With wine on the rise, Tacoma’s newest tasting room opens in the Stadium District
Winemakers and Lynnwood residents Jim and Andrea Dahlman could have opened their first tasting room in Woodinville, the beverage mecca home to around 120 such spaces plus several breweries and distilleries. Instead they chose Tacoma.
“Do we want to be one of many?” they asked as they began their search for the right space, which for a moment took them east to Prosser, near the small, family-owned vineyards that grow their source fruit.
Andrea Dahlman was raised in Fircrest, and much of her family still lives here. Plus, she said, “I think Tacoma’s really ready for wine.”
What was a straightforward office for a local church at 113 N. Tacoma Ave., next to Art House Cafe, is now Dahlman Cellars, home to “seriously great wine for less serious people,” as the winery’s motto goes.
The husband-and-wife team is actively involved in the making of every bottle, from grape selection to fermentation, blending to bottling. Dahlman is one of about two dozen wineries producing at Woodinville Custom Wines, the only custom crush facility on this side of the Cascades.
The Tacoma tasting room features a small-pour bar and four seating areas, including the Living Room with a couch and coffee table and the Fireplace Room with four lounge chairs. Two low-slung seats offer a view through the floor-to-ceiling windows, where the proprietors plan to add a sidewalk cafe across from Indo Street, Moshi Moshi and Shake Shake Shake. A back section adds four or so tables and a semi-private party room.
The couple wanted a neighborhood with foot traffic, a density of residents and other destination-worthy businesses — somewhere they “can actually be a part of the neighborhood,” said Andrea Dahlman.
Stadium Red, a $20 red blend currently forged of two malbec vintages, will be sold exclusively at the Tacoma tasting room, and proceeds will benefit Stadium High School’s college scholarship fund. Look for the blueprints from Andrea Dahlman’s grandfather, a civil engineer who led the 1970 renovation of Stadium Bowl.
Also on the walls, friend and artist Jerome Petteys’ vintage-style Tacoma neighborhood posters are framed. Prints will be for sale.
DAHLMAN’S WINEMAKING JOURNEY
Jim Dahlman, a Bellevue native, began his winemaking journey in the garage, until it was “overflowing with wine,” laughed Andrea Dahlman. “OK, you need to scale this back or take it somewhere.”
In 2019, they went commercial, and in 2021 released their first bottle, a sparkling pétillant naturel rosé. These naturally carbonated wines, cult-known as pét-nat, are produced through an ancestral method of continuous fermentation, as opposed to Champagne, which undergoes a secondary fermentation with yeast and sugars. Only a few bottles of Dahlman’s first release remain.
They followed with a trio of red blends. Each has earned high ratings from regional industry publications, including Washington Tasting Room Magazine and Great Northwest Wine. Several of the brand’s bottles have garnered top marks from Wine Enthusiast.
“What I loved when I first started making wine was red blends,” said Jim Dahlman, who makes a point of always listing each blend’s percentages on labels.
Intriguing is The Nurse, named after Andrea Dahlman’s mother and an investor in the winery. (She recently retired from decades of service at Tacoma General Hospital.) A blend of grenache and syrah, the Dahlmans chose clay amphora as the fermentation and aging vessel for this wine, partly sourced from The Rocks AVA (American Viticultural Area). Nestled into a modest 470 acres of the Walla Walla valley, it’s considered one of the most unique growing regions in the U.S.
“It’s hard to get fruit from that vineyard,” said Jim Dahlman.
Being small — the winery expects to bottle 650 total cases this year, up from 450 — has its advantages.
“If you have money, you can get wine from the best vineyards,” he said, but they have set out to offer high-quality, interesting wines at reasonable prices. “Our style is to be approachable.”
Though it holds a “funky minerality” imparted by The Rocks’ grapes, The Nurse is the wine they would recommend for the fruit-forward seeker, thanks to that clay. “You’re just getting the fruit instead of the tannins of the barrel,” said Jim Dahlman.
He has discovered many of their source vintners through old-fashioned means: the wine business classifieds, a kind of Craigslist for winemakers.
The couple is full of stories about their adventures eastward. At the Tacoma tasting room, guests will have direct access to these tales because they will be the ones pouring.
“You will meet the winemaker — that’s the big difference,” said Andrea Dahlman, a functional nutritionist by day. “What’s really important about wine is story.”
Other bottles include The Actuary, a blend of cabernet sauvignon and franc, tempranillo and syrah that honors Jim Dahlman’s father, and Red Bench. Tying it back to the owners’ family, a worn red bench stationed in the hallway of the tasting room nods to where the Dahlmans’ kids spent many hours.
“When the kids acted out,” said their mother, “we would send them to the red bench to reflect on their decisions.”
Perhaps you’ll find yourself there soon, contemplating in between sips whether to join the Dahlman wine club.
The low-commitment “Community” level ($70-$100, depending, plus tax) gets you three bottles of new releases twice a year, in April and September, as well as a 10 percent discount on every purchase and 12 free tastings for you and a guest, valued at $360.
The “Friends” tier includes 6 bottles per release, adds invitations to special events and jumps the discount to 15 percent. The “Family” offers a 20 percent discount, 12 bottles per release, 24 free tastings and a private tasting with the winemaker.
Dahlman Cellars, open as of May 21, is the third winery tasting room in Tacoma. Gingko Forest Winery opened its Old Town location in 2013, and Browne Family Vineyards landed in the Proctor District in 2020.
DAHLMAN CELLARS - TACOMA
▪ 113 N. Tacoma Ave., Tacoma, 253-342-9455, dahlmancellars.com
▪ Friday 2-8 p.m., Saturday noon-8 p.m., Sunday 1-6 p.m.
▪ Details:winery tasting room with light pre-packaged snacks; wine club and table reservations available (recommended)
▪ Menu: Tastings (four 2-ounce pours) $15, waived with $30+ bottle purchase; glass pours $7-$15, bottles $18-$40
▪ Follow Facebook and Instagram for updates
This story was originally published May 20, 2022 at 5:00 AM.