Upland Winery, the first winery in Washington to bottle its own European-style wines, is founded in November 1934.
By Trista Crossley
In November 1934, William Bridgman starts Upland Winery, one of the first wineries in Washington to take advantage of the December 1933 repeal of Prohibition. Upland is the first bonded winery east of the Cascades and the first Washington winery to bottle its own European-style wines. Bridgman produces 7,000 gallons of wine in 1934 using grapes grown on the winery s 90 acres on Snipes Mountain near Sunnyside in Yakima County.
Heart of the Yakima Valley
William B. Bridgman (1878-1968) grew up in the Niagara Peninsula area of Ontario, Canada, where his family grew grapes, mainly Concords. He graduated from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, with degrees in the arts and sciences and law. He landed in Sunnyside in 1902, following a rail tour of the Pacific Northwest, and began to practice law. He would serve twice as mayor of Sunnyside. Usin