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SOUTHEAST WASHINGTON
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 Martin Olsen
Olsen Estates
Yakima Valley
In 1908, Martin Olsen was a farming pioneer in the Yakima Valley. Through the generations, his original ten acres were traded but the family farming tradition continued. Today, Olsen Brothers Ranches has grown to 2,500 acres of apples, cherries, hops, blueberries, juice grapes and, most notably, wine grapes. The family owns some of the oldest vineyards in the valley, spread across 765 acres between Prosser and Benton City. Olsen Estates Winery processes 19 varieties of premium wine grapes and boasts a new, 12,000-square-foot wine tasting room and production facility with expansive grounds and valley views. Martin Olsen's great grandson, Martin Olsen, is managing a legacy through Olsen Estates. And he's sharing his family's love of the land with growing numbers of visitors.
Your new wine tasting room is located in Prosser Vintner's Village, just off Interstate 82. Are you seeing some tourism traffic?
We opened our tasting room in June 2007 and business is growing. Over 90 percent of visitors are from outside Prosser. We get huge support from the community, but even though the size of Prosser's zip code is large, its population isn't very big. It's nice that we have people from outsidethe area coming in.
Where do tourists come from?
As far as the money that leaves people's pockets and hits our cash register, tourists can be from as close as Yakima or the Tri Cities, the Puget Sound market and British Columbia. But we also see tourists from around the country and the world who are on road trips here in Washington.
How do you get the word out to prospective visitors?
It's really a group effort in the Vintner's Village. There are several wineries which work together and that helps the draw. Also, the Prosser Wine and Food Fair, which has been going on for over 25 years now, really brings people through.
How is your group business doing?
Groups are a part of our business model. We built a commercial kitchen and a private patio that overlooks just under two acres of garden lawn adjoining the winery. We really wanted to accommodate people and if we can capture a group, that's the ultimate. Between 65 and 80 percent of our rental fees are directly related to tourism. This business absolutely wouldn't function without tourism.
If tourism is up or down in other parts of the state, how does that impact you?
A huge part of our business would be lost if they [visitors] didn't eat at restaurants because that's where we sell a lot of our wine. I sell wine to El Gaucho and Waterfront Seafood Grill in Seattle [and many other restaurants which draw tourism business around the state]. And they, in turn, sell my wine.
Your father, Dick Olsen, was a founding member of the Washington Wine Commission and served as a commissioner for 12 years. How has community involvement and visibility – inside and outside of the state - helped establish your business?
That networking has really helped us stay on the leading edge of what's happening in the wine industry. And, being on the leading edge helps us promote. The Wine Yakima Valley association started by taking notes on Olsen Brothers stationary in my parents' living room. Today, we get a lot of traffic through Wine Yakima Valley, the Washington Wine Commission and local visitor bureaus. It's important to be present, to support the wine and tourism industries that support our businesses and help us all succeed.
In Europe and other established wine regions, they call this state a "new world" wine region. Does the notion of "new" attract travelers?
We're still really young and we've got a lot to prove on the world scene. The first commercial grapes were planted in the '60s and '70s. We're in this in our infancy. But, that's part of the charm. People are always looking for something new and when people come and see this great state - when people see what we've got here - they spend money. They're supporting many different industries, they're providing jobs.
Why does tourism matter to the Olsen Family?
There's a direct impact to our bottom line. Tourism is our business, whether it's attracting visitors to our tasting room or hosting an event. If there's no tourism, we can't sell our wine.
The Olsen Family's success in the valley during the past century is due in part to its ability to adapt and seize new opportunities. Will tourism, in addition to wine, be a legacy for future generations of Olsens?
I would really like to see the demand for our facility space grow year over year, as well as demand for our wine. The amount of growth and infrastructure here in the past five years is really measureable. I think that's all directly related to tourism because we're trying to get people in these tasting rooms. I hope we'll see more people here on planned trips rather than by accident. In the next ten years, I hope we'll be on the map. People are just starting to learn about the Yakima Valley and its richness. What we've got here is something really special.
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