Well, my state of Alaska has decided to pass a bill that’s terrible when it comes to collecting wine. Depending on how the Regs roll out I find it really likely that I’ll need storage in Seattle to have my allocations shipped to.
My question to the board, any suggestions on wine storage in the Seattle area? I need to be able to ship directly to and have it stored for me. Somewhere reliable and hopefully relatively inexpensive since I’ll have to fly there to pick up my wine. I don’t need anything fancy and I’ll be able to schedule my pick ups well in advance.
Eric, there are a half-dozen or so places in the Seattle area that offer varying levels of service. Some get a little fancy and offer inventory management at higher rates, which as you note is not needed in your case. I started the first in the PNW back in 1995, called of all things, ‘Seattle Wine Storage’. I retired and sold it a few years ago to a great guy named Lee Spires, and they will receive and store your shipments at no charge above and beyond the normal locker rental. Give Lee a call at 206-979-7553.
I’m in a similar position being in Canada and have had an amazing experience with Phenol55. They’re truly full service, but I understand you do pay a bit more than somewhere like Seattle Wine Storage.
A second thumbs up for Phenol55. Excellent service and can easily manage inbound shipments and storage. Communication is excellent.
There may be a few places that may cost a little less, but for what you are wanting to do I would lean towards them.
I used Seattle wine storage for over 20 years under both Chuck and Lee. Both excellent. Great service. Not the inventory management and pulling a bottle out for you to pick up that some may provide. But if you want a place that will receive your wine and store it properly, Seattle wine storage is for you.
I keep my wine at Seattle Wine Storage and highly recommend them. Lee is great to work with. Very easy in-and-out, too, and they’ll happily receive all your shipments for you.
Thank you all for the suggestions. I’m heavily leaning towards Seattle wine storage, primarily because they offer up front quotes and they’re closer to Ballard where my sister lives.
I’m glad to hear the recommendations from everyone, it’s nice that no one warned me off a place but rather supported the location that they currently use.
Another thing I personally really like about SWS is that it’s not one of those places where THEY have to go retrieve your wine for you. You can just check in and spend all the time you want at your own locker, doing whatever you please. I can’t fathom storing my wine at a place that doesn’t allow me to go play around with my wine.
Relatively new customer here at SWS and so far so good. Friendly folks and easy to work with. They jumped right in and helped moving boxes unloading without me asking for help.
I’ve been with Seattle wine storage for a few years; can vouch that Lee and the team are great. Their prices are transparent and have helped me scale up when I needed it without any issues. Receiving shipments is also easy and I like that I can organize my locker any way I want.
They also keep extra boxes and packing materials (that are unused by other customers) in a central area, which has been handy when I hav needed an extra box or some tape to tidy up my locker.
Been with SWS for many years back to when they were under the Seattle Times up to the present Lee era. Agree with all the above. I’m a recent home move Lee and company came and picked up 3 pallets of wine from my home cellar and have it in storage until the new cellar is built. They were great. And efficient.