Sojen Cellars, winery that began in a Lake Stevens garage, opens tasting room in Everett

Published 7:22 pm Tuesday, January 12, 2010

The story of Sojen Cellars starts several years ago in a Lake Stevens garage.

Wait. Let’s back up. In truth, it started years before that, when a man who really liked wine met and married a woman he liked even more. (She also liked wine quite a bit, for the record.)

Then came the garage, the place Max and Jennifer Jensen produced their first vintages: a syrah and a blend of chardonnay, sauvingon blanc and semillion.

Change — that’s something the Jensens have seen plenty of since then. Their winery grew. They had to change its name. And then this month, they opened the doors at its new home: a brick-walled winery and tasting room on Hewitt Avenue in Everett.

“I think what’s in our future is to have this place open for people to come in and just be,” said Jennifer Jensen last week while settling into the new space.

There’s a fireplace, and leather furniture that puts most living rooms to shame. The wine bar is on the left, and tasting-room manager Kim Frederickson is behind that. Doors on the back wall are outlined by a halo of light; they lead into the winery.

The tasting room is open to walk-ins who want to use the WiFi and try Sojen wine. The grand opening isn’t scheduled until Friday, but several private events are already booked.

And that’s just the start.

“I can’t wait until Valentine’s Day,” said Jennifer Jensen. “I can’t wait until wine and cheese weekend.”

Sojen Cellars has had its share of setbacks. It wasn’t always called Sojen.

When the winery was founded, it was called Griffins Crossing. A cease-and-desist letter from an attorney working for Willamette Valley Vineyards made the name change inevitable. The large Oregon-based winery has a brand called Griffin Creek, and singled the Jensens out for trademark infringement.

The new name came from early in the couple’s relationship, the kind of story people tell at parties.

Max Jensen described it this way in an e-mail to winery fans: “It is with a heavy heart that we have to make this change, but like the Phoenix, we will rise from the ashes as Sojen Cellars, a nickname that I used to call Jen when we talked on the phone because I was nervous and kept asking her, ‘So Jen, what are you doing?’ ”

“So Jen, how’s the weather?” Jennifer Jensen said last week with a laugh.

She said she was devastated when she first learned they’d have to change the winery’s name. But now, it seems to fit.

“Sojen seems a little more like where we are now,” she said. “We’re not crossing anymore. We’re here.”

Read Amy Rolph’s small-business blog at cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/heraldnet/TheStorefront. Contact her at 425-339-3029 or arolph@heraldnet.com.

If you go

Sojen Cellars is located at 2818 Hewitt Ave., Everett, next to the Terracotta Red restaurant.

Hours: 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m. Saturday

Visit www.sojencellars.com or call 425-876-2396.