The Watts Family 

Don and Lori Watts began their agricultural business in 1977, and grew it into a business with multiple divisions that managed over 20,000 acres of farmland and 500 employees. An unwavering commitment to quality and customer service made their venture a success, and they bring that same level of commitment to Swiftwater Cellars.

Being a family-run business, the Watts family has always treated employees like family members, and the same is true here with the ever-growing Swiftwater Family.

In the Swiftwater Cellars forecourt you may notice a few tiny handprints in one of the sidewalk panels honoring the newest members of the Watts family, Sofia Grace and Olivia Joy—daughter of Donnie and Meghan. Along with being the official greeters whenever they visit the winery, both are a constant reminder that, at the end of the day, what matters most is family.

The No. 9 Mine

In the late 19th century, large coal deposits were discovered in the Cle Elum-Roslyn region. The Northern Pacific Coal Company, a subsidiary of the Northern Pacific Railroad, developed mines to provide coal for steam engines fueling up for the trip across the Cascade Mountains.

With hope in their eyes, immigrants from all over Europe boarded steamships to the New World, landing at Ellis Island then catching a train to South Cle Elum. From there they would walk three miles to Roslyn to go to work in the mines.  Many of them brought their traditions with them and especially their love for wine.  Like their ancestors, they made their own wines but rather from the only fruit that was available to them at the time: wild huckleberries and blackberries.

The Roslyn No. 9 Mine opened in 1930, and was the last coal mine in the region to close in 1963. The entrance to No. 9 lies just off the Swiftwater Cellars forecourt, and the large hill viewed to the north next to the golf course fairway is Tipple Hill, a pile of coal slag now overgrown with native grasses and shrubs.

The great old stories of the past are pervasive at Swiftwater Cellars. Everywhere you look, you are reminded of the mine’s rich past – the coal tipple-influenced architecture, our No. 9 family of wines, the mining relics and old photographs, many of them brought to us by the descendents of the immigrant miners.

And if you order a “Rope Rider” at the bar, just remember it was named after the miners who would precariously balance themselves on the thin rope cables of the coal cars to keep them steady as they descended half-a-mile into the deep mine shaft. The cocktail’s strength does the name justice.