Clark County wineries have been different from the Willamette Valley and Eastern Washington since the first one opened in 2000.
Many of the 19 public tasting rooms in Clark County offer evening hours, so the wineries have offered at least small bites to customers. This summer, the trend of expanding menu options is on the rise and shows no signs of slowing down.
Gary Gougér, owner and winemaker at Gougér Cellars, 26506 N.E. 10th Ave. in Ridgefield, has featured everything from baked brie cheese and artichoke dip to a turkey ciabatta with sun-dried tomato aioli sauce to cod sautéed in his chardonnay to a crab melt piled high with real crab and served open-faced on a cream cheese pretzel roll. In October, he’ll be rolling out a Reuben sandwich featuring house-made sauces and meat cooked on his Traeger grill.
His decision to add food came at the same time he moved from downtown Vancouver to the old fire station in Ridgefield four years ago. With an extensive culinary background, Gougér applied immediately for a Level 3 Food Permit in anticipation of increased tasting room traffic to be able to cook steaks, fish and New York brats.
“People love to sit and enjoy good food, and it’s a need in this area. People love it. It’s been absolutely a huge success,” Gougér said.
Food has always been a part of Gougér’s long-term business model and, as a result of how well it’s being received, he’s able to offer part-time hours to two to four employees depending on the day of the week and time of year.
Three Brothers Vineyard, 2411 N.E. 244th St. also in Ridgefield, went from prepackaged deli items to a menu that offers five different pizzas and a selection of appetizers that includes Caprese skewers and meatball sliders. It’s stage two of owner/winemaker Dan Andersen’s vision, but could not be implemented until all of his winemaking equipment was moved into separate, climate-controlled rooms in his new ag building.
Although customers have requested more food choices, Andersen’s motivation to make the move this year was his staff. Greater work responsibilities equate to full-time hours for two of his tasting room employees and more part-time opportunities for six to eight others.
Andersen said, “Our goal was to offer a single page of what we think is really good food to fit the winery and the wines. We’re using a balance of high quality ingredients at a fair price.”
Because he’s a sports fan, Andersen intends to add big-screen TVs in the remodeled Old Operations Room and encourage the football market with special Thursday, Sunday and Monday night hours after Labor Day.
Wood-fired favorites
Battle Ground’s Rusty Grape Vineyard, 16712 N.E. 219th St., added a grab-and-go deli case in its fourth year and then the owners built a wood-fired menu from pizzas to brie, breadsticks and macaroni and cheese. At the end of the summer of 2016, they gave guests a sneak peek of their Backyard BBQ & Social — a new bar, seating and eating area that serves up pulled pork, brisket and Kobe beef dogs. This year, it’s ramped up to full speed and coming fast on its heels is the unveiling of Forno Gusto — a full-service menu with wood-fired lasagna and chicken Parmesan and burrata salad.
The three eateries provide different experiences for customers, help to alleviate waits of up to 40 minutes at the main bar, make better use of the property and add another revenue stream, Jeremy Brown, owner and winemaker, explained.
“It’s hard to compete with the Willamette Valley and the rest of Washington. Southwest Washington is definitely starting to get attention but it’s still missing cohesion,” said Brown. “We don’t have the large tracts of land like Carlton (Ore.) to develop large events, so food helps bring something else to the table.”
As with other wineries in the county, increasing food service means more job opportunities for local residents. Rusty Grape employs 12 part-time workers during the summer months.
Also new this summer, Bethany Vineyard provided paninis, ham and brie sliders, Caprese skewers and wedge salads during regular tasting hours and Koi Pond Cellars began serving appetizers and panini sandwiches from an outdoor kitchen. Other wineries and tasting rooms such as Emanar Cellars, Heisen House and Moulton Falls Winery have consistently increased their food selections.
Permitting issues
Adam Lim at Clark County Public Health said that wineries up to current building code looking to add or increase food service work only with the health department, unless additional food service involves increasing the square footage of the winery or other infrastructure, such as additional plumbing, is affected.
From there, several outlined steps are conducted. These include a potable water source inspection, plan review, compliance review and onsite preopening inspection.
If all goes smoothly, the inspector signs off on the final approval and food rolls out to guests after the permitting fee is paid in full.
Brown said, “It is a process, but the health department is clear-cut, very direct and they guide you through every step of the way.”
