In 1997, Perry Preston’s wife thought he should try making wine. In 2005 he started selling it, and now 19 years later, he has a seasoned, family-owned and operated business called Stina’s Cellars selling throughout Washington state. The business has a booth at the Renton Farmers Market this summer.
Stina’s Cellars is based in Fircrest, Washington, and buys most of its grapes from Rosebud Vineyards on the Wahluke Slope near Mattawa, WA.
There is a lot of math and chemistry in winemaking, Preston said, which he loves. “I have an idea of what I want to do, then decide what kinds of yeast and barrels to use, and then grapes, and that’s where I can really start experimenting.”
When Preston was starting out, he had friends try new batches of wine and give him honest feedback, he said. “I learned to sit back and let people taste it.”
Preston’s personal wine preference is tannin reds, a process of using the skin and seed of the grape to give red wine a dryer taste.
The name “Stina’s Cellars” comes from a nickname Preston’s friend coined decades ago. “Prestina” turned to just Stina, and it stuck.
You can find more at https://stinascellars.com.
Mushrooms
Puget Sound Mushrooms, the only business solely selling fungi at the Renton Farmers Market, has a booth there all summer. Puget Sound Mushrooms, owned by Eric Connolly, has been in business for three years and is based in Yelm, WA. It doesn’t have a storefront, but sells at other farmers markets throughout Western Washington.
“It’s about cleaning and more cleaning—it’s less about the physical labor and more about being scientific and methodical,” said the employee working the booth, Ari. “If I touch this mushroom and then that mushroom, what’s the reaction?”
Mushrooms available at the Renton farmers market booth include shiitake, chestnut, queen oyster and blue oyster mushrooms. All the produce is grown in a greenhouse in Yelm.
For Ari, time spent working for Puget Sound Mushrooms has helped diversify skills in a way that could make it easier to open a farm someday.
“I have options now from these skills I’ve learned,” Ari said. “In case there’s a drought or heavy rainfall, I have all these options of different foods to grow.”
Mushrooms sold at the Renton Farmers Market. Photos by Annika Hauer
