Seattle Winery Reccomendations?

We are going to visiting our son in the Seattle area in April and, of course, I plan on visiting some wineries while there. The Woodenville area has many wineries but I only recognize two that I have ever had wine from. Chateau Ste. Michelle and Covey Run.

Anyone had any really good or bad experiences visiting wineries in Woodinville?

I went there about 4 years ago and visited Columbia and Ch. Ste. Michelle. The grounds at the latter are beautiful. Both wineries were pretty good, but not outstanding. However, the highlight of visiting the area was lunch at the Red Hook Brewery - good food and great Porter!

[Jenise]

Tom. Both of the wineries that Howie mentions are beautiful, but the wines are far from the best Washington has to offer and Michelle in particular gets too many tourists and that shows in the tasting room, where they're so used to entertaining clueless busloads they treat individuals like you as if that's how you got there ("pick only three wines from List A"). More mass-production than an A List winery in terms of quality. You want to go where the buses don't. Without hesitation, the #1 place I'd send you to is DeLille. The wines are outstanding and made more European in style than most Washington wines. And Lucky you, you'll be tasting the '08 vintage which is a cooler vintage with a fantastic amount of structure. They'll open every wine they currently sell for you once they figure out, and they quickly do, that you're a geek.

Avoid Covey Run, very low end.

I would also reccommend Novelty Hill and Januik (same winemaker, different owners, same building, prefer NH to Januik generally because the Januiks gets more oak, but they're very well made) and Woodinville Wine Cellars. Not sure who else has opened there recently (most of the wineries are on the eastern side of the states, but they're opening tasting rooms in Woodinville right and left because Seattle is where the travellers come). I'll go find a list and reccomend a few more.

It's been a number of years since I visited Ch Ste. Michelle but when I was there one could do a "reserve" tasting for a small fee. This was a big step up from the basic tasting and held in a different area so as to avoid the bus crowd that Jenise mentions. So while I saw the crowds mentioned, it was just me at the tasting. If this option is still available CSM may be worth a stop.

[Jenise]

Okay, I used this site to tell me whose down there now: http://woodinvillewinecountry.com/Wineries.cfm.

Two more A List wineries to point out for your consideration that will set the bar for everything else you taste, like DeLille will: Pepper Bridge and Matthews. Among the others, I like Woodinville Wine Cellars as previously mentioned, Amavi, Hollywood Hill (probably the only winery who can offer you a pinot noir GROWN in Seattle), and Otis Kenyon. Baer Winery just got a cab type wine in the Speck's Top 100 in one of the single digit slots, but I had the same wine two vintages before and couldn't drink it: heavy, sweet, low acid. Don't know what to make of that. Several other A list wineries I didn't see on the above website, but who might be there or represented in another tasting room: Buty, Rotie, Reynvaan and Andrew Will (his '08 Sorella is magnificent).

In addition to those recco's I would strongly reccomend you avoid these three: Cougar Crest, Apex and Facelli.

Okay, I used this site to tell me whose down there now: http://woodinvillewinecountry.com/Wineries.cfm.

Two more A List wineries to point out for your consideration that will set the bar for everything else you taste, like DeLille will: Pepper Bridge and Matthews. Among the others, I like Woodinville Wine Cellars as previously mentioned, Amavi, Hollywood Hill (probably the only winery who can offer you a pinot noir GROWN in Seattle), and Otis Kenyon. Baer Winery just got a cab type wine in the Speck's Top 100 in one of the single digit slots, but I had the same wine two vintages before and couldn't drink it: heavy, sweet, low acid. Don't know what to make of that. Several other A list wineries I didn't see on the above website, but who might be there or represented in another tasting room: Buty, Rotie, Reynvaan and Andrew Will (his '08 Sorella is magnificent).

In addition to those recco's I would strongly reccomend you avoid these three: Cougar Crest, Apex and Facelli.

Thanks Jenise,

I was actually surprised by the number of wineries on the west side and was wondering if most of them were tasting rooms or they got their grapes shipped in. I used to live in Washington many moons ago and the wineries were mostly in the Yakima and Walla Walla areas of Washington. These recommendations sound good. And I especially like your advice on what wineries to avoid. I have been to some of those 'get along little doggie' tasting rooms and found them quite frustrating. But even those do sometimes have someone who recognizes wine geeks and 'bends' the rules by letting you taste more wines and telling you that they have this wine, not on the tasting list that you might like to try. Sometimes you get lucky.

I am excited by what your observations on the 2008 vintage in Washington. Last year we toured the Willamette Valley and tasted and bought some dynamite 2008 pinot noirs . Was Washington's 2008 vintage as good as Oregon's?

