With Hungarian roots, another WA winery will open a tasting room in Tacoma

Tacoma’s stature as a veritable wine town will gain another notch this winter as Prohibition Cellars, a Woodinville-based winery, opens its second taproom at 628 St. Helens Ave.

The space last occupied by The Blue Rose has been split into two units, with the new winery — a sleek setting with lounge seating up front, a banquette with tables and plenty of bar stools — on the right. The left unit, next to Structure Cellars, is still available for rent, and the couple behind Prohibition, Sandor and Sabrina Faludi, hopes another winery joins the block.

Such competition might sound counterintuitive, but at least seven wineries have opened tasting rooms in Tacoma in the last five years, including Valo and On Blended Knee in 2025. Two more have chosen Gig Harbor, and a half-dozen wine bars/bottle shops (that are just that and not also a restaurant) have also chosen Pierce County.

Sandor said they were actually “encouraged” by the proximity to Structure, which established a fanbase in South Seattle before expanding to Tacoma in 2024. Just a few blocks north, Dahlman Cellars has also welcomed their new neighbors with open arms and invitation to join the second annual “Tacoma Wine Passport” event during Washington Wine Month in April.

“Honestly, we just love Tacoma,” Sabrina said last week, nodding to the walkability of the downtown area and the St. Helens corridor. “It’s definitely our vibe. We picked it before we knew the reception we’d get!”

Immediately after announcing the southward expansion, they said, they heard from existing wine-club members in the area and even a new one who drove to Woodinville to say hello. Tacoma reminds them of Pécs, a college town in south Hungary less than an hour’s drive from the Croatian border, where the couple lived before moving to California about 15 years ago.

Prohibition’s Tacoma tasting room will emulate their Woodinville bar (minus a patio). Wines feature mostly Eastern Washington grapes, sourced from five vineyards closely watched by Sandor. They usually bottle about 20 varietals (most $25-$65/bottle) each year with a slight bent toward reds but a careful curation of about six whites.

The current selection features, for instance, a 2022 cabernet sauvignon from Red Mountain — the AVA that cemented their commitment to the possibilities of Washington wine — as well as a Columbia Valley syrah, malbec and merlot. Red blends from their Prohibition-themed collection (the bottles highlight an important figure of the era, sometimes with a cheeky explanation) include the Bordeaux-style blend they call Untouchables and a house blend of cabernet franc, syrah and merlot called My Way.

“I love to buy unique varieties whenever I get the chance,” said Sandor. “There’s no one recipe — every year is different.” He pointed to his “cabernoir,” a cabernet (from Washington) and pinot noir (from Oregon) blend that unexpectedly became a big hit.

Whites range from a white blend with chardonnay and viognier to a sprightly sauvignon blanc and “enticingly rich” roussanne. They also make an annual rosé.

The couple’s Hungarian heritage translates to a European approach with grapes that grow with gusto in Washington’s climate. The juice is aged exclusively in French and Hungarian oak barrels, which lend “just a different set of spices,” said Sabrina.

The Faludis have also worked with Red Willow Vineyard in Yakima Valley to plant furmint and tannat vines — two varietals not often seen in regional production. They worked with the University of California at Davis viticulture center to cultivate the furmint, a popular Hungarian varietal that they think might be the first of its kind in Washington soil.

At the tasting room, guests can explore with a flight, a glass or a bottle. Their baseline wine club membership ($200-$250 plus tax, twice a year) offers two six-bottle installments annually, a 15% discount on all purchases and complimentary tastings or a glass pour for the member and up to three guests all year long. The “Al Capone” level ($350 plus tax, twice a year) features the same case allotment and comp deals but a 20% discount on most purchases. Members also get special access to select releases and a discount on renting the space for private events.

As with all of Tacoma’s new wineries and bottle shops, you don’t need to be a member to enjoy the tasting room.

Prohibition Cellars’ Hungarian history

Sandor hails from a family of winemakers. His family has called Villány, a rural region that abuts Croatia and Serbia, home for generations. Most families had vineyards to bottle their own wine, explained Sandor, but his grandfather “was actually a vintner” — cloning vines, studying and testing new varietals and techniques. Some of his notes and tools have been preserved at the local museum, added Sabrina.

Sabrina is first-generation American, raised in the Chicago area. She decided to attend university in Hungary, where she met Sandor. They recently celebrated 25 years together.

As they tell it, Sandor’s family made wine but drank it only on special occasions. Sabrina “got him into enjoying the wine thing,” she said. He enrolled in a formal viticulture program, which led the couple to Santa Rosa and the wine-soaked surrounds of Napa and Sonoma valleys. After a stint in Santa Monica making wine in the garage, they began the search for the right place to start their own venture in a place they could afford with their then-3-year-old son in tow. Intrigued by Washington, they ruled out Walla Walla and then discovered Woodinville.

“They actually make wine on the west side?” Sabrina recalled learning. “We moved two months later and bought a house two months after that.”

Since getting the keys to the Tacoma tasting room last fall, they have built a custom bar from hundreds of center-barrel staves, installed a sleek backlit bar and readied a small kitchen area where they hope to prepare in-house charcuterie boards.

Prohibition Cellars

• 628 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma, prohibitioncellars.com
• Wednesday-Sunday 2-9 p.m.
• Details: new winery tasting room near downtown Tacoma, open as of Feb. 11 — follow instagram.com/prohibitioncellars for updates

Reporter’s Note, 2/13/2026: This story has been updated to reflect the winery’s hours of operation.

This story was originally published February 2, 2026 at 10:00 AM.