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Gilbert Cellars celebrates 20 years of serving wine locally and regionally next year — thanks in no small part to the women who help run the business.

Opened in 2004, the winery operated a tasting room in downtown Yakima. In 2021, they decided to move their tasting room out to their winery on Hackett Ranch in West Valley.

“We want Gilbert Cellars to be a reflection of how we live,� Gilbert Cellars partner Laura Schlect said. “We’re having a lot of fun in everything we do here at the winery and we want to tell that story in everything we do.�

Every summer, the winery hosts a popular outdoor concert series, bringing an eclectic array of musicians and bands to the Valley. The outdoor amphitheater at Hackett Ranch is nestled among hundreds of fragrant lavender bushes, delighting concert goers with its beautiful setting. The beautiful, open and airy tasting room is open daily with many events hosted on the property throughout the year.

Gilbert Cellars is operated by three managing partners, husband and wife team Charlie and Gloria Gilbert, plus Schlect. The winery has eight full-time employees and an additional eight part-time employees. Gloria Gilbert is the general manager. Schlect manages marketing and promotion and Charlie Gilbert oversees outside sales.

“I started working in the tasting room back in 2014,� Gloria Gilbert said. “I absolutely loved it and pretty soon I was managing the tasting room and the wine club. I had so many ideas of ways to grow the winery and serve customers and it just blossomed from there.�

Known for its casual, fun environment, the Gilbert Cellars team is reinventing what it means to be a winery and tasting room focusing on an approachable and accessible environment. In honor of the upcoming 20-year celebration, Gilbert Cellars recently went through a rebrand, unveiling a new logo and wine label.

“We’ve watched our company grow immensely over the last several years and we’ve grown personally and professionally right alongside,� Gloria Gilbert said. “We’ve always tried to share a little about ourselves through the winery and right now that means we’re a family-friendly, casual, upscale environment. It’s been so fun and freeing to reinvent ourselves, staying true to what’s most important to us.�

This year, the winery also became officially certified through Sustainable Washington.

Sustainable Washington is a rigorous and comprehensive program covering the pillars of sustainability: environmentally sound, socially equitable, and economically viable. The science-based program was developed with continuous improvement in mind. Sustainable Washington was built by and for the wine industry, specifically Washington vineyards.

“We are very proud to reach certification,� Schlect said. “Just like we want to know where our food comes from, why wouldn’t we want to know where our wines come from? This helps us have the least amount of negative impact on our land and improves our growing practices.�

The Sustainable Washington program also addresses Human Resources practices, helping wineries make inclusivity a top priority.

“It’s incredibly important to us to make wine that’s inclusive, accessible and authentic to who we are,� Schlect said. “We want to make Gilbert Cellars a welcoming place where we embrace all walks of life. While we open our doors to all, the Sustainable WA helps us make sure our company is representative of our broader community.�

Gilbert Cellars produces roughly 6,000 cases of wine annually, although that number changes a little bit every year depending on what experiential wines are produced. This year, the winery unveiled an orange wine, made from Riesling grapes fermented in the skin which gives the wine a lovely light orange color.

“We aren’t afraid to try new things,� Schlect said. “We’re a couple of young families, working hard, and doing what we love to do. We regularly bring our kids out to the winery to see what we do and see the hard work and reward that goes into doing something we love. The goal and hope is it instills in them a love for this valley and the beautiful products that come out of it.