.

In the vendor areas, the market hosts artists and crafters, some of whom feature a wine theme in their crafts. Recycledbottleart.com makes wine-barrel tables and stools, wine cork trays and long-burning cabernet-colored candles in wine goblets. They do special orders using customers’ collection of corks or bottles.

The developer of the project, Scott Swoboda, is a lifelong resident of Snohomish.

He said they practically gave the spaces to the wineries for the first few months, but it’s up to the market to sustain the effort.

The public market is strategically located less than a mile from the southern end of the Centennial Trail, which now extends all the way from Bryant, north of Arlington, to downtown Snohomish. Why not hop on the bike and ride down for a day trip to Snohomish?

For lunch, check out Fred’s Rivertown Alehouse, known for their delicious garlic fries and black bean nachos.

For a more upscale dinner, go to The Repp for a bowl of cioppino or mushroom ravioli in a lobster broth. Or, have pizza on the deck over the river, perfect for a warm spring day.

How to get there:

Snohomish is about 40 minutes southeast of Stanwood. Bike south on the Centennial Trail, or drive south on I-5 to Everett and head east on Highway 2 to Snohomish.

Staff Reporter Sarah Arney: 629-8066 ext 115 or sarney@scnews.com.