Survival and success for Seattle’s oldest urban winery is not an easy road. As owner of OS Winery, Mercer Islander Peggy Sullivan is both determined and creative.

“Our winery is almost 20 years old. We have great wine and a wonderful history, but today’s marketplace for Washington wines is crowded. It takes more than history and great wine to flourish,” Sullivan said in a press release. “I am constantly searching for new ways to promote our tasting room and expand the market for our Bordeaux-style, food-friendly wines.”

Sullivan acquired the business from her father in 2013. It is the area’s first “urban winery,” located at 5319 4th Ave. S., in the Georgetown area of Seattle. OS Winery’s sweet spot is producing 2,000 cases annually of wines crafted from cabernet, cabernet franc and merlot.

Opening a winery in a metropolitan area, as opposed to being in more traditional locations near vineyards, was an adventuresome thing to do when Bill Owen and Rob Sullivan founded OS nearly 20 years ago. Rob Sullivan has retired from ownership, but still enjoys making deliveries to customers, including Costco locations from Bellingham to Tacoma.

From area grocers to fine dining spots, OS wines are regularly delivered in person.

Peggy Sullivan juggles deliveries, recruiting teams of volunteers, sourcing grapes, managing barrels and blending tanks, bottling and labeling, coordinating with independent distributors, marketing and managing the wine club. The OS Winery tasting room hosts yoga on Thursdays and paint nights on Saturdays.

“We want to attract new faces; people living in our urban environment,” Sullivan said.

OS also hosts a Thursday evening popup store for women’s fashions, and is working on a ukulele jam session.

Sullivan has fostered partnerships with downtown apartments, condos, hotels and restaurants, where she hosts wine tastings and co-hosts chefs’ dinners.

“Small wineries wouldn’t make it without a slew of enthusiastic volunteers,” she said. “We also have a great winemaker, Scott Greer, and an outstanding office manager, Victoria Odden.”

Sullivan is also active in the Island community as a PTA volunteer.

OS continues to source grapes from Zillah, in eastern Washington, as it has for the past 15 years. When they moved their tasting room to Georgetown in 2014, a major portion of the wine production was moved to Zillah. Ongoing wine production at the 4th Avenue South location includes a Rosé and a specialty red table wine for Costco.

OS wines are sold in Washington, the Carolinas, New York, New Jersey, Florida, Montana, Oregon and Japan, and Chicago is soon to be on the list.

In its early days, OS Winery borrowed needed grape processing equipment from fellow winemakers, and over the years, has opened its doors to other winemakers, including Mark Ryan, Chris Gorman and Sheridan.

OS Winery is known for making reasonably priced wines created in the Bordeaux style, ranging from $25 to $50. Nearly every OS vintage has seen wines rated at more than 90 points by Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast.

For more information, see www.oswinery.com.