WINE & OUR STORY
Arbutus Menziesii,
The Pacific Madrone.
A Symbol Of The Pacific Northwest & The Islands We Call Home.
San Juan Island natives at heart, Shaun and Amy Salamida started Madrone Cellars & Cider in 2017.
With over a decade in the industry, Shaun is one of the youngest winemakers in Washington State. After working as Assistant Winemaker for three other wineries, we both felt that it was time for a change. Madrone Cellars & Cider was a dream born in 2016, as we started talking about the reality of what owning our own winery would look like. We wanted the freedom to create our own experience based on our own personal ideals. The Madrone tree came about soon after, as we discussed where home was for us, and how we wanted whatever we did to always come back to San Juan Island. This is where we met, and where we want to start and raise a family together. It just made sense.
Our wines and ciders reflect our travels, and the memories correlated with the taste, smells and textures of destinations. French inspired wines are at the forefront of the portfolio, with Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Cinsault, Marsanne and Viognier to name a few. Single varietals are the most prevalent for us, but our Croissance, the Red Wine Blend, is by far our most popular wine. Our ciders rely heavily on the local San Juan Island farmers, and our largest production is our Island Perry, made with organic asian pears.
For those who have experienced our wines and ciders, you already know that one of the most important aspects of our product is the fact that they are dry. Make a wine that you want to drink right? Well for us, that means dry. Luckily, we have realized that the vast amount of wine and cider drinkers feel the same!
In 2018, we traveled Western Europe for two months, taking the time to study and learn from the sustainable farming and winemaking that is currently at the forefront of the European wine scene. This time changed us, and made us re-evaluate how we were trained to produce wine. The conventional idea with winemaking is “How can I change this into a particular style?”. While traveling, we realized that we appreciate wine that reflects where it came from and how it was farmed. The essence of wine should not be altered by conventional methods, but rather rely on quality and purity in tastes, textures and aromas.
This translates to our ciders as well. We are very blessed by the sustainable agriculture moment happening on San Juan Island right now. With the vast amount of farmers who pride themselves in organic practices, we have an incredible source of heritage and hard-cider apples, perry pears and asian pears, and more to choose from.
our mission
Madrone’s mission is to produce quality wines and ciders that reflect our long term goal of preserving the integrity of the ecosystem. It is our responsibility to our community, industry and environment to be aware of how our actions impact the world around us.
We accomplish this by working with Salmon Safe and LIVE certified vineyards, local farmers that practice organic principals, only using biodegradable solutions at our winery, and much more.
certified to protect local ecosystems
What does Salmon Safe and LIVE certified mean, and why does it matter?
Did you know that upwards of 90% of the world’s wild salmon population is gone?
Conventional agricultural runoff is polluting the watersheds, which is destroying the wild salmon populations. Salmon Safe is working with farmers across the West Coast to farm more conscientiously and sustainably, so that their runoffs and inputs do not negatively impact the health of the watersheds.
Why do we care?
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certified to protect local ecosystems
It’s really a silly question, because we all should care. But thinking of local impact, due to the decreasing health of their habitats, the population of wild chinook salmon is withering away. With the decreasing population, comes the decreasing food supply for the southern resident killer whales. Unlike transient killer whales, who are opportunistic feeders, the residents rely on wild chinook salmon as their only food source. They are starving.
This is a simple, yet traumatic reality of losing biodiversity and biomass in our environment.
Click here to watch a video and learn more about Salmon Safe.
What about sustainability?
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certified to protect local ecosystems
LIVE certification guarantees that the grapes we source are grown with the most up to date standards for sustainable agriculture.
This certification is not easy to acquire! It is an internationally recognized label, and takes professional inspection from the get go and continued inspection every 2-3 years to guarantee the values are being upheld.
By certifying that they are LIVE, the vineyards we work with are making a promise that they are doing everything they can to preserve the land for future generations.
Once again, why do we care?
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certified to protect local ecosystems
We want to make a difference.
We are aware that everything we do has a consequence, every action leads to a reaction. Sourcing our grapes from vineyards that are upholding the values of sustainability and decreasing their pollution means that our wines are a part of the movement towards a sustainable future.
LIVE wines are better for the future of our planet and on a smaller but more intimate scale, the future of our local community here on San Juan Island.
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we work with salmon safe and live certified
vineyard partners
strand vineyard
Naches Heights AVA
malbec, pinot gris, cinsault
Sagemoor Vineyards
Columbia Valley AVA
Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet franc, Merlot, riesling
Double D Vineyard
Lake Chelan AVA
malbec
locally sourced ingredients
We work with local farms that practice organic farming.
On San Juan Island, there are six farms that we work with very closely for our local ingredients. Madeira Farms, owned and operated by the Cole family, is an organic farm that we source apples, currants, hops and berries from. In 2020, we also worked with Madeira to plant 600 hard cider apple trees, with the goal of greatly expanding our locally grown and produced hard ciders.
