Brian Carter Cellars
Our Story
Twenty-nine vintages, two tasting rooms, and a singular focus on European-style blends. The brand, the winemaker, and the vineyards, in three chapters.
Brian Carter Cellars
A passion for the art of blending.
Open any bottle of Brian Carter Cellars and you’ll find a blend: the European tradition of building a wine from several grape varieties so the whole says more than any single part. Across the portfolio, Brian works toward one thing above all, balance, with tannin, acid, and fruit in harmony and neither oak nor alcohol allowed to take over. Each wine is made to taste good on release and to keep improving for years in the cellar.
Just as an artist ponders each color possibility, winemaker Brian Carter deliberates long and hard over his broad palette of grape varietals, blending around the edges to create an inspired new-world representation of each European style he makes. Brian didn’t set out to be a blender. His art grew out of science and agriculture, and one wasn’t possible without the other. Since coming to Washington State in 1980, Brian has been at the forefront of the Washington wine industry, encouraging growers to plant different varietals and helping shape both the quantity and quality of Washington State wine. In turn he developed the concept for Brian Carter Cellars.
Bon vivant. Wine is a metaphor for the good life, and we believe every bottle should help create memories, connect people, and enrich our lives. From the unique artwork on the label to savoring that last sip, the wines of Brian Carter Cellars complement your special occasions, family gatherings, and life’s moments, big and small.
Brian Carter, Founder & Winemaker
Pioneering. Innovative. Legendary.
“I came into the field of wine, not because my parents were wine drinkers, but because I was given a microscope when I was 12 years old. I heard about these things called yeast, and I wanted to see what they looked like under a microscope. I was told if you want to look at yeast you have to start a fermentation. So I picked some blackberries, fermented the wine, took a sample, brought out my microscope, and there they were. I’ve been having those yeast work for me ever since.”, Brian Carter
If there is a constant star in the world of Washington wines, that star is Brian Carter. Since his arrival on the Washington State wine scene in 1980, Brian has been at the forefront of the industry he helped build. His involvement as winemaker, consultant, and guide has helped elevate Washington wine from a regional industry to an international powerhouse.
Brian studied microbiology at Oregon State University, then enology at UC Davis. He honed his craft at Mount Eden Vineyard and Chateau Montelena in California before returning to the Pacific Northwest to join Paul Thomas Winery. At a competition held at Windows on the World in New York, Brian’s 1983 Paul Thomas Cabernet took first place, outpacing the likes of Quilceda Creek and Chateau Lafite-Rothschild.
In 1997, after years of producing wines for others, Brian created Solesce at the Apex winery where he was winemaker and co-owner. The wine sold out quickly. The time for Brian Carter Cellars had arrived. In 2006, Brian released his full line of blended wines, including Oriana, Tuttorosso, Byzance, and Le Coursier, a portfolio built entirely on the art of the blend.
Brian is a long-standing member of the Wine Research Advisory Committee at Washington State University and a former Board Member for the Washington Wine Foundation. He is deeply involved in the Sustainable Washington program, which considers the health of the air, the water, the vines, the workers, and the business itself.
Awards & Recognition
- Twice named Winemaker of the Year, Washington Magazine
- Three-time Grand Prize, Pacific NW Enological Society
- 2020 Grand Vin Award
- Forty-eight Washington vintages
Our Vineyards
Of all the decisions a winemaker has to make, grapes, barrels, yeast, equipment , the vineyard chosen is the most important. The site where the grapes are grown is the most critical piece of a wine’s quality, followed by the way the grapes are grown. When Brian decides to source from a particular vineyard, the effect on the final wine is doubly important: it always involves a site as well as a grower.
Brian Carter Cellars sources from carefully selected vineyard sites across Washington State, from Red Mountain to the Wahluke Slope to the Yakima Valley, working with growers whose roots in these sites run deep.
- Klipsun Vineyard · Red Mountain
- Stone Tree Vineyard · Wahluke Slope
- Solstice Vineyard · Yakima Valley
- Dineen Vineyard · Yakima Valley
- Olsen Vineyard · Yakima Valley
- James Vineyard · Wahluke Slope
- Stanton Vineyard · Red Mountain
- Eve and Ed Shaw Vineyard · Red Mountain
- Snipes Mountain · Snipes Mountain AVA
Taste the wines
Shop the cellar
Real bottle photos, member pricing, and direct OrderPort checkout.
Join the family
The Wine Club
Three tiers, member pricing, first access to every release.
Visit Brian's tasting rooms
Woodinville & Vancouver
Bistro service in Woodinville, intimate wine bar on the Columbia in Vancouver.