Car breakdown leads to career making Arbor Crest wine

Vermont native Chris Farrington’s car broke down 23 years ago on a cross-country visit to see his sister in Spokane.

Not having the money to fix his rig, Farrington got a job through a temporary labor agency on the bottling line at Arbor Crest Wine Cellars to pay for the repairs.

After that, “they asked me if I wanted to stay on for harvest,” said Farrington, 48.

“I thought I’d give it a shot and see how it played out. I was the grunt. I did what I was told to do … I’ve been here since,” he said.

Today he holds the title of winemaker under co-owner and winemaking director Kristina M. van Loben Sels. Her father and uncle founded Arbor Crest in Spokane in 1982.

Farrington has become a respected member of the Arbor Crest team, and to acknowledge his contributions, he was given sole discretion over development of a 2013 malbec from the Wahluke Slope west of Othello.

To Farrington’s surprise, the owners had the wine bottled under a new Farrington label to distinguish the upscale malbec from other Arbor Crest wines. It was recently released and retails at the winery for $40.

“He is not allowed to leave,” van Loben Sels said jokingly about the winemaker.

“We are very family-oriented. Chris is family,” she said.

Farrington said he was surprised and honored to have the malbec named after him.

He said he remembers van Loben Sels telling the staff one time that, “We’re making wine. Let’s have fun.’”

Van Loben Sels’ career at Arbor Crest dates back to 1999 when she and her husband, Jim van Loben Sels, moved back to Spokane to join her father, Harold Mielke, and uncle who founded Arbor Crest. Brothers Harold and David Mielke had purchased the Arbor Crest label out of California to take advantage of the relatively new Washington wine industry. It was the 29th winery in Washington in 1982.

As of last year, there were 850 wineries in Washington.

Raised in Underhill, Vermont, Farrington attended college for a few years but was undecided on a career choice. In 1993, he hit the road on a cross-country adventure. His sister was living in Spokane, so that became a logical destination. That was when his Nissan wagon broke down and his life took a major turn at Arbor Crest.

In 2007, Farrington was promoted to assistant winemaker before gaining his current winemaker title.

He is married and has a daughter.

“What I like about the winery is the size,” he said.

With a production of 18,000 to 20,000 cases a year, Arbor Crest is considered a medium-size winery, with four full-time workers who are supplemented with part-time staff as needed.

“We are always on the same page,” van Loben Sels said of Farrington, adding that he works hard, is good with the crews and is methodical. “We are a good balance for sure,” she said.

Farrington said the main thing he has always liked about his job was feeling proud about the winemaking craft.

“It’s messy. We are working with our hands,” he said. “You get to follow the progress from fruit to something you can enjoy with friends.”