BELLEVUE, Wash. — As Washington Wine Month winds down, a local winery is looking to connect Eastern and Western Washington by planting more than just grapes into the ground.
For every bottle of their special Forest Project wine sold, Browne Family Vineyards is going to plant a tree in the forest.
"Family is everything, so we looked at how we could honor our family's love of fishing and western Washington while making an impact on the environment," said Andrew Browne, who founded Browne Family Vineyards in memory of his grandfather.
As the founder of the third best-selling Washington origin brand in the state according to the Washington State Wine Commission, Browne knew early on that community and wine were two of the same.
That's why earlier this year he partnered with the non-profit One Tree Planted to plant young trees along rivers and streams in and around the Puget Sound to help restore salmon habitats.
"We focus on Coiffures because they're longer lived," said Sabrina Wilk with the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group, a local partner of One Tree Planted.
She and her team have spent the last eight months planting Forest Project trees and say projects like it are important.
"The southern resident orcas, they like to feed on chinook salmon in the summer when they're ready available but then in the winter and spring they have to turn to other sources," said Wilk.
Those other sources include the endangered Hood Canal summer chum, which Wilk says could be delisted by 2027 with the help of habitat restoration efforts like Browne's.
While the grapes used to make Browne wine are grown more than 250 miles away from the Hood Canal in the heart of the Columbia Valley, Browne has three flagship tasting rooms around the Puget Sound.
His love for marine ecosystems is displayed in their Bellevue tasting room where a giant mural depicts life in western Washington like salmon and mountains.
"When we look at what we do in eastern Washington and Oregon and you look at the salmon runs there - direct correlation," said Browne.
So let's talk about what's inside the bottle.
"Starts with Pinot Gris has a little Riesling has a little unwooded chardonnay. The red blend comes from eastern Washington... the grapes primarily Cabernet but then we blend across we love Merlot we love Syrah," said Browne.
Andrew says consumers love that celebrating Washington Wine also means making a difference.
"I would have said if we can plant 100,000 trees it's a home run we're already we're only in August we're already at 133,000 plus trees," said Browne.
The project initially started as a way to rebuild forests in Eastern Washington that were devastated by last year's wildfires.
Browne says continuing the project this year to help the salmon and ultimately the southern resident orcas, is a home run.