Owner shuts down Caterina, Lone Canary wine labels

Winemaker Don Townshend’s attempt to breathe new life into a pair of Spokane wine labels has fallen flat.

Townshend has closed production of the Caterina and Lone Canary brands after purchasing them in 2010.

He said he was losing too much money. “I tried to keep them going and found out it wasn’t going to work,” he said.

The loss may be wine shoppers’ gain. Townshend is selling off the remaining stock by the case at discounts of 30 to 60 percent this weekend and next.

Townshend said he bought Lone Canary and Caterina from their initial owners as an investment, and to help those previous owners get out from under what were underperforming operations. Caterina was one of the pioneers of Spokane’s burgeoning wine industry, founded in 1993. The winemaker there, Mike Scott, went on to start Lone Canary in 2003.

Townshend remodeled the Caterina tasting room at the historic Broadview Dairy building, 411 W. Cataldo Ave., and brought all of his labels into that building.

At the same time, he continued to operate his original facility at Green Bluff, and then developed a new tasting room and warehouse at the former Huckaba Christmas tree farm. The new facility at 8022 E. Greenbluff Road opened in 2013.

He said he soon realized his business model wasn’t working, in part because of personnel changes, but also because of the cost of overhead involved in operating four labels. “It became a whole lot of work for me to make it go,” Townshend said.

Townshend did not specify how much he lost. However, he said he obtained additional winemaking equipment through his purchase of Caterina from members of the Barbieri family, the original owners.

The Caterina tasting room closed two years ago.

Jim van Loben Sels, general manager of Arbor Crest Wine Cellars, said the issue comes down to how many brands a family business can maintain. “He’s growing Townshend, and that’s his workhorse,” he said.

The Caterina and Lone Canary labels “had really run their course,” he said.

Townshend opened his Townshend Cellar winery in 2000 and made a name for himself with red wines, including merlot, syrah and cabernet sauvignon. His enthusiasm for winemaking became apparent after he added numerous varieties to his lineup, including a popular huckleberry port-style dessert wine.

He achieved market success in his acclaimed T-3 and Vortex blends, which became popular selections when they were marketed in the Puget Sound area.

Rock musician Eddie Vedder opened a 1.5-liter magnum bottle of Townshend T-3 wine on stage in Spokane during an appearance with his band Pearl Jam last December, and then served it up to fans in the front row at Veterans Memorial Arena.

With the buzz about his wine staying strong, Townshend said his namesake label continues to operate at a profit.

In 2011, Townshend purchased the Mountain Dome sparkling wine label from Patricia Manz, wife of Mountain Dome founder Dr. Michael Manz, who died suddenly in 2006 at age 58. The Mountain Dome label is recognized locally for the use of gnome figures on the label.

Townshend said he plans to consolidate the sparkling wine operation under his Townshend brand while using the gnome figures on future bottles to denote the connection to Mountain Dome’s beginnings.

On Friday, customers turned out at Townshend Cellar to take advantage of the opportunity to buy the sale wines.

Arbor Crest, 4705 N. Fruit Hill Road, also is offering half-price discounts through Nov. 11 in its annual case sale.

Reflecting on all the changes, Townshend said the best part has been the customers. “It’s fun to make something people like,” he said.