Wildflower Barrelhouse in North Bend, while open since December 2023, officially celebrates its grand opening on July 11.
North Bend resident, chef and wine enthusiast Kimberlea Miller’s newest business venture is “a casual and cozy wine bar and bottle shop featuring wine, beer and cider with occasional selections from across the county and world,” according to the Wildflower Barrelhouse website.
The ribbon-cutting for the small indoor space at 209 Main Ave. South, often hosting live music, comes several years after Miller first opened Wildflower Wine Shop.
The “intimate gathering space featuring a specially selected lineup of Washington wines and light, natural small plates” expanded to Wildflower Bistro in 2019, offering seafood, burgers and steak with expert wine pairing.
“I ended up closing that bistro location last summer, but opened up the barrelhouse to continue motivating people about wine, teaching about wine and learning about wine,” Miller said. “To me, there is no greater wine than Washington state wine, and I want to share that.”
Miller’s entrance into the wine industry began after a customer complimented her ability to pair food with wine at a previous restaurant job.
“He challenged me to get into Washington state wine and kept pestering me about it,” Miller said. “So, I decided to conquer the wine industry and went from vineyard to vineyard and winery to winery. I talked to several winemakers about their craft and started a blog about it.”
She became an amateur wine judge and later a Great Northwest Wine judge, and now believes “there is no greater wine than Washington state wine.”
While Miller currently offers simple, small snacks for customers to accompany a variety of wine, she hinted that an oyster bar might be in the barrelhouse’s future.
Wildflower Barrelhouse is open Thursday through Monday. Varying hours can be found online at wildflowerbarrelhouse.com.
A ribbon-cutting event, scheduled for 4 to 7 p.m. July 11, promises live music, catering from Haughty Tamale and a toast with locally sourced wine.
