Wineries Thankful for Busy Weekend

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Story Published: Dec 1, 2008 at 1:16 AM PDT

By Rudabeh Shahbazi

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RICHLAND-- The national economy may be going down the drain, but local wine business is booming. Thanksgiving weekend went off with a bang.

"I'd like to think that wine is recession proof," said Kim Gravenslund, tasting room manager at Barnard Griffin Winery. "So far, we're doing very well with everything that's been going on in the world with the economy.

Business is down for retailers, and the service industry is in a slump, but the wine is still flowing and people are still buying.

"It seems like people always have money for good wine," said Tegaris Winemaker Frank Roth. "People still want to enjoy the finer things in life, even though things are rough. Especially during the holidays, you still want to get beyond that stuff and enjoy it like it's not a problem."

Gravenslund said the numbers came out the way she expected them to.

"We had anticipated that it would be a fairly brisk weekend, due to the fact that there's a lot of people in town for the holidays, and wine tasting tends to be kind of an activity that everyone can enjoy, and it can be kind of leisurely and causal."

Many wineries had special promotions for the Thanksgiving weekend. Bookwalter's sales are up 20 percent since last year. Barnard Griffin employees estimate hundreds of tasters walked through their doors. Roth had to restock Tegaris to accommodate the high demand.

"This weekend, it's been very busy," said Roth. "I had to come in over the holiday weekend and bring more wine in for them because they were selling out of some products."

Winery sales overall are on par with last year, something to truly be thankful for.

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