Two Spokane-area wineries are establishing new presences near the city center.


Barrister Winery has moved to a three-story building near downtown, at 1213 W. Railroad, and Grande Ronde Cellars has leased 3,000 square feet of space in the Freeman Center, also near downtown, at 906 W. Second, with plans to open a wine-tasting room there.


Barrister Winery co-owner Greg Lipsker says that his partner, Michael White, bought the 21,600-square-foot building on Railroad from Sterling Savings Bank and the underlying property from Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. The 100-year-old structure is just south of the railroad viaduct.


The winery had been occupying a small leased space downtown for a few months, and before that had occupied 1,500 square feet of leased space in a building at 434 W. Cataldo, he says.


Lipsker says he and White, who both are Spokane-area attorneys, did some minor renovation work to the building, and Spokane-based Wells & Co. sandblasted the interior walls. Lipsker and White also removed a bridge that stretched from the buildings second level to BNSFs elevated tracks to comply with the railroads wishes, he says.


Barrister Winerys new space includes a production area and tasting room on the main level and a barrel-aging room in the basement, Lipsker says. The two attorneys would like to see loft apartments developed on the second level of the building in a few years, he says.


Lipsker says he and White moved the winery to gain more room and move from leased premises. The winery now is located in the Davenport Historic District.


Barrister Winery produced 150 cases of cabernet franc in 2001, when it first began bottling wine, and expects to produce 800 cases this year and about 1,700 cases next year, Lipsker says.


The winery will begin offering cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and syrah later this year, Lipsker says.


Dave Westfall, one of Grande Ronde Cellars owners, says that Wells & Co., which owns the Freeman Center, is remodeling the space where the winery expects to open a tasting room by next month. The tasting room will allow visitors to sample and buy wines produced by Grande Ronde Cellars, which also will sell glassware, corkscrews, and other wine accessories there, Westfall says.


Grande Ronde Cellars has invited other Spokane-area wineries to sell their products at the tasting room, and Mountain Dome Winery, owned by Michael and Pat Manz, of Spokane, has applied for a license to sell liquor there, Westfall says. Grande Ronde Cellars and Mountain Dome Winery share a production facility at 16315 E. Temple, on Mount Spokane, and Michael Manz is among Grande Ronde Cellars owners, along with John Mueller, David Page, and Westfall. All are of Spokane.


Westfall says the owners decided to open the tasting room after he visited one in Oregon where several regional wineries shared lease and operating expenses, consolidating their costs and gaining exposure to consumers. That type of venture might benefit some wineries here that are in outlying areas, Westfall asserts.


Were not around the general flow of commerce, he says. This gives us more access to more people.


Westfall says he is developing a Web site that will provide information about wineries that sell products at the tasting room and include hyperlinks to those wineries own Web sites. Also, he plans to offer educational classes at the tasting room and create a marketing group that would promote wines produced by Spokane-area cellars to restaurants and retailers.


Grande Ronde Cellars produces about 1,700 cases of cabernet and merlot wine annually, but might fall short of that number this year because a freeze last October damaged the crop at the vineyards the winery relies on for its grapes, Westfall says.


Mountain Dome Winery makes several types of sparkling wines.