Sight Glass: Throughout the aging process, wine evolves and improves in subtle ways. During this time there is a settling and clarifying process where the suspended solids in the young wine slowly sink to the bottom of the tank or barrel.
A sight glass is used to distinguish the “clear” wine from the “hazy” wine. We think this is one of the most important moments in winemaking.
Fans of Woodinville Wine Cellars wines, formerly made by Sean T. Boyd, can now enjoy the wines of Sightglass Cellars, a new Washington winery owned by Sean and his wife, Kristin Jostad. Sightglass Cellars is the culmination of Sean’s background, experience and reputation as a winemaker in Washington and the reality of a vision that began far from Washington.
It all started to take shape in 1991, when Sean took his first winery cellar job at Penfolds in Australia. More experience in the art and craft of winemaking followed at wineries including Rosemount Estate, Australia; Miguel Torres, Spain; Morton Estate, New Zealand; and Ramos Pinto in Portugal, instilling in him the idea of someday making his own wine. Eventually, Sean’s wine adventure came full circle in Washington.
Sean learned about Washington’s complex and varied terroir and how to manage the unique arrangement of grape growing in the Columbia Valley and winemaking west of the Cascades in Woodinville while working at Woodinville Wine Cellars. Selecting the right grapes from the best growers was then coupled with the challenges of small winery winemaking, marketing and being the public face of a brand, while crafting award-winning Bordeaux-style red blends and Sauvignon Blanc. The transition to making his wine at Sightglass Cellars was easy.
Sean and Kristin continue to establish Sightglass Cellars as one of Washington’s newest and most promising wineries. Their goal is to maximize the expression of Washington’s best grapes in a series of distinctive wines to include Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache, Syrah and a Sauvignon Blanc.
The adventure at Sightglass Cellars continues and Sean and Kristin invite you to join them.