Lifestyle - Folks

Kristina Mielke-van Löben Sels

- Sandra Hosking Photo.

Hometown: San Rafael, California
Place of Residence: Spokane
Occupation: Winemaker and Owner, Arbor Crest Wine Cellars

Winemaker Kristina van Löben Sels calls the Spokane region "awesome."

She owns the 30-year-old Arbor Crest Wine Cellars with her husband, Jim, and moved to Spokane from Northern California in 1999 to take over the business from her parents and uncle.

"Spokane is a fantastic community," she says. "It has so many things to offer. … We love snow skiing. You've got all your mountains so close, all the lakes for the summer, bike paths, the beautiful mountains for the hiking."

Mix the outdoors with the lively downtown, and you have a charming urban center.

"It's a great community to raise your family," she adds. "I love the seasons." When moving to Spokane, "the first thing I noticed was how friendly everyone was here," she says. "It was almost a little shocking."

The van Löben Sels and their three children now live about a mile from the winery's hilltop Cliff House estate, at 4705 N. Fruit Hill Road. The 1924 landmark suffered a fire in December 2009, but the owners restored it and added a demonstration kitchen where the winery can host dinners and offer classes.

Walking on the scenic grounds makes van Löben Sels smile. "You walk up there and it's so beautiful," she says. "I think of the pride of this in Spokane and all of the support in the community, especially with that fire, a huge amount of support. You couldn't begin to thank everybody enough."

Van Löben Sels' family started the winery when she was 12. Though they lived in California, they would visit Spokane in the summers and she would help in the winery. When she entered college, however, she leaned toward becoming a veterinarian. That changed when she took a wine class.

"I love what I do now … to be able to have art and science combined in my profession," she says. "The artistic side is more in the blending and the crafting of the wine, even though you need to look at it chemically."

Van Löben Sels, who holds a bachelor of science degree in fermentation science from California State University-Davis, worked at the Ferrari-Carano Vinyards & Winery, which produced 350,000 cases of wine each year. Currently, she researches and develops new wine blends herself in a small laboratory at Arbor Crest's production facility on East Buckeye Avenue.

The production facility has housed her family's businesses since her great-grandfather operated Mielke Orchards. "They made cherry pie filling for many years. Then they converted this in the early 80s into a winery," she says. "It's neat to carry that tradition along, so that's important to me. Tradition and family are very important."

Winemaking also is a tradition for Jim's family, who once owned a winery in California. To combine the two families' traditions, Arbor Crest has released its first van Löben Sels-labeled wine.

In addition to the production facility and the Cliff House estate, the winery has a tasting room at River Park Square downtown. Arbor Crest produces 20,000 cases each year and is sold in 31 states.