Two more A List wineries to point out for your consideration that will set the bar for everything else you taste, like DeLille will: Pepper Bridge and Matthews. Among the others, I like Woodinville Wine Cellars as previously mentioned, Amavi, Hollywood Hill (probably the only winery who can offer you a pinot noir GROWN in Seattle), and Otis Kenyon. Baer Winery just got a cab type wine in the Speck's Top 100 in one of the single digit slots, but I had the same wine two vintages before and couldn't drink it: heavy, sweet, low acid. Don't know what to make of that. Several other A list wineries I didn't see on the above website, but who might be there or represented in another tasting room: Buty, Rotie, Reynvaan and Andrew Will (his '08 Sorella is magnificent).

In addition to those recco's I would strongly reccomend you avoid these three: Cougar Crest, Apex and Facelli.

I agree with Jenise's list, and would add Mark Ryan and JM Cellars (Saturdays only) as well. But neither Buty, Rotie, Reynvaan or Andrew Will are in Woodinville.

[Jenise]

In addition to those recco's I would strongly reccomend you avoid these three: Cougar Crest, Apex and Facelli.

I agree with Jenise's list, and would add Mark Ryan and JM Cellars (Saturdays only) as well. But neither Buty, Rotie, Reynvaan or Andrew Will are in Woodinville.[/quote]

Yeah, I didn't think they were, unless as I said there was some co-operative style tasting room that poured them (not that I'm aware of such a tasting room existing, but I was under the impression that there was one or two in downtown Seattle.)

But speaking of places you can taste good wines, I want to call Tom's attention to Vino Volo, a most excellent wine bar that carries some of these almost-culty wines (like Reynvaan and Buty) and that pours excellent examples of Washington and Oregon wines by the glass or in flights: at of all places, SeaTac airport. Modern art, jazz music, leather armchairs and some of our state's best stuff: in the airport! It's quite remarkable. Tom, once you're past Security, find the central food court and then go a door or two down the arm that leads out toward A and B terminals. There it is.

And the places I said not to go to? Crap wine. I have no idea how they stay in business.

[Jenise]

Oh, re the wineries, yes nearly all the grapes are grown in eastern Washington. A few vineyards are nurtured here on the west coast too, but of course they're typically cooler climate grapes. Western Washington doesn't have summers warm or long enough for grapes like chardonnay, cabernet and syrah, but Western Washington has the population. So while the winemaking facilities have the greatest concentration nearest where the grapes are grown, trucking grapes about isn't a problems so wineries exist all over the state. We have ten or so up here in the Bellingham area where I live. And our most iconic wine, Quilceda Creek, is over here too.

Oh, re the wineries, yes nearly all the grapes are grown in eastern Washington. A few vineyards are nurtured here on the west coast too, but of course they're typically cooler climate grapes. Western Washington doesn't have summers warm or long enough for grapes like chardonnay, cabernet and syrah, but Western Washington has the population. So while the winemaking facilities have the greatest concentration nearest where the grapes are grown, trucking grapes about isn't a problems so wineries exist all over the state. We have ten or so up here in the Bellingham area where I live. And our most iconic wine, Quilceda Creek, is over here too.

Hi Jenise,

I was fortunate enough to participate in a Quilceda Creek vertical at MoCool last year. Excellent wine. How far is their winery from Seattle? I would be willing to drive a good distance to taste their Cabs.

[Jenise]

It's only about an hour north of Seattle, but as they sell out 100% to a mailing list they are understandably in no need of opening a tasting room.

But speaking of places you can taste good wines, I want to call Tom's attention to Vino Volo, a most excellent wine bar that carries some of these almost-culty wines (like Reynvaan and Buty) and that pours excellent examples of Washington and Oregon wines by the glass or in flights: at of all places, SeaTac airport. Modern art, jazz music, leather armchairs and some of our state's best stuff: in the airport! It's quite remarkable. Tom, once you're past Security, find the central food court and then go a door or two down the arm that leads out toward A and B terminals. There it is.

Hi Jenise,

Interesting that you would mention a wine tasting bar in an airport. I have actually seen a similar wine bar at the Charlotte, N. C. airport. Near the food court and although I did not stop in, the wine selection looked at least decent. I guess lots of well-heeled business traffic make for a good wine clientele.

[Jenise]

But speaking of places you can taste good wines, I want to call Tom's attention to Vino Volo, a most excellent wine bar that carries some of these almost-culty wines (like Reynvaan and Buty) and that pours excellent examples of Washington and Oregon wines by the glass or in flights: at of all places, SeaTac airport. Modern art, jazz music, leather armchairs and some of our state's best stuff: in the airport! It's quite remarkable. Tom, once you're past Security, find the central food court and then go a door or two down the arm that leads out toward A and B terminals. There it is.

Hi Jenise,

Interesting that you would mention a wine tasting bar in an airport. I have actually seen a similar wine bar at the Charlotte, N. C. airport. Near the food court and although I did not stop in, the wine selection looked at least decent. I guess lots of well-heeled business traffic make for a good wine clientele.

It's a franchise, but the wines are chosen strictly by each owner/proprietor, and in Seattle's case the guy's been in the biz a long time, is totally passionate about wine, and has been on mailing lists such that he gets and displays stuff you don't normally see in wine stores hereabouts. It's a great place to stop for a drink if you have time to kill.