Submitted by Madrone Cellars.

Madrone Cellars, a boutique winery and cidery based on San Juan Island in Washington State, has been named a finalist in the Good Food Foundation’s Good Food Awards for its 2021 Island Perry. The award program recognizes social and environmental responsibility in food and beverage production while celebrating craftsmanship and flavor.

“We are honored to be recognized as a finalist in such an esteemed award program as the Good Food Awards,” said Amy Salamida, co-founder and co-owner of Madrone Cellars. “Here at Madrone Cellars, it is our goal to operate with minimal intervention practices. We are dedicated to sustainable agriculture that produces the highest quality wines and cider while ensuring a responsible and ethical product. We are honored to receive this recognition as it is a testament to our dedication to sustainability efforts we strive to follow in every step of our wine and cider-making process.”

The Good Food Awards recognize craft food producers that meet a variety of environmental and social responsibility standards per each category. In the cider category, all products must be free of artificial ingredients, do not use fruit juice concentrates as a primary source of fermentable sugar, and are made with fruit and other ingredients that are grown locally with respect to seasonality as a top priority, among other criteria standards. Additionally, the awards also require that the product be made by a crafter that is an upstanding member of the good food community, and committed to equity and inclusion in all levels of their business.

Each Good Food Award nominee is reviewed on the organization’s standards as well as a blind taste test by a panel of expert industry judges. The full list of nominees can be found by visiting: Finalists – Good Food Foundation (goodfoodfdn.org).

Madrone Cellars was established in 2017 by wife-and-husband duo Amy and Shaun Salamida. The company’s wine and ciders are made with minimal intervention and focused on sustainable practices that reveal the natural fruit, terroir, and story behind the grapes. In fact, Madrone Cellars wines and ciders are made without any residual sugar or without the manipulation of any fermenting additives such as sulfites, concentrates, yeast, or fining agents.

The company sources all of its grapes from LIVE Certified vineyards in Eastern Washington. This internationally-recognized label guarantees that all grapes are grown with the most up-to-date standards for sustainable agriculture, in order to ensure the land is preserved for future generations. Additionally, all of the vineyards follow Salmon Safe practices. Salmon-Safe works with farmers across the West Coast to farm more conscientiously and sustainably to ensure that runoffs and inputs do not negatively impact the health of the watersheds. This topic continues to grow in importance to the Salamida’s due to the withering population of the Chinook Salmon population, which serves as the primary food source for the Southern Resident Killer Whales.

Madrone Cellars products can be found in a Friday Harbor tasting room located on 40 First Street (right off of Spring Street), or ordered online by visiting www.madronecellars.com.

For more information on Madrone Cellars, please visit www.madronecellars.com, or call 970-319-2821.

Contributed photo by Madrona Cellars Outside of Madrona Cellars in Friday Harbor.