Roger Stockdale stepped out of the driver’s seat of a Lincoln Town Car Stretch, blasting a song he probably would never have chosen to listen to again, and smiled. He gazed up to see a group of young women, 80% blonde and 100% unwed, bombing down a hill paralleling the grandeur of Lake Chelan. After receiving hugs from each sundress-clad woman and posing as an amateur photographer with ten different cameras, Stockdale shuttled his ladies inside his car, his smile never fading.
All in a day’s work for Stockdale as a professional chauffeur and wine aficionado for Lakeside Limousine in Chelan.

“All of our drivers provide a wine tour experience as they are not just a driver,” said Ron Kehl, the Chelan company’s owner. “Our drivers understand the area, the winemaking process, the different wineries and tasting rooms, the respective estate wines, the history of the area as well as all the hidden jewels along the way.”
Kehl, who also manages Lake Chelan Shores Resort, said tourism has always been a major attraction to the area, especially now with the growing wine industry, which is nearing on AVA status with its current fourteen wineries.
With three years in the bag, Lakeside Limousine advocates for a “Nordstrom experience with a Wal-Mart price,” offering a service created specifically for the wine tour industry as half-day excursions ranging from $59 per person to $150.

MKF Research reported that U.S. wineries attracted 27.3 million visitors in 2007. The wine-tourism industry in the States is thriving based off the sales brought in by the direct purchases from nearly 5,000 bonded wineries, instead of distributors, according to the MKF report.

According to a report released early this year by the Association of Wine Grape Growers, “wine-related tourism expenditures increased 1,157 percent over 1999 reaching $237.6 million for 2006, a 165.3 percent increase per year. The number of wine-related tourists in Washington increased from 350,000 in 1999 to 1.7 million in 2006.”
According to the Washington Wine Commission, as the second largest premium wine producer, Washington wine attracts around two million tourists annually. WWC reports wine tourism is helping to give a positive contribution to local, regional and even national economies.

Wine tourism, a trend in its own sense of nontraditional economy pushing, comes in all shapes and sizes as well.

Back in Chelan, Kehl said Lakeside Limousine’s winery relations are crucial as he sees wine tourism companies as partners with the wine industry. “We want to provide a service that is good for our customers and for the wineries themselves,” Kehl said.
Going hand in hand with the ever-exploding wine industry in Washington State, wine tourism is shooting through the roof with decent prices for double the experience.