Locus Wines is the story of two wine and food lovers who left their corporate jobs behind to pursue something they were more passionate about. Rich Burton handles the winemaking, and studied oenology at Washington State University. Locus’ other proprietor, Ton Yazici, is a self-professed “recovering technocrat coming from a diverse product management background in high tech, with a passion for wine and food.”
Ton took the plunge to restart his career in 2013. “I left the corporate world to get a Culinary Arts education so I can work five times as hard and get paid ten times less,” he says jokingly. Both owners dove in headfirst, operating strictly through distributors in Washington, Idaho and Montana. They also hosted three events a year in the form of food and wine release parties held at their home. After seven years of building a brand following, it was time to merge the model behind those private tasting events to a public tasting room experience.
“The tasting room is essentially an extension of our philosophy that food elevates wine and wine elevates food,” says Rich. “It helps that the tasting room has a kitchen and a restaurant license and that one of our co-founders is a trained chef and professional caterer.”
Wines are offered by the flight, glass or bottle. Optional food pairings are on-hand with each wine included in the flights. There are small plates of paté, nuts and olives, as well as larger charcuterie spreads. The menu also boasts surprising items such as seasonal dinner salads, and lamb and turkey meatballs in tomato passata.
Visit the tasting room at 307 Occidental Ave S, Seattle. Phone (206) 682-1760 or visit online at www.locuswines.com.
Below are three wines we recently reviewed:
Locus Wines 2015 Red Wine, $25
91 pts. – Outstanding
Unctuous and ripe, showing mouthfilling flavors of crushed plum, boysenberry and fig accented with violet, cassis, anise and dashes of peppercorn and briny notes on the lengthy finish.
Locus Wines 2017 Sémillon, $20
89 pts. – Excellent
Exotic and aromatic, with effusive expressions of ripe pineapple, apricot, dried dates and crushed cashew. The mouthfeel is refreshingly clean and smoothly textured, picking up notes of candied ginger, pear and apple. The complex flavors combine neatly on the fruit-forward finish.
Locus Wines 2019 Rosé, $15
88 pts. – Excellent
Crafted in the style of Provence, there’s a refreshing mineral hint that gives way to crisp notes of white peach, strawberry, orange citrus, dried of white peach, strawberry, orange citrus, dried thyme and spice. Ends dry, with a clean-cut finish.