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locally sourced ingredients
Mitchell Bay Farm on the northern end of San Juan Island has been organic since the 70’s. Bruce Gregory and Colleen Howe raise sheep, and we source Asian pears, hardy kiwis and heritage apples from their polycultural farm.
Woman owned and run Aurora Farms is our source for local organic raspberries. Lori Ann David is the powerhouse behind one of the largest farms on San Juan Island, and we plan on expanding our collaboration in the future.
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locally sourced ingredients
Another woman owned and family run farm we work closely with is Sweet Earth Farm. Elaine and Amanda, mother and daughter team, are the primary managers of this polycultural farm that we source heritage apples, asian pears and berries from.
Last but not least are Seagate Farm and Barnswallow. Seagate Farm is a newly owned, organic orchard, and we source heritage pears and apples from their 20 acres. Barnswallow is a family owned, 100 year old apple orchard. We love working with these historical trees, and the fruit that they have provided the islands for over a century.
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Estate Vineyard at Saltwater Farms
One of the most exciting partnerships we have made in the last few years is with Saltwater Farms, a beautiful organic farm and wedding destination on San Juan Island. In June of 2021, in collaboration with Saltwater’s owners Andrew Fleming and Merriss Waters, we planted our first estate vineyard. With these vines, we will produce Pinot Noir, Albariño and Siegerrebe for sparkling wines. We are excited to implement biodynamic and organic farming at Saltwater. We accomplish this by dry farming, zero till and only spraying organic and biodynamic preparations.
With the rocky soil and southern facing slope, this vineyard is going to produce incredibly unique and vibrant sparkling wines, and we cannot wait to share them with you!
madrone cellars & cider | san juan islands
COME VISIT US AT MADRONE
We hope that you visit us, and in turn experience the truly unexplainable yet undeniable draw of the San Juan Islands. Our products are best enjoyed with friends and family, sitting around a bonfire at South Beach or a picnic on the westside. We hope to share laughter and libations with you soon, and share our story of where we came from and what we plan to do next.
ABOUT US
MEET THE
MADRONE TEAM
SHAUN SALAMIDA
Co-Owner, Winemaker, Cidermaker, Vineyard Manager
Shaun Salamida studied Viticulture and Enology at Oregon State University. His studies focused on disciplines of the biology, chemistry and physics of wine, as well as environmental and sustainable vineyard care and production. After his studies, Shaun visited San Juan Island and decided to make it his home, which led him to apply for the Assistant Winemaker position at San Juan Island Vineyard. He worked here for four years, and in 2014, an opportunity arose for Shaun to move to Lake Chelan AVA, and dive deeper into the world of wine.
While in Chelan, Shaun worked as the Assistant Winemaker for Hard Row to Hoe, before moving to Mellisoni Vineyards as Head Winemaker and Vineyard Manager. During this time, Shaun continued to learn about wine production and vineyard management through his leadership position, while also learning the balance of running the show.
AMY SALAMIDA
Co-Owner, Assistant Winemaker & Cidermaker, Event Coordinator, Marketing
Amy Salamida is Madrone’s official Social Media and Marketing Manager, as well as Assistant Winemaker & Cidermaker. After meeting Shaun in 2014, Amy moved to Lake Chelan to be closer to him. During this time, she worked as a Tasting Room Associate at Mellisoni Vineyards. She remembers this time fondly, as it was where she fell in love with the wine industry, and grew a passion for winemaking alongside Shaun. Also during her time in Lake Chelan she worked for Blue Spirits Distillery, where she focused her energy on learning the production side of the business, honing in on the time efficiency of bottling and labeling.
You won’t see Amy at the tasting room very often, because her passion is in ‘behind the scenes’ work like social media, marketing and event planning.
LINDA DUNAWAY
Tasting Room Manager & Bookkeeper
Linda Dunaway joined the Madrone Team in September 2020. As the first official team member, Linda stepped into her role as Tasting Room Manager with delight and an excitement to learn and grow her knowledge of Wine and Cider. One of the most joyful people you will have the pleasure of meeting - your tasting experience will be full of laughter and a good time.
Amy is slightly biased, as Linda is her mom!
CYRUS GUBELMAN
Brand Ambassador & Tasting Room Associate
Cyrus Gubelman joined the Madrone Team in May 2021, during one of our busiest springs yet! He jumped in and helped Shaun and Amy build the Outdoor Wine Garden, plant the vineyard at Saltwater Farms, and stepped into his Tasting Room Associate role with ease. With an extensive background in the industry, Cyrus has expanded his role at Madrone by becoming the official Brand Ambassador for the San Juan Islands. If you are a wholesale account, he is your man!
Cyrus loves being a part of and seeing the whole process of Madrone, from harvest to bottle.
