Sparkman Cellars

About Sparkman Cellars

Founded in 2004, Sparkman Cellars is a family owned and operated winery located in Woodinville, Washington, committed to producing the finest wines possible. We source the best grapes we can find, use only the best French oak. Our wines are made to enjoy now or cellar for many years. Our style is one of power and finesse, of robust terroir and refined elegance. We believe Washington as a whole, and Red Mountain specifically, produces wines of impressive character and quality. Our intention is admittedly lofty: to create wines that will one day be considered among the finest available.


WHO WE ARE
Sparkman Cellars grew from a conversation between a family and a community, In 2003, after nearly twenty years in some of the nation’s best restaurants, Christian Sparkman, his wife Kelly and their parents, Dick and Sarah Nauman and Frank and Pat Sparkman, began assembling the pieces to the puzzle that has evolved into Sparkman Cellars. Christian worked in the dining rooms of such American icons as Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, Michael’s in Santa Monica and Olives in Washington D.C. before landing as the General Manager at Seattle’s Waterfront Seafood Grill. After a career as a wildlife biologist in Alaska, California, and Wyoming and veterinary technician in Seattle, Kelly has embraced life as winery partner and most importantly, as Mother of Stella Mae and Ruby Leigh.


Drawing on relationships with Washington wine producers Tom Hedges of Hedges Family Estate and Mark Ryan McNeilly of Mark Ryan Winery, as well as many other wine industry leaders, our inspiration for this endeavor grew from rock solid roots. We are grateful for the help of a rapidly growing wine community in Woodinville, Washington. It has, we believe, enabled us to establish ourselves among the ranks of Washington’s finest new wineries.


OUR WINEMAKING PHILOSOPHY
We have made vineyard sourcing our highest priority and only source fruit from growers whose commitment to quality mirrors ours. The heart of our production is from Red Mountain, with its extraordinary power and finesse, the pinnacle of Washington vineyard sources. We believe that syrah, merlot, cabernet franc and cabernet sauvignon are the quintessential Washington state varietals. Our vineyard sources include Hedges North Block and Bel’ Villa, and Klipsun, as well as Boushey Vineyard, Lewis Vineyard, Meek Vineyard, Two Blondes Vineyard, Snipes Canyon Ranch Vineyard and Stillwater Creek Vineyard. Our style is one of power and finesse, of robust terroir and refined elegance. Our intention is admittedly lofty: to create wines that will one day be considered among the finest available.


Our winemaking team is small, passionate, committed to the highest quality employing both traditional methods and innovative techniques. Our winemaking team is directed by Erica Orr, who has worked at Domaine Dujac in Burgundy, and Gary Farrell, Cain and Rudd in Napa. Meticulous attention to detail from vineyard site management through the multitudes of winemaking processes ensures the quality we are committed to is realized in the bottle. We work with our growers to achieve maximum flavor intensity at harvest and carefully select only the finest French oak cooperages to ensure subtle and seamless integration of flavors during time in the barrel.

OUR STYLE
The subtle elegance and harmonious complexities found in our wines are best realized in concert with fine food. It is our belief that wine without food and the converse, leaves each a shadow of what they are united. We encourage decantation of all of our wines, (yes the chardonnay too) prior to enjoying. The reds will slowly open over the course of the first hour and finally erupt in the glass. We hope you find in your glass something special.