Updated::It appears that Vintner’s Annex (5818 24th Ave NW) is closed.
A big “For Lease” sign hangs in the window of the wine tasting co-op which opened just six months ago. Back in August we wrote about five wineries that signed on to have a tasting room in Ballard. We tried reaching Darren Des Voigne of Des Voigne Cellars for more information but couldn’t reach him. Darren Des Voigne writes in comments: “Hey everybody, there were a number of issues that led to our decision to close up shop and we’re bummed that we couldn’t keep the Annex going. We love the neighborhood and the people and hope to find another spot to set up shop. In the meantime, we all still have our tasting rooms in Woodinville if you’re up for making the hike. ”
(Thanks Amy for the email tip, AllysonNT for the Twitter tip and walterandvagueshow for posting in the forum.)
This place should’ve been on Market or Ballard Ave to attract the Sunday Farmers Market crowd – 24th is more of a local destination (even if it’s right around the corner)
I think the ultimate issue with this place was their pricing structure. They had some great wines, but when you don’t wave the tasting fee when you buy a bottle, that is an issue. I went once and tasted, and bought a bottle and after that I decided to just continue to go to Portalis where I can get great diversity in the wine, free Sunday tastings, and a hilarious owner.
If it wasn’t for all the do-gooder Puritans in this town they could have set up a stall a the Framer’s Market and had samples…..of course then the bums would have shown up.
That didn’t take long.
For me it was the strange hours, high prices, and the attitude from the staff. I couldn’t believe how snotty the two men were when we went. Just because I don’t know anything about wines YET doesn’t mean I’m an IDIOT.
wine people can be just a weeee bit insufferable sometimes. i’m sure some questions seem silly to “experts” but that is how people learn…
I spoke to them when they were clearing out the other day, and one of the women mentioned lack of ventilation in the building, and a desire from the landlord for them to sell food.
Enough with all the cutesy/retro/trendorama lets see some practical businesses that stand out!!
Dosn’t pay to be a snooty elitist in this economy, does it. Now look whos unemployed!
Wine is a trend? So what, like a 5-thousand year old ‘trend’ that you just missed living in your cave called ‘Old Ballard’?
Technically they aren’t unemployed, this was an additional tasting room they opened, they still have their tasting rooms in woodinville and sell their wine.
portalis owner is awesome! i hate wine almost as much as i hate wine bars. but when i was forced to spend an evening there for a birthday party he showed me some great beers and treated me like we grew up together in the 50’s. great dude. go there and hang with him if you can.
I’m sad to see them go — I loved a lot of the wines there, particularly the Shackled red blend.
On the other hand, I’m smack dab in the middle of their target demographic (they didn’t even mind me bringing in my baby!), /and/ I live close by, and even I only went there three or four times. Food would have helped.
Ssshhhh! Don’t let the bitter old Ballardite know how these things work. They need imaginary elitist, yuppies to fight in order to justify their discomfort with anything ‘foreign’ to them. i.e. anything that ‘comes from West of Phinney Ridge’.
That would be ‘east of Phinney’….
I didn’t find them to be snooty at all, actually.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the place for other reasons, but I never got a wine-snob attitude from the people who worked there. Their motto seemed to be “If it tastes good to you, thats all you need to know”.
I would like to see some stories about SUCCESSFUL Ballard businesses. Interview the owners and find out how they were able to succeed and maintain success….Salmon Bay, Hatties Hat, Kitchen and Things, Smoke Shop, Ballard Oil, etc……………………there are so many and we could learn from them.
Ummmmm, some of the staff is unemployed now.
Hey everybody, there were a number of issues that led to our decision to close up shop and we’re bummed that we couldn’t keep the Annex going. We love the neighborhood and the people and hope to find another spot to set up shop.
In the meantime, we all still have our tasting rooms in Woodinville if you’re up for making the hike.
@Foo, sincere apologies if you got the impression that someone in there was talking down to you. That’s not how any of the wine makers are. We all do have a somewhat sarcastic sense of humor which we forget at times can rub people who don’t know us the wrong way.
Cheers,
Darren Des Voigne
Des Voigne Cellars
I hope it turns into a bank!
I’m sad to see them go too. there’s nothing like an endeavor that turns out less than you hoped for. Alas, there’s always the future! In the mean time, support your local stores, put your money where you mouth is. They need you.
Really?