Townshend Cellar, a staple vintner in Spokane for over 25 years, is reimagining how to produce and package wine more sustainably and without compromising quality or affordability.

“We’re sustainable-minded,” says owner Brendon Townshend, who explains that since opening in 1998, the winery, located at 1222 N. Regal, has focused on cost-effective strategies to reduce carbon emissions by prioritizing actions within their control, such as switching to electric systems.

“We moved all of our products at the winery to be electrified,” Townshend explains. “The only thing that isn’t, is the heat in the winter for the building.” 

Today, Townshend Cellar runs off electricity as much as it can, from production tools to company cars used by sales and warehouse staff. Even before electric vehicles surged in popularity, Townshend's employees were driving them, for example using cars like the Nissan Leaf.

“It was rough,” he says. “It wasn’t even a superior technology back then. It just made a ton of sense."

The winery’s commitment to sustainability flows through every part of its operation. Grapes and glass bottles are sourced close to home to reduce transportation emissions, and solar panels have been installed at the former tasting room.

Furthermore, Townshend is taking a strategic approach when it comes to the winery’s packaging.

Glass, despite being considered the gold standard for wine packaging, comes with significant drawbacks, Townshend says.

“Glass is still an incredibly inefficient way to get wine from the winery to someone’s glass,” he says. “It’s just really heavy and it’s not collapsible."

With the rising cost of glass, which he says is worsened by tariffs and supply chain issues, Townshend is searching for more cost-effective packaging options, including the use of “bag-in-box” wine.

Townshend says his glass manufacturer in Portland, Oregon, recently shut down following a second round of tariffs.

“It is now less expensive to get glass from China, even with the 57% tariff,” Townshend says. “It just pushed prices way up.”

He says if Townshend Cellar wants to continue to buy glass domestically, it has to come from California, which is expensive to transport and has an adverse environmental impact.

“Of the things that have a big carbon input, the glass is a big one,” he says.

Alternative packaging, such as bag-in-box and wine kegs, can be more efficient, Townshend asserts.

“You can put 2,400 cases of glass wine bottles on a truck,” he says. “In these bags, you could fit 20 times that volume.”

The winery now sells wine bags out of its tasting room that are compatible with a device called a Boxxle, a premium dispenser that squeezes wine from the bag without exposing it to air.

While this method reduces the vintner's carbon footprint and waste, Townshend says there’s still consumer resistance.

“Bags have a bad reputation,” he says. “Even though there’s no quality difference at all, it’s too scary to implement in a large format.”

Bag sales in the tasting room, however, have been successful and appeal to patrons who know about the option.

“It’s ... very popular for the people who know about it,” he says.

Restaurants have been more receptive to the approach, he says. Townshend's wines are served on tap at Spokane restaurants including Beniditto’s Brewpub and Uprise Brewing Co.

The wines are stored in plastic kegs with internal bags. Townshend says a carbon dioxide system is used to dispense the wine that doesn’t touch the beverage, which means it can last up to six months — a great alternative for restaurants trying to avoid spoilage.

“There’s (about) 28 bottles of wine equivalent in a keg,” Townshend says. “We sell it at a reduced rate because we want people to adopt it, because it’s much better in the packaging. It’s so much better for the environment.”

While sustainability efforts often come at a cost, Townshend says watching water use, shifting to electric vehicles, and minimizing packaging waste are all “no-brainer things” the winery continues to do.

Townshend Cellar recently dropped its B Corp Certification, but he says the company’s commitment to core values remains the same. The B Corp Certification is a designation for a business that is meeting high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency on a variety of factors.

“The B Corp is a really good program to set a framework for how you should run a business,” he says. “It was great for a small business like mine that doesn’t have an HR department.”

The winery continues to support local causes, including Spokane Riverkeeper, Spark Central, Family Promise, Molly Medical Relief, and the Carl Maxey Foundation. At its core, he says, the business remains about people — both consumers and makers.

“Most of my employees have been here for close to 12 to 15 years,” he says. “It’s their career, which is pretty cool.”

The winery has seven employees and generates close to $3 million in annual revenue, nearly 40% of which comes from its partnership with Costco, Townshend says.

While Townshend says the wine industry has been hit with a recent drop in consumption, due in part to generational differences, he says his winery is committed to sustainability and affordability.

“Hopefully our biggest contribution to Spokane is that you’re guaranteed a good bottle of wine that everybody can afford,” he says